Two Prominent Social Casinos Reveal Thoughts on New Google Ads Policy

Google recently changed its gambling ads policy, so sweepstakes casinos and social casinos aren't lumped into the same category anymore. Now, sweepstakes casinos need to adhere to stricter guidelines, which could potentially open social casinos to a larger audience now that sweepstakes casino ads will no longer appear. 

Now, during earnings calls, two social casinos, DoubleDown and Playtika, filled us in on their thoughts on the policy change. 

DoubleDown's Reaction

DoubleDown recently acquired SuprNation Ltd. and added some new Western European brands to its portfolio, making them part of the real-money gambling world, but as for the platform DoubleDown itself, it's a social casino. 

In all, there are three DoubleDown brands: DoubleDown Casino, DoubleDown Classic Slots, and DoubleDown Fort Knox.

On their Q3 earnings call, the company's CFO Joe Sigrist was asked about California's AB 831 and the new Google gambling ads policy, and he had this to say:

“I appreciate you mentioning what’s going on in the sweepstakes category,” Sigrist said. “It’s obviously very interesting. I think it’s a little early for it to happen. You’re right, by the way. We’ve said probably the biggest impact on us, that we have perceived with the sweepstakes business, is upward pressure on CPIs, on advertising costs. I think it’s a little early given that California’s ban just kicked in, and some of the other states’ actions are early. It’s a little too soon to determine if that’s going to have an impact on lowering costs. I think, all in all, none of this can hurt, and we’re obviously glad to see it.”

Playtika's Reaction

Playtika has grown into one of the more notable social casinos thanks to partnerships with providers and companies like Caesars and IGT. 

During their call, Playtika's president and CFO, Craig Abrahams, was asked this question: "There was also recent news that Google is barring sweepstakes from advertising under the social casino category. I’m just curious, do you see this as being a meaningful tailwind for your business at all?"

Abrahams wasn't as direct as Sigrist, but had this to say: “We don’t comment on speculation,” Abrahams said, “but obviously, the situation will continue to be monitored, and wherever we see opportunities, we’ll deploy capital.”

Light & Wonder Also Released A Statement

In addition to Playtika and DoubleDown, Light & Wonder has said that these restrictions will help its social casino arm, SciPlay, which houses Jackpot Party Casino. 

Here's what CEO Matt Wilson said: 

“I’ll say from the outset: Jackpot Party, in particular, is not where we want it to be, and we need to work hard to get that back into growth mode. [SciPlay CEO] Josh [Wilson] is doing a lot of work to focus on that,” Matt Wilson said. “We’ve been fairly public about the impact of sweeps on this category. We see some data in markets where sweeps is being eliminated, and we’re seeing a subsequent uptick in the social casino market. We think as that manifests over time and the deregulation of sweepstakes happens over time, that’ll be a tailwind for the social casino sector. We don’t really control that. What we can control is the economies that we can optimize in our game.

“We do think we [will] get revenue back to growth mode in 2026. As we get those games dialed in and we have the benefit from sweeps [restrictions].”