YouTube to age restrict gaming videos with graphic violence, gambling

YouTube will soon restrict graphic gaming videos with realistic violence and tighten rules on gambling content, including casino-style games and digital goods

YouTube is updating its Community Guidelines to tighten rules around violent gaming videos, gambling content, and casino-style games. Starting November 17, the company mentioned in its support page that videos showing realistic violence, promoting gambling with digital goods, or featuring social casino games will face new age restrictions.

 

In a post on its support page, YouTube said the change aims to keep its Community Guidelines “in line with industry standards.” The company explained that videos focused on “mass violence against non-combatants” or “torture” will now be age-restricted. It means users under 18 or those not signed in will not be able to view them. Here is what the updated Community Guidelines are:

YouTube Updated Community Guidelines: What’s new

Graphic gaming content

 

YouTube clarified that not all violent gaming content will be affected. According to the YouTube support page, the new restrictions mainly target scenes that are particularly graphic, sustained, or zoomed in on realistic human characters. For example, a short action scene might be fine but compilations of repeated, detailed violent moments could face restrictions.

 

The platform also said it would look at the duration and prominence of violent scenes when reviewing videos. “For compilation videos, we’ll now consider the cumulative duration of all of the graphic clips combined,” the support page explained.

 

Online gambling content

 

Besides gaming violence, YouTube said that it is also strengthening its policy on gambling-related content. The update expands existing rules to cover gambling with digital goods such as video game skins, NFTs, and cosmetics, not just real money. As of now, YouTube does not allow videos that send viewers to gambling websites or apps which are not approved by Google.

Social casino content

 

YouTube is updating its rules for casino-style games, where players gamble virtually without real cash. Videos showing or promoting these social casino games will now be age-restricted for viewers under 18.

 

What this means for creators

 

For creators, YouTube said that most channels will experience little to no impact, but warned that videos uploaded before November 17 that violate the new guidelines could be removed or age-restricted. Older videos that get flagged will not receive strikes, but they will be limited to 18+ audiences.

 

YouTube has also suggested that creators edit or blur affected scenes before the policy takes effect. The platform will notify creators by email if their content is restricted, and those who disagree with the decision can file an appeal.