Google bans prediction-market ads in Connecticut, the fifth U.S. state excluded

Google barred advertising for prediction-market contracts and related products in Connecticut on October 7, 2026, making it the fifth U.S. state excluded from the company’s advertising program for federally regulated platforms, according to PPC Land. The restriction took effect on the day it was announced, without a transition period.

Connecticut joins Nevada, Ohio, Michigan and New York. Google gave no reason for the decision, which followed Connecticut’s September enforcement action against companies offering sports event contracts.

Federal eligibility, state restrictions

Google began accepting prediction-market ads on January 21, 2026, after announcing the policy on January 5. Certification is available to Commodity Futures Trading Commission-authorized Designated Contract Markets whose primary business is listing exchange-listed event contracts, and National Futures Association-registered brokerages providing access to those contracts, according to PPC Land.

That federal eligibility has not prevented geographic restrictions. Nevada was excluded at launch; Ohio followed on June 2 after a federal court denied Kalshi a preliminary injunction against state gambling regulators. Michigan and New York were added on July 13, following court victories against Kalshi reported by Gambling Insider. Each of the three updates since June took effect immediately.

Connecticut’s enforcement backdrop

On September 10, 2026, Governor Ned Lamont and Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli announced cease-and-desist orders against Polymarket, Coinbase, Crypto.com, Robinhood, ProphetX, Novig, Webull, Gemini and Underdog Predict. According to the governor’s office, as reported by PPC Land, the orders covered advertising, offering and promoting sports event contracts or other unlicensed online gambling to Connecticut residents.

Those orders followed an August 2026 ruling by a federal judge in Connecticut that sports event contracts constituted unlicensed gambling and lacked protection under federal commodities law. The state attorney general also sued Kalshi earlier in September, seeking an injunction against unlicensed sports wagers. On October 7, Gambling Insider reported that the regulator said ProphetX, Gemini and Webull had withdrawn from Connecticut, although an analyst disputed ProphetX’s departure.

Google’s documentation had not fully reflected the change by October 11, 2026: its main prediction-markets policy page still omitted Connecticut from the excluded-state list, according to PPC Land. The new notice also left “related products” undefined, creating uncertainty over advertisements for general trading apps that do not mention event contracts. It did not address other Google advertising channels or explain whether exclusions could be reversed.

What it means for prediction markets

• Federal authorization does not guarantee advertising access. Platforms can retain their federal status while losing the ability to reach users through Google Ads in individual states.
• Advertising restrictions and trading restrictions are distinct. Google’s decision concerns promotion; Connecticut’s enforcement actions separately target the availability of sports contracts.
• Immediate changes create operational uncertainty. Advertisers relying only on Google’s main policy page could miss a restriction already in force.
• Further exclusions remain uncertain. Google has not identified a sixth state or set conditions for restoring access in excluded states.