Quick answer: Brand bidding means buying search ads on a brand's name. Google doesn't restrict trademarks as keywords, but most casino affiliate programs do: Betfair, LeoVegas and Entain all ban bidding on their brand terms and can withhold your commission for it. Only bid on a casino brand with written permission from the program.
I'm Rihards, founder of Seven Affiliates, and I've spent five years in iGaming. Brand bidding is one of the quickest ways for a good affiliate to lose a month of commission in an afternoon.
Think of a casino's brand name as someone else's lunch in the office fridge. [Opens fridge. Sees label. Closes fridge slowly.]
The fridge (Google) won't stop you taking it. The person whose name is on the label (the program) absolutely will, and they have your bank details.
What Google allows vs what casino programs allow
| What you do | Google's trademark policy | Typical casino affiliate terms |
|---|---|---|
| Bid on the brand name as a keyword | Not restricted | Banned without written permission |
| Bid on misspellings and variations | Not restricted | Banned, often named explicitly |
| Use the brand in your ad text | Can be restricted, depending on use | Banned |
| Run gambling ads at all | Needs Google certification and a local licence | Also needs the program's approval |
Based on Google's trademark policy, Google's gambling policy and the program terms quoted below.
What is brand bidding?
Brand bidding is buying paid search ads on keywords that contain a company's brand name. In affiliate marketing it usually means an affiliate bidding on the advertiser's own brand, so their ad shows up when someone searches for that casino by name. It's the search equivalent of standing outside a restaurant handing out flyers for that same restaurant, then asking the owner for a finder's fee.
It comes in a few flavours. There's the pure brand term, misspellings of it, and "TM+", which PaidMediaAffiliates defines as "a strategy where affiliates bid on keywords that combine a brand's name with additional search terms", like brand plus "bonus". Adding "bonus" to someone else's lunch doesn't make it your lunch. It makes it their lunch with a garnish.
Does Google allow bidding on a casino's brand name?
Google itself mostly doesn't mind. Its trademark policy says "Using trademarks as keywords" is something Google Ads "will not restrict". It does restrict "Using trademarks in an ad from a direct competitor" and ads that use a trademark "in a confusing, deceptive, or misleading way".
Here's the trap, and it catches clever people. Google allowing a keyword doesn't mean your program allows it. Google isn't enforcing your affiliate agreement. Your affiliate manager is, and your affiliate manager has a spreadsheet and a memory like an elephant with a grudge.
Gambling ads have a second layer on top, straight from Google's gambling policy:
| Google's requirement | In Google's words |
|---|---|
| Certification | "Advertisers need to apply for certification from Google in order to run gambling and gambling-promoting content" |
| Local licence | "You must hold a valid local license for every region you intend to target and provide evidence of that licence" |
| No own gambling services | Gambling-promoting sites "must not offer gambling services themselves or link to gambling services they own" |
| Licensed operators only | They must "link exclusively to fully licensed and authorized gambling entities in the targeted geographic region" |
So before you worry about brand terms, make sure you can run gambling ads at all in that country. Otherwise you're arguing about the lunch while locked out of the office.
What do casino affiliate programs say about brand bidding?
They say no, in writing, and usually in capital-letter energy even when it's lower case. Three real examples, quoted from the programs' own terms:
| Program | What the terms say | What happens if you do it |
|---|---|---|
| Betfair | "It is not permitted to bid on our branded PPC terms." (Betfair FAQ) | Set out in Betfair's affiliate terms |
| LeoVegas | "You must not bid on, target, or otherwise use keywords... that include or are confusingly similar to any Brand name (including any misspellings, abbreviations, translations or variations thereof)" (clause 4.16.6) | "We will not reward or pay any Fees for any traffic generated thereto" (clause 4.16.9, LeoVegas terms) |
| Entain Partners | No keywords "identical or similar to any of the Group's trademarks or trade or other brand names" (clause 5.14(b)) | May "void and/or withhold any monies... and/or terminate this Agreement" (clause 5.16, Entain terms) |
Notice LeoVegas covers "broad match, exact match or misspellings" too (clause 4.16.8). So "I only bid on a typo" isn't the loophole you hoped it was. It's just a typo with consequences, which, as a writer, I find deeply relatable.
