X reverses gambling ban and reopens paid promotions under new rules
Table of contents
- X has removed gambling and crypto from its prohibited industries list for paid partnerships, reversing a ban it imposed on 18 February, and introduced a disclosure label system for sponsored content.
- Paid crypto promotions are blocked from being served in the EU and UK under local financial marketing regulations.
- Other sensitive categories such as tobacco, weapons and pharmaceuticals remain banned from paid partnerships. Gambling and crypto are the notable removals from that list.
Social media platform X has reversed its recent ban on gambling-related paid partnerships and launched a new labelling system that allows betting and crypto brands to run sponsored content on the platform.
The policy change reopens monetisation opportunities for betting-related creators while placing geographic limits on certain financial content.
A rapid U-turn on gambling partnerships
The latest update marks a sharp reversal from a policy X introduced on 18 February 2026, which formally placed gambling under the prohibited industries category for paid partnerships. That ban covered lotteries, social casinos, sports betting and related wagering services, with violations risking content removal or account suspension.
The original ban had swift consequences. Prediction market platform Kalshi removed all affiliate badges from X within days of the policy going live. A Kalshi spokesperson said the badges had become too difficult to police and that users often confused badged accounts with officially endorsed messages.
Under the revised framework, gambling and crypto have been removed from the prohibited industries list for paid partnerships. Influencers, affiliates and content creators connected to online betting can once again run paid promotional posts, provided they clearly disclose compensation through a formal partnership tag.
Disclosure label, now mandatory
X defines a partnership as any arrangement where a third party provides payment, incentives or other value in exchange for promotion of a product or service. Creators must apply the disclosure label themselves. Those who fail to do so risk enforcement action.
It is important to note that X’s paid partnerships and X Ads remain distinct channels. Licensed gambling brands were already permitted to advertise via X Ads even at the height of the ban, provided campaigns were preauthorised. The real change now is that organic paid partnerships, the influencer and affiliate channel, have been reopened under the new labelling system.
Nikita Bier, head of product at X, framed the update as a transparency and compliance measure. Bier said that undisclosed promotions undermine the integrity of the platform and that the new feature enables creators to comply with regulations while being transparent with their followers.
“While we want to encourage people to build their businesses on X, undisclosed promotions hurt the integrity of the product and lead people to distrust the content they read on X. This new feature will allow you to comply with regulations, but more importantly: it enables you to be transparent with your followers,” Bier wrote on X.
Betting companies, affiliate networks and odds-focused content channels have historically relied on social media reach to acquire users. The new framework restores that acquisition channel but ties it to explicit disclosure mechanics. These resemble regulated advertising standards seen in licensed wagering markets.
Polymarket’s position remains distinct
X maintains a commercial partnership with Polymarket, the crypto-based prediction market platform that became X’s official prediction market partner in June 2025. While Kalshi removed its affiliate badges following the original ban, Polymarket continued to display affiliate badges at the time.
Whether and how Polymarket’s official partner status interacts with the new labelling rules remains unclear. X has not explicitly stated whether licensed or regulated prediction markets will be treated as gambling under the paid partnership framework.
The ambiguity raises broader questions about the boundaries between prediction markets and traditional gambling content on the platform, particularly as US regulators at both state and federal level continue to debate how event contracts should be classified.
Regional restrictions apply to crypto, not gambling
Crypto-related paid promotions face geographic restrictions.
X prevents sponsored crypto content from being targeted or served in the EU and UK, where local financial marketing regulations impose tighter controls on investment-related messaging. The status of Australia under the new framework is less clear, as current reporting highlights only the EU and UK carve-outs.
Gambling-related content, by contrast, can operate within local legal frameworks when compliant with national advertising rules. This creates a dual-track system where betting promotions face fewer geographic barriers than crypto advertising on the same platform.
X has long functioned as a central communication hub for betting communities, odds analysts and wagering media. Reopening paid promotional tools gives gambling operators another digital lane to reach audiences. This is particularly true through personalities who discuss match previews, betting strategy or live wagering trends.
Other sensitive categories remain prohibited
Even with the relaxed stance, other sensitive categories remain banned from paid partnerships. These include tobacco, weapons, pharmaceuticals and weight-loss products. Gambling and crypto are the notable removals from the prohibited list under the updated policy.
The result creates a controlled environment where gambling marketing can return under disclosure-driven rules. This aligns more closely with compliance expectations already familiar to regulated sportsbook operators in North America and other licensed regions.
For the iGaming advertising ecosystem, the move opens a new channel at a time when digital marketing costs continue to climb across traditional platforms. The speed of the reversal, however, highlights the volatility of platform-level advertising policy for gambling marketers who depend on social media distribution.
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