Google has announced a set of updates to Google Merchant Center and Google Ads policies that affect several sensitive categories at once. The changes cover alcohol subscription offerings, recurring payments for prescription drugs, certification for online gambling aggregators, and advertising for government documents. For merchants using subscription models and advertisers in certain regions, these changes have practical implications, and ignoring them may lead to ad disapprovals and account suspensions.
What’s changing in Google Merchant Center for subscriptions and recurring payments
The updates affect product feed structure, subscription attributes, landing page requirements, and compliance with relevant category-specific policies for products in regulated categories.
Wine clubs and other alcohol subscriptions are now formally covered
The physical goods subscriptions policy now explicitly applies to alcohol. Merchants in the U.S. selling, for example, wine club memberships can use a subscription model via Merchant Center provided they meet several requirements:
• comply with the standard Alcoholic beverages policies;
• set the product category to “Alcoholic Beverages” (ID 99676);
• pass the price via the [subscription_cost] attribute as the total, undiscounted recurring charge.
The system supports only one subscription price per landing page. All mandatory fees and charges must be clearly disclosed at checkout.
Prescription drugs with subscriptions and bundled offers
Certified U.S. Online Pharmacy advertisers can now promote prescription drugs with recurring billing. Eligible formats have expanded significantly:
• a prescription drug subscription with recurring charges;
• bundles where the drug is the primary product and services (weight-loss program, coaching) are add-ons;
• consultation services offering “access to a prescription drug,” including prescription eligibility assessments, either standalone or bundled with the drug.
To operate under the new format, advertisers must maintain certification, specify [subscription_cost] in the feed, add a link to the subscription terms in the return policy field, and clearly disclose what the offer includes on the landing page. Accounts previously disapproved due to prescription drug subscriptions may request a re-review after all non-compliance is resolved.
Changes in Google Ads for gambling and government services advertising
This section covers certifications, regional exemptions, and the risk of ad disapprovals for non-compliance with the updated rules.
Indiana pauses gambling aggregator applications
As of March 31, 2026, Google is temporarily pausing acceptance of new certification applications for aggregator-style content promoting online gambling in the state of Indiana. Advertisers planning to launch campaigns in this segment should factor in the pause and double-check whether their content falls under the “aggregator” category.
It’s still unclear whether this applies only to aggregators targeting only Indiana or also affects sites such as nodepositbonuses.ng. This review site about no-deposit bonuses in online casinos targets Nigeria but is accessible in Indiana. And this isn’t an isolated case.
Business identifiers ads when targeting India
As of March 17, 2026, an update to the “Other restricted businesses: Government documents and services” policy takes effect. Advertisers promoting Business identifiers and targeting exclusively India do not need to qualify as a government or authorized provider. However, they must apply for a policy exemption so their ads aren’t incorrectly disapproved. However, if they advertise any other restricted government documents or services, certification remains required.
General notes for preparing campaigns and feeds
Across all updates, one clear trend stands out: Google is tightening transparency requirements. Mandatory fees and charges must be disclosed, the recurring payment must be stated as the total, undiscounted amount, and subscription or bundle contents need to be clearly described on the landing page.
Pre-launch checkpoints
Before launching campaigns, it’s advisable to verify the feed attributes, including [subscription_cost] and the alcohol category, bring landing pages and the checkout flow in line with disclosure standards, and check the status of certifications and exemptions in Google Ads and Merchant Center. Accounts with a history of disapprovals should be submitted for re-review only after the underlying causes have been fully resolved.