MODERATION · WHAT PASSES

Telegram Ads moderation: what you can and cannot advertise

Every Telegram ad is reviewed before it serves. Approval rates and review times differ by cabinet, the text rules are strict, and the Russian market adds its own constraints. Here is what passes, what gets rejected, and why — so your first campaign is not bounced.

Quick facts

Review time: AI (Gram/Stars) 1–4h · manual (Euro) 12–48h
Approval rate: Gram ~73.6% · Euro ~64.8% · Stars ~99.99%
Ad-marking: Euro auto-marks creatives for ERIR via resellers
Russia (2026): FAS does not fine for Telegram ads through end-2026

What you can advertise

Real estate
Trading — informational, no income promises
Marketplace experts
Fitness
Doctors, psychologists, coaches
Physical goods
Esoterica

What is prohibited

18+, intimate services, adult goods, dating services, explicit or shocking content
Hate speech, violence, discrimination, infringement of third-party rights
Guaranteed income, investment insider tips, pyramids, MLM, get-rich-quick
Gambling and betting; drugs, alcohol, tobacco, weapons and other goods dangerous to life and health

How moderation actually works

Each creative goes through review before it serves; you cannot change targeting after a campaign is created. AI moderation on the Gram cabinet (formerly the TON cabinet) and the Stars cabinet clears in 1–4 hours; manual review on the Euro cabinet takes 12–48 hours, faster during Moscow business hours.

Text rules are strict: no superlatives or exaggeration ("best", "first", "most profitable", "never"), clean grammar, and in Russian cabinets only Russian-language text passes. The most common rejection reasons appear in the cabinet Info section (in English): Editorial requirements, Deceptive/misleading/predatory advertising, Destination, and Manipulation of content (landing-page bait-and-switch).

Your destination matters too: channels made only of promotional posts with external links do not pass, and bots must be genuinely useful (commands like /about, /order). On the official platform gambling and betting — lotteries, fantasy sports, tips and odds included — are banned by the ad policies (section 5.6) in every cabinet, and in Russia many financial offers pass with difficulty or are rejected outright.

Compliant, competitive niches (finance, e-commerce) clear the auction higher than broad B2C. Check current CPM ranges by niche and geo before you budget.

CPM benchmarks →

See live creatives in the archive

Browse approved sponsored messages by niche and country to model what passes.

Open archive →

Pass moderation on the first try

G.MEDIA Agency builds creatives to each cabinet’s rules and runs the campaign end-to-end — a 30-day pilot with a transparent dashboard. We work on whole-ecosystem data from the Telegram Ads Spy archive.

Talk about a launch →How the cabinet works

Telegram Ads Rules in 2026: What's Allowed, What's Banned and Why Ads Get Rejected

A practical walk-through of Telegram's ad policies as rewritten in 2026: text and link format, destination requirements for channels, bots, accounts and websites, the new search-keyword rule, the full list of prohibited categories and a pre-submission checklist.

Telegram Ad "In Review", "Stopped" or Not Showing: What Each Status Means and What to Check

The five ad statuses in the Telegram Ads account explained from Telegram's own help page, how long review takes (what is official and what is not), and a checklist of reasons an approved ad gets no impressions — budget, CPM, targeting, Premium users, channel rules.

Moderation — FAQ

How long does moderation take?

AI review on the Gram and Stars cabinets is 1–4 hours; manual review on the Euro cabinet is 12–48 hours, faster during Moscow business hours.

What cannot I advertise?

Gambling and betting, adult/18+ content, dating services and shocking content, hate/violence/discrimination, guaranteed income and get-rich-quick schemes, pyramids/MLM, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, weapons and goods dangerous to health. The rules are the same in every cabinet, whatever you pay with. Text also cannot use superlatives or misleading claims.

Why was my ad rejected?

The usual reasons (shown in the cabinet Info section): Editorial requirements, Deceptive/misleading/predatory advertising, Destination, and Manipulation of content — i.e. the landing page differs from the ad.

Can I advertise gambling or betting?

Not through Telegram Ads: section 5.6 of the ad policies bans gambling in every cabinet, whatever you pay with — casinos, sports betting, lotteries, bingo, fantasy sports, as well as tips, odds and forecasts. There are no exceptions by country, licence or payment currency.

Does Russia fine for Telegram ads?

Through the end of 2026 the FAS is not fining for Telegram advertising — the regulator is allowing time to adapt. Euro cabinets carry official ad-marking and resellers provide ERIR auto-marking.

Sources

Verified as of September 2026

Cited facts

Prohibited: 18+ material, intimate services, adult goods, explicit and shocking content, hate speech, violence, discrimination, infringement of third-party rights. Source →
Prohibited: guaranteed income, investment insider tips, pyramids, MLM, get-rich-quick offers, goods dangerous to life and health. Source →
Telegram Ads policy (§5.6) prohibits gambling ads in every cabinet — casinos, sports betting, lotteries, bingo, fantasy sports, tips and odds; financial offers get strict review (§5.7). Source →
Text requirements: no superlatives or exaggeration (best, first, most profitable, never), correct grammar; in Russian cabinets only Russian-language text passes moderation. Source →
Common rejection reasons (cabinet Info section, in English): Editorial requirements, Deceptive/misleading/predatory advertising, Destination, Manipulation of content (landing-page bait-and-switch). Source →
Moderation timing: AI (Gram/Stars) 1–4h, manual (Euro) 12–48h, faster during Moscow business hours. Source →
Channels made only of promotional posts with external links don’t pass; bots must be useful (commands like /about, /order). Source →
Gram cabinet (formerly the TON cabinet): paid in Gram (GRAM, formerly Toncoin), opens with no commission, AI moderation 1–4h, approval rate ~73.6%. Source →
Euro cabinet: paid in euros, manual moderation 12–48h, approval rate ~64.8%. Small advertisers reach it via a reseller (deposits from €250–500) — a direct contract with Telegram is, per resellers, around €2M. Source →
Stars cabinet: paid with earned (not purchased) Stars, approval rate ~99.99%, Stars withdrawal/transfer after 21 days, serves all geos except Germany, no ad-marking. Source →
Until 31 Dec 2026 Russia’s FAS does not apply penalties for advertising on Telegram and YouTube (a transition period announced 25 Mar 2026); the relief does not cover Instagram, Facebook or VPN ads. Source →
Euro cabinets carry official ad-marking (since 1 Sep 2023); auto-marking of creatives for ERIR is available through resellers. Source →
Niches allowed on the official platform: real estate, trading (info without income promises), marketplace experts, fitness, doctors, psychologists, coaches, physical goods, esoterica. Source →

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