2004 – No Ads for You!
The AdWords party came to an abrupt halt when Google stopped taking gambling advertising on AdWords. While there was a fair amount of pressure from the Department of Justice, Google didn’t exactly bend over backwards to help preserve this corner of the market.
This marked just one of many times when Google’s policies would reach deep into affiliate partners’ wallets.
Google would, eventually, pay a $31 million fine to the government for promoting an illegal activity.