As if the regulators haven’t been doing enough already, the latest news to challenge the industry comes from none other but the biggest search engine in the world, Google. The world’s second-largest publicly traded company has officially announced that it is going to limit the advertisement of forex, CFDs, binary options, spread betting, and related products.

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The news comes amid increasingly stringent requirements from regulators about the products that are being provided to retail traders. Companies that are advertising directly are going to face difficult times in the coming quarters as the official ban on these products comes into force in June 2018.

Binaries Banned

Google will outright ban companies that are providing binary options and synonymous products. The firm will also ban ads from aggregators and affiliates for forex and CFDs and spread betting products.

Firms that are offering CFDs, forex, and spread betting will be required to undergo certification from Google before they can advertise through AdWords. Such certification will only be available in certain countries.

Certification Policies

In order to be allowed to advertise in a given country, the firms will need to be licensed by the relevant financial services authority in the targeted geography and ensure that their ads and landing pages are in compliance with the policies of Google AdWords.

Firms that are advertising will also be required to comply with the relevant legal requirements in the region where they are onboarding clients.

The company is preparing an application form for firms that wish to advertise. Certification with Google will start after the publication of the document later in March 2018.