ICO takes action against Sky Betting and Gaming for unlawfully processing personal data

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has given Sky Betting and Gaming a slap on the wrist for using advertising cookies without the visitors’ consent.

Sky Betting and Gaming started collecting people’s personal information as soon as they entered its website. Furthermore, the site owner, Bonne Terre Limited, sold the data it collected to advertising companies.

Visitors weren’t presented an option to either accept or reject advertising cookies. In addition, people were also targeted with personalized ads without their knowledge or consent, which is a violation of article 4 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The article dictates that consent must be ‘freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous’ in order for people to make a well-informed decision.

Clean Up Gambling filed a complaint of these practices with the ICO, who then launched an investigation to see whether Sky betting and Gaming deliberately misused people’s personal information to target gamblers. Researchers found no evidence of blatant misuse. The regulator however did see Sky Betting and Gaming was processing people’s personal data in a way that was not lawful, transparent or fair between January 10 and March 3, 2023.

As a result of the ICO’s investigation, Sky Betting and Gaming made changes to its cookie policy so people could accept or reject advertising cookies before their personal information was processed.

“Our enforcement action against Sky Betting and Gaming is a warning that there will be consequences if organizations breach the law, and people are denied the choice over targeted advertising,” Stephen Bonner, Deputy Commissioner, said in a statement.

The investigation into Sky Betting and Gaming is part of a larger enforcement action against the United Kingdom’s top 100 websites. Last year, the British Data Privacy Authority (DPA) concluded more than half of these sites were using advertising cookies.

The ICO contacted 53 of these websites to warn them they would face the consequences if they did not make changes to their advertising cookies to comply with GDPR regulations. Only one website didn’t respond to the ICO’s indication.

“I’m pleased to see changes being made as a result of our intervention, with 99 of the top 100 websites either already offering a meaningful choice over advertising cookies or making improvements to gain people’s consent,” Bonner says.