Review and Rating Structured Data in iGaming

The short answer

Review markup can describe a real review that readers see on the page, written by an identified author about a thing the publisher does not control. It cannot be used to add stars to your own brand, to summarize reviews nobody wrote, or to hide that a reviewer was paid. Google's guidelines and consumer law say the same thing in different words.

What Google requires

The required Review and AggregateRating properties, the supported item types and a checked example are on the Review and AggregateRating schema reference. Two recent guidelines change how gambling sites should read them. In November 2025, Google asked site owners to avoid using multiple ways of indicating what is being reviewed: either nest the review in the item's markup or use itemReviewed, not both. In July 2026, Google added: "Don't include fake or undisclosed incentivized reviews on your page or in your structured data markup."

Self-serving reviews

Google's rule is specific. If the entity being reviewed controls the reviews about itself, its pages that use LocalBusiness or other Organization markup are not eligible for the star review feature. Google gives the example of a business placing its own reviews on its own site, directly or through an embedded third-party widget.

For a casino or sportsbook, this rules out the most common pattern: a rating block on the brand's own home page, marked up as aggregateRating on the brand's Organization node. The markup may be valid Schema.org, and our workbench will still flag it, because it cannot lead to stars and it invites a manual action if the reviews are not what they claim.

Independent publishers and affiliates

A separate publisher that tests and reviews licensed brands is a different case. It does not control the brand, so the self-serving rule does not apply. Three conditions still matter:

1. The review is visible. Rating, author and text must be on the page, as Google's general guidelines require.
2. The author is real. A named Person with an author page, or the publisher as an Organization. Invented reviewer personas are fake reviews under every rule below.
3. Money is disclosed. If the publisher earns commission from the brand, say so near the review. Disclosing commission is expected under consumer and advertising rules in each market, and is consistent with Google's July 2026 guideline on undisclosed incentivized reviews.

Schema.org also defines positiveNotes and negativeNotes for the pros and cons in a review. Use them only for points that appear on the page.

Fake-review law in the four markets

This is a summary for publishers, not legal advice. Gambling advertising codes in each market add their own rules on how operators and affiliates present offers.

A checklist before you mark up a review

• Is the review on the page, with its rating, author and date?
• Is the author a real person or the publisher, with a page that identifies them?
• Is the reviewed brand licensed in the market the page targets?
• Is any commission or free credit disclosed near the review?
• Is the markup either nested or using itemReviewed, not both?
• For an aggregate, are the counts real and current?

Questions

Can a casino show stars from a review widget on its own site?

It can show the widget, but Google does not show review stars for Organization markup when the business controls the reviews about itself, including through an embedded third-party widget.

Is a casino review about a Product or an Organization?

A review of an operator or brand is about an Organization. A review of a single game can be about a Game. Both are item types Google lists for review snippets.

Do I need to disclose affiliate commission in the markup?

Disclose it on the page, near the review, where readers see it. Structured data has no property that replaces a visible disclosure.

Sources

How SchemaReel chooses, reads and dates its sources is set out on the data sources page.

1. Google Search Central, Review snippet structured data, last updated September 8, 2026.
2. Google Search Central, Latest Google Search documentation updates, entries of November 12, 2025 and July 24, 2026.
3. UK legislation, Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, Schedule 20, in force April 6, 2025.
4. Competition and Markets Authority, Fake reviews (CMA208), published April 4, 2025.
5. CMS, No more faux five-stars: the DMCC Act bans fake reviews, April 17, 2025 (law firm summary, secondary).
6. Federal Trade Commission, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (16 CFR Part 255).
7. ASA and CAP, Affiliate marketing (CAP Code guidance), March 22, 2023.
8. Federal Register, Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, August 22, 2024.
9. Competition Bureau Canada, The Deceptive Marketing Practices Digest, Volume 1, June 10, 2015.
10. ACCC, ACCC releases guidance about online product reviews, December 3, 2013.
11. Schema.org, Review, V30.1 (2026-09-16).