Match intent, not words
Literal translations rarely produce equivalent searches. Build keyword pairs (or sets) by what the searcher wants:
| Intent | United Kingdom | Germany | Canada (Québec, French) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Find a slots site | online slots | Online-Spielothek, virtuelle Automatenspiele | machines à sous en ligne |
| Find a sports betting site | betting sites | Sportwetten Anbieter | paris sportifs en ligne |
| Check if a site is licensed | is [brand] licensed | [Marke] Lizenz | [marque] légal au Québec |
Some intents have no lawful equivalent. In Germany, online table games such as roulette are licensed by individual states, not by the national regulator, so "online roulette" is a different product question there than in the UK.
Record legal status as a variable
Results for gambling queries reflect what is licensed and what search engines allow to rank in each country. Before comparing, record for each market and product:
- Great Britain: the Gambling Commission licenses remote operators whose facilities are used in Great Britain. Northern Ireland is outside its remit.
- Germany: the GGL licenses virtual slots, online poker and sports betting and publishes an official whitelist; online casino table games are a matter for each state under § 22c GlüStV 2021.
- United States: online casino is legal only in some states; sports betting in more. Sample at state level.
- Canada: provinces decide. Ontario runs an open market; most others offer a provincial lottery site.
Our market protocols hold the dated detail for each.
Fix the conditions per market
| Condition | Why |
|---|---|
| Location level | Country for GB and Germany; state or province for the US and Canada |
| Interface language | Google says language settings change results; Québec needs French and English runs |
| Device | Mobile and desktop layouts differ |
| Date and time | Sports calendars differ by country; avoid comparing a cup final week with a quiet week |
| Depth | Use the same number of results in every market |
What can be compared
Raw positions are not comparable across markets, because the competitors, products and result types differ. Compare patterns instead:
- Result-type mix: how many of the top ten are operators, affiliates, media, regulators or government pages.
- SERP feature presence: AI Overviews, video, "People also ask", top stories, by keyword pair.
- Licensed share: how many ranking brands appear on the market's official register or whitelist.
- Volatility: using the same formula in each market, from our volatility guide.
Worked example (synthetic)
| Result type | UK sample | Germany sample |
|---|---|---|
| Licensed operators | 4 | 3 |
| Affiliates and review sites | 4 | 4 |
| Media and news | 1 | 1 |
| Regulator or public information | 1 | 2 |
A valid conclusion is "in this sample, regulator pages took one more top-ten slot in Germany". An invalid one is "Germany is easier to rank in".
A note for sites that serve several markets
If you operate localized versions, Google's multi-regional guidance applies: use separate URLs per locale and annotate them so Google can show the right version. Measure each version in its own market. Pooling them hides the market where performance changed.
Questions
Can I translate my UK keyword list for Germany?
Only as a starting point. German searchers use different terms for different legal products, and some UK products have no lawful national equivalent. Rebuild the list by intent with local speakers and your own data.
Why sample US results by state?
Online casino is legal only in a few states, and each has its own regulator and licensed brands. A national US sample mixes regulated and unregulated contexts.
Which markets does SpinSERP cover?
The United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Germany. We do not publish protocols for markets where online gambling is prohibited.
Sources
- Google Search Help: Why your Google Search results differ from others no date shown
- Google: Managing multi-regional and multilingual sites checked October 26, 2026
- Gambling Commission: What we regulate updated May 5, 2026
- GGL: Whitelist of permitted operators (Germany) updated October 2, 2026
- GlüStV 2021, § 22c (online casino games by state), Bayern.Recht version of October 29, 2020
- Office québécois de la langue française: Sites Web no date shown
Spotted an error? Tell us with a link to the source. Corrections are logged on the page they affect (corrections policy).