Why do casino operators ban brand bidding?
Mostly because they'd be paying you for players who were already on their way. Someone who types a casino's name into Google has usually decided where they're going. If your ad catches them first, the operator pays you a commission for a player it would probably have got for free, and pays a higher cost per click on its own brand while you compete with it.
Google's own research shows how much of that traffic was coming anyway. In a 2012 study, Google found that when an advertiser already ranks first organically, only 50% of its ad clicks are incremental, meaning they wouldn't have happened without the ad.
Casinos usually rank first for their own name, so about half of those brand clicks would have arrived anyway. From the operator's side, paying commission on them feels like tipping the waiter for walking past your table. From the affiliate's side, it feels like free money, right up until the clawback email arrives.
When is brand bidding allowed?
Only when the program says so, in writing. LeoVegas' ban on paid search around its brands applies "except to the extent expressly authorised by Us in writing" (clause 4.16.4, LeoVegas terms). That phrase is doing a lot of work, and it's the only door in the wall.
Where a program does agree, the permission is the product, so treat it like one. Get the exact keywords, markets and dates in an email you can find again, not in a voice note you'll never locate. [Imagines scrolling through 400 voice notes. Shudders.]
| Situation | Safe to bid? |
|---|---|
| No mention of brand bidding in your agreement | No. Ask first |
| Verbal "should be fine" from someone at an event | No. Get it in writing |
| Written permission for named keywords and countries | Yes, for exactly those |
| Permission from a different brand in the same group | No. Each brand is separate |
A safe brand bidding checklist for PPC casino affiliates
If you run paid search for casino offers, this keeps you on the right side of both Google and your programs. It's boring. Boring pays on time.
- Get each program's paid search rules in writing before your first campaign.
- Add every brand you promote as a negative keyword, including common misspellings, unless you have written permission.
- Keep brand names out of your ad text and display URLs.
- Send ads to your own site, not straight to the casino, unless the program allows direct linking.
- Check Google's gambling certification and licence rules for every country you target.
- Save your permissions and settings, so you can prove what you ran if a dispute comes up.
Brand-monitoring tools such as BrandVerity, Bluepear and Adthena exist to spot affiliates bidding on brand terms. Assume someone is watching the fridge. Someone usually is, and they've labelled the camera.
How we approach brand bidding at Seven Affiliates
Rules on paid search differ from brand to brand, so there's no single answer that covers every advertiser. Before you run paid search for any brand you promote through us, ask your account manager for that brand's rules in writing, and keep the email.
We offer CPA, RevShare and Hybrid deals, with RevShare calculated on NGR and no negative carryover. None of that matters if a campaign breaks the brand's rules, because commission from banned traffic is exactly what programs hold back. Asking first costs you one email. Not asking can cost you the month (and a very awkward call).
| Before you launch paid search | Who to ask |
|---|---|
| Which brand keywords are banned or allowed | Your account manager, in writing |
| Whether you can run gambling ads in that country | Google's gambling certification rules |
| Which deal suits paid traffic | Our CPA vs RevShare guide |
FAQ
Is brand bidding illegal?
Bidding on a trademark as a keyword isn't restricted by Google's trademark policy. The risk for affiliates is contractual: most casino programs ban it in their terms and can withhold commission or end the agreement. This isn't legal advice, so check the rules in your market.
Can affiliates bid on casino brand names?
Only with written permission from the program. Betfair, LeoVegas and Entain Partners all prohibit bidding on their brand terms in their affiliate terms, including misspellings and variations in LeoVegas' case.
What happens if I bid on a casino's brand without permission?
Programs typically refuse to pay commission on that traffic, and may withhold other earnings or terminate the agreement. LeoVegas says it "will not reward or pay any Fees" for such traffic.
What is TM+ bidding?
TM+ means bidding on a brand name combined with other words, such as the brand plus "bonus" or "review". Most casino programs treat it the same as bidding on the brand itself.
Do affiliates need Google gambling certification?
Google requires certification for advertisers running gambling and gambling-promoting content, plus a valid local licence for each region targeted. Check the current requirements for every country before launching.
Running paid traffic? See how the Seven Affiliates iGaming affiliate program works, then apply here and ask about each brand's paid search rules before you launch.