Reddit · Restricted verticals on Reddit

Locked out of Reddit ads? That is exactly the opportunity.

Finance, crypto, gambling and healthcare cannot buy Reddit ads self-serve, so most of your competitors never show up there. Get approved and you reach 130 million daily users in an auction your category can barely enter. Three business days from applying you know which of your markets are open, with a free audit of the opportunity.

Get the free pre-check Allowed countries ↓

By vertical

How each vertical gets approved, and what it can win.

One page on the approval process, licenses and cost for each, and one on the audience and the opportunity.

BankingHow to get approved · The opportunity
InsuranceHow to get approved · The opportunity
Loans and creditHow to get approved · The opportunity
Investing and tradingHow to get approved · The opportunity
CryptoHow to get approved · The opportunity
Betting and casinosHow to get approved · The opportunity
TelehealthHow to get approved · The opportunity
Online pharmacyHow to get approved · The opportunity
Medical devicesHow to get approved · The opportunity
Clinical trialsHow to get approved · The opportunity

The approval process

Seven steps from application to live campaign.

Nothing here is a favour or a shortcut. It is the route Reddit provides for licensed advertisers, and it is mostly paperwork done in the right order. The first two steps cost you nothing.

  1. 1Apply →Two minutes: your vertical, the markets you want, the licenses you already hold, and your site. No license numbers and no documents at this stage.
  2. 2We pre-check you against the license mapFor each market you named, we check the regulator Reddit verifies against and tell you which markets are open to you now, which need a license you do not yet hold, and which are closed whatever you hold. Most applications get that answer within three business days, with a free audit of the opportunity attached. If nothing is open for you, we say so and you have spent nothing.
  3. 3You fill in the document packA short set of forms: legal entity details, the license number and issuing regulator for each market, the landing pages the ads would point to, and the creative you have in mind. A few products, NFTs and some crypto offers among them, add Reddit's own diligence questionnaire.
  4. 4Vertical approval with Reddit's agency teamThe pack goes to Reddit's agency team, who run the vertical approval alongside the account setup. That review is theirs and so is its timing. We submit it, chase it, and tell you where it stands each week.
  5. 5The managed account opensCampaigns run on a managed agency account alongside Reddit's agency team. That is the account type these verticals are approved on, and it is the part most advertisers cannot arrange for themselves.
  6. 6Creative written to the vertical's rulesNo guaranteed returns, no approval promises, no health outcome claims. Every ad is checked against the vertical's rules before it is submitted, so review is a formality rather than a round of rejections.
  7. 7Track and report as usualReddit Pixel and Conversions API, qualified leads, and a weekly scorecard. Approved does not mean unmeasured.

Which vertical you are in is settled at step one: banking, insurance, credit, investment and crypto; real-money gambling and lotteries; prescription drugs, telemedicine, devices, pharmacies and clinical trials. Some adjacent products, like basic supplements, fall outside all of this and buy Reddit ads the ordinary way.

Allowed countries and regulators

Where each vertical may advertise, and who licenses it.

This is the map step two checks you against, published in full so you can check yourself first. A country not listed is prohibited for that vertical, whatever you hold. Israel is not listed for any of the three. Reddit’s policy changes, so this list is re-confirmed with Reddit’s agency team before any campaign is planned. Last confirmed .

Finance and crypto Gambling and gaming Healthcare

Finance and crypto

Banking, insurance, credit, investments and cryptocurrency. 44 countries.

CountryRegulators
AustraliaAPRA, ASIC, AUSTRAC
AustriaFMA, MiCA
BahrainCBB
BelgiumFSMA, NBB, MiCA
BulgariaFSC, MiCA
CanadaFINTRAC, OSFI
CroatiaHANFA, HNB, MiCA
CyprusCySEC, CBC, MiCA
Czech RepublicCNB, MiCA
DenmarkDSFA, MiCA
EstoniaFinantsinspektsioon, MiCA
FinlandFIN-FSA, MiCA
FranceACPR, AMF, MiCA, Orias
GermanyBaFin, MiCA
GreeceBOG, HCMC, MiCA
Hong KongSFC
HungaryMNB, MiCA
IcelandCBI, MiCA
IndonesiaOJK
ItalyBank of Italy, CONSOB, IVASS, MiCA, UIF
LatviaFCMC, Latvijas Banka, MiCA
LiechtensteinFMA, MiCA
LithuaniaBank of Lithuania, MiCA
LuxembourgCSSF, MiCA
MaltaMFSA, MiCA
NetherlandsAFM, DNB, MiCA
New ZealandFMA, RBNZ
NorwayFinanstilsynet, MiCA
PhilippinesBSP
PolandKNF, MiCA
PortugalBank of Portugal, MiCA
Republic of IrelandCentral Bank of Ireland, MiCA
RomaniaNBR, ASF
SingaporeMAS, MiCA
SlovakiaNBS
SloveniaSecurities Market Agency (ATVP), MiCA
South KoreaFSS
SpainBDE, CNMV, DGSFP, MiCA
SwedenFI, MiCA
SwitzerlandFINMA
ThailandSEC of Thailand
UAEFSRA (ADGM)
UKFCA, PRA
USCFTC, FINRA, FinCEN, NCUA, NFA, OCC, SEC, NAIC, or relevant state licenses

