YouTube to allow gambling advertisements

YouTube will allow "licensed entities located in England, Scotland, Wales, Italy, France or Spain" to run online gambling advertisements on YouTube videos, according to new ad guidelines posted to its site.

The content on the popular video sharing Web site will only be accessible once a viewer has verified they are at least 18-years-old, reports New Media Age. Companies can run advertising campaigns on YouTube's home page, video pages and on their own channels.

Google, which owns YouTube, has gradually relaxed its policy on gambling advertisements throughout the last two years. In October 2008, Google lifted its AdWords ban on Internet gambling advertising in the U.K.

Ladbrokes will be the first company to run a display advertisement on YouTube, according to New Media Age.