Google Ads is updating the United Arab Emirates licensing requirements in its Cryptocurrencies and related products policy and its Complex speculative financial products policy, effective October 21, 2026, according to the platform's official policy page as tracked by AuditSocials.

Under the updated policy, cryptocurrency exchanges and software wallets advertising to the UAE must be licensed by the Capital Market Authority (CMA), Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) or Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). The current policy lists only FSRA (multilateral trading facility licence) and VARA.

For contracts for difference (CFDs) and rolling spot forex ads targeting the UAE, the accepted regulators become CMA, DFSA and FSRA. CMA replaces the Securities & Commodities Authority (SCA) in the current list.

Google certification is still required. Google says violations will receive a warning at least 7 days before any account suspension.

The change affects paid ads from finance advertisers targeting the UAE. AuditSocials detected the change on October 20, 2026, and rated its severity as medium.