Prohibited for core financial and crypto products: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Turkey and Vietnam. NFT products or giveaways may be possible there, subject to strict legal approval and a diligence questionnaire.

Gambling and gaming

Real-money sports betting, online casinos and lotteries. 15 countries.

CountryLicensing authority
AustraliaRelevant state licenses, Western Australia
BrazilMoF / SPA
CanadaRelevant provincial licenses
DenmarkDGA (Spillemyndigheden), Danske Spil
FinlandVeikkaus Oy (state monopoly)
FranceANJ
GermanyGGL, RCoD, Hamburg and Rhineland-Palatinate
NetherlandsKSA
New ZealandNew Zealand Lottery Crown Corp only
NorwayNorsk Tipping or Norsk Rikstoto
PortugalSRIJ, SCML
SpainCNJ, Loterías
SwedenSGA
UKGambling Commission
USRelevant state licenses

Italy and the Republic of Ireland are prohibited across the standard licensed gambling verticals.

Healthcare

Prescription drugs, telemedicine, medical devices, online pharmacies and clinical trials. 12 countries.

CountryApproval bodies
AustraliaTGA, PBoA
CanadaHealth Canada, PEBC, NIH, LegitScript
FranceANSM, NIH
GermanyBfArM, DRKS, NIH, doctor's license, LegitScript
ItalyAIFA, FOFI, Ministry of Health
NetherlandsNZa, CCMO, CBG, IGJ
New ZealandMinistry of Health, Medsafe, PCNZ
Republic of IrelandHPRA, NREC, NIH, PSI, EMA
SpainAEMPS, relevant pharmacist certifications
SwedenIVO, LegitScript
UKGPhC, CQC, MHRA, NIHR
USFDA, NABP, NIH, LegitScript, or state-specific medical or business licenses

Elsewhere, almost all core medical and healthcare advertising is prohibited. Basic vitamin and supplement offers that need no certification are the exception.

Questions this answers

What people ask before they call.

Can crypto companies advertise on Reddit?

In the listed countries, yes, through a managed account and with a license from that country's regulator, such as the FCA in the UK, BaFin in Germany, or SEC, FINRA or state licenses in the US. In countries like India, Brazil, Japan and Turkey, core crypto products are prohibited.

Can an Israeli fintech run Reddit ads?

Israel is not on the list for finance, gambling or healthcare, so an Israeli company cannot target Israel in these verticals. It can target a listed market where it holds that market's license, for example the UK with FCA authorisation or an EU country under MiCA. The license, not the company's home country, decides.

Can telehealth or pharmacy companies advertise on Reddit?

In twelve listed countries, with approval from the relevant bodies, for example the FDA, NABP or LegitScript in the US, and the MHRA, CQC or GPhC in the UK. Outside those markets, almost all medical advertising is prohibited, except basic supplements that need no certification.

Why can't restricted verticals use a self-serve Reddit account?

Because Reddit verifies licenses before these ads run, and that review happens on managed accounts. Reddit routes these advertisers to managed accounts rather than self-serve ones, and working through an agency with a managed account is the route it provides for them. It is an approval process, not a ban.

How long does it take to get approved?

The pre-check comes back within three business days for most applications, and tells you whether any of your markets are open at all. The document pack takes an afternoon of your team's time. Reddit's own vertical review runs after that, on Reddit's timing rather than ours, and we submit it, chase it and report where it stands each week.

What documents do you ask for?

