Just Google Him
In late October, days before Halloween, Google made a subtle change to its gambling and games policy that could have implications for years to come.
As part of the policy change, Google amended a line to a section on social casino games: “Examples of games that are not social casino games: Sweepstakes casinos.”
The modification essentially imposes strict rules for gambling ads involving sweeps, a category that’s garnered significant controversy over the last year. As a result, Google executive Aaron Newman will be one to watch in 2026 and beyond.
Newman, Google’s lead on sports and gaming partnerships, heads the company’s initiatives across the sports and real-money iGaming industries. A number of top sweepstakes casinos employ a dual-currency model that enables users to redeem prizes, usually in the form of virtual coins, for real money. The model has drawn skepticism due to a perceived loophole that allows sweepstakes casinos to operate without the regulatory scrutiny applied to most online casino games.
Under Google’s policy, social casino games aren’t penalized since the companies typically don’t reward customers with real-money prizes. However, once a company is classified as one that offers online gambling, it is unable to advertise on Google Ads. The new rules have been lauded by companies such as Playtika and DoubleDown, which expect to benefit from the reduced ad rates.
The prohibition against sweeps served as a harbinger for other policy changes at Google. The company also announced it would no longer accept applications for certifications from online gaming sites that promote content from horse racing affiliate sites, effective December 1. The prohibition doesn’t cover regulated companies such as TwinSpires and FanDuel as long as they have met the requisite licensing standards.
A 2008 graduate of Northwestern University, Newman remained at the prestigious Midwestern institution for business school. Six years later, he received an MBA in finance, analytical consulting and strategy from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. There he joined a team that captured the top prize in an analytics competition sponsored by Fuld & Co. The six-member Kellogg team received top billing in a competition that focused on the use of wireless technologies in the healthcare industry.
Now Newman is applying the aptitude he demonstrated at Northwestern at one of the world’s leading tech companies. As with many other top companies, Google is also dabbling in prediction markets. In November, the company announced that Google Finance had integrated data from Kalshi and Polymarket into its AI-driven financial forecasting. The integration with Google Finance has led to a considerable spike in search volume for the sites during 2025. One would surmise that Google will see an even larger uptick in the new year.
Moving forward, Google has signed a number of key partnerships with prominent sports franchises. The partnerships include deals with the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and the Golden State Warriors. Google has also forged a deal with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Newman figures to be busy until then, and much longer.
