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The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has reprimanded the operator of Sky Bet over its use of internet cookies, more than two years after the initial complaint was made.
In a press release on Tuesday (September 18), the ICO said it had issued a "reprimand" to Bonne Terre Limited, which trades as Sky Betting & Gaming in the UK and is a unit of global gambling giant Flutter Entertainment.
Sky was found to be collecting cookies, which gather an internet user’s information and track their browsing, without consent.
In the wake of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), websites are required to ask permission before they begin using cookies to collect data.
Sky Bet’s website was found to be gathering an individual’s information before asking for permission.
The practice was uncovered by pressure group The Campaign for Fairer Gambling in a report it commissioned in January 2022.
The study by Cracked Labs alleged “behavioural surveillance” was commonplace among gambling companies.
“This use of data is far more intrusive than any proposed customer affordability checks,” said Matt Zarb-Cousin, Clean Up Gambling’s director, speaking at the time.
Clean Up Gambling subsequently made a complaint to the ICO in August 2022.
It took until January 2023 for the regulator to begin investigating Sky Bet. On March 3 of that year, it informed Bonne Terre it was in breach and Sky Betting & Gaming made changes to bring itself into compliance the next day, the ICO said.
More than a year later, the regulator finally issued its formal reprimand. No financial penalty is attached the enforcement action.
Clean Up Gambling’s initial complaint alleged that the data collected without consent could be used to target problem gamblers. The ICO said it found no evidence that data had been misused in this way.
“While no evidence of deliberate misuse was found, the regulator concluded that Sky Betting and Gaming was processing personal data through the use of certain cookies in a way that was not lawful, transparent or fair,” the ICO said.
“Our enforcement action against Sky Betting and Gaming is a warning that there will be consequences if organisations breach the law, and people are denied the choice over targeted advertising,” said Stephen Bonner, the ICO’s deputy commissioner.
The regulator said it had reviewed advertising cookies on the 100 top websites and discovered issues with more than half.
“We are preparing to scrutinise the next 100 most frequented websites, so I urge all organisations to assess their cookie banners now to make sure consent can be freely given before a letter arrives from the regulator,” said Bonner.