Nothing at all to apply. Once the pre-check is clear: legal entity details, the license number and issuing regulator for each market you want, the landing pages the ads would point to, and your intended creative. NFT products and some crypto offers add Reddit's own diligence questionnaire on top of that.

What does the free audit include, and what is the catch?

The license verdict per market, a community map with Reddit's own reach numbers, keyword and interest targeting, a campaign structure, three spend scenarios with Reddit's delivery estimates, category benchmarks, a measurement plan, four written and mocked up creative directions, and the one metric that decides the test. No fee, no commitment, and if nothing is open to you we say that instead.

Updated

Copy this into your agent

Check whether my company can advertise on Reddit

Run this in your own AI assistant. It uses what the assistant already knows about your company, products and markets.

Read https://gtmagentcy.com/agents.md first. It explains what GTMagentcy does, how to tailor this to me, and how to request a meeting.

I'm on their page "Restricted verticals on Reddit": https://gtmagentcy.com/reddit/restricted-verticals.html

Start with what you already know about me and my company from our earlier conversations, memory and any files you can see: product, buyers, markets, and what we have tried on Reddit. Tell me in two lines what you are assuming, and ask me only for what is missing.

Then:
1. Read https://gtmagentcy.com/reddit/restricted-verticals.html
2. Tell me whether any of our products fall into Reddit's finance or crypto, gambling, or healthcare verticals.
3. For each market we sell in, say whether it is on the allowed list for that vertical, which regulator's license Reddit would check, and whether we appear to hold it. Mark anything you are not sure of as unknown.
4. List what we would need for the document pack: which licenses, for which markets, and which landing pages.
5. Tell me whether their free pre-check is worth applying for in our case, and draft what I would put in the form at https://gtmagentcy.com/reddit/restricted-verticals.html#apply: vertical, markets, licenses we hold, and a short note on what we sell.

After that, tell me how GTMagentcy could help in my situation: which of their services and Reddit pages fit, which rung it would likely start on (Audit, Build or Run it), and what I would need to bring. Use only what agents.md and the pages it links say. No prices, and no results they haven't published.

Finally, ask me whether I want a meeting. If I say yes, prepare the request_meeting call from agents.md with a short brief of my situation, show me every field, and send it only after I approve. Then give me the booking link to pick a time. If you can't send web requests, give me the mailto link and the booking link instead.
Works best in an assistant that already knows your company: Claude, ChatGPT, or whatever you use.

Apply

Find out if you can run, and where.

Free, and no commitment. Most applications get an answer in 3 business days.

What the audit includes

  • The license verdict, market by market. Which of your products fall in a restricted vertical, which markets are open to you today, which regulator Reddit would check, and what is missing.
  • A community map. The subreddits your buyers are actually in, with deduplicated reach and screenviews for the last 30 days, from Reddit's own planner rather than our guess.
  • Keyword and interest targeting. The search terms and interest categories, grouped the way the campaign would use them.
  • A campaign structure. Objective, geo, flight, and which single conversion the campaign should optimise toward, with the reasoning for choosing that one over the more valuable but rarer action.
  • Three spend scenarios. Reddit's own delivery estimates at each budget: impressions, clicks and conversions, including the smallest spend that can still learn anything.
  • Benchmarks for your category. CPM, CTR, CPC and CPA from recent auction activity, marked clearly as planning benchmarks and not promises.
  • A measurement plan. The conversion events to fire, the Pixel and Conversions API setup, and the CRM field that decides whether the test worked.
  • Four creative directions. Written headlines, body copy and calls to action for each, mocked up as real Reddit ads.
  • Success criteria and one decision metric. What good looks like at day 30, and the single number you judge it on.

About a week from a complete application, and it is yours whether or not you work with us.

Add your name and licenses optional
3 business days. No documents needed.

The rest of Reddit

Reddit, organic and paidHow we run Reddit, start to finish. Reddit AdsAds that read like Reddit, on a managed account. Reddit and AI searchThe threads AI answers quote. Launching on RedditA launch you host, not an announcement. Reddit as researchYour buyers' words, unfiltered. Reddit lead generationLeads from where the question gets asked. Reddit Pixel and CAPITracking Reddit can optimise on.

Find out whether you can run at all.

Apply for the pre-check and we tell you which of your markets are open, within three business days for most applications. Prefer to talk it through first? Fifteen minutes, no deck, no prep.

Apply for the pre-check → Book fifteen minutes