The recent decisions by Google and Yahoo to stop accepting Internet gambling ads will be the focus of this week's Casino Affiliate Convention organized in Amsterdam for online gambling industry insiders.

Convention in Amsterdam to focus on gambling ads ban

In March Internet gambling received the blessing of the World Trade Organization, yet its legal status remains controversial throughout the United States. Despite growing pressure from the federal government on media companies that promote virtual wagering, some in the online gambling business were taken aback by the Google and Yahoo announcements on Friday, April 2. Media Post quoted Chris Costigan, president of gaming industry news and information site Sports911.com. “Everybody was shocked on Friday. Nobody saw this coming," he said. Costigan was notified on April 2 by Yahoo!'s Overture search division that more than 50 listing terms he had previously submitted, including ‘book gambling online sports,’ ‘baseball gambling,’ and ‘college football wagering’, had been removed because they did not meet the company's editorial guidelines. Both web search companies said they will eliminate online gambling ads, including paid search listings, by the end of April. Neither provided comments as to whether they've received legal threats with regard to online gambling advertising. However a number of companies have said they have been issued subpoenas by the U.S. Justice Department regarding Internet gambling ads.These include Clear Channel Communications and an Internet portal. The Department contended that since online gambling is illegal throughout most of the United States, running ads for these operations is akin to running ads for illegal drugs or prostitution. Although Clear Channel, Discovery Networks, and Infinity Broadcasting have put an end to ads for Web gambling companies, the fact that search industry rivals Google and Yahoo dropped the bomb on the same day has given rise to speculation regarding the timing of the announcements. "It has a lot to do with the fact that March Madness has ended and it's a slow season," Sports911.com's Costigan said. He believes that the search players coupled their announcements with the end of the college basketball betting season, since most online gambling sites reduce their search marketing spending during the subsequent months. "Wait until the beginning of the football season," said Marc Lesnick, conference organizer for the Casino Affiliate Convention (CAC) and operator of StartCasino.com, an information site for Web gambling entrepreneurs. Lesnick and others in the industry argued that online gambling advertiser dollars account for too much of Google's and Yahoo’s search revenues. He considers the companys' actions to be mere pacification intended to ease the government squeeze. "They're going to reevaluate this - I guarantee it," he predicted.