Multiple gambling companies have been found to be tracking visitors to their websites and sending the data to Meta without consumer consent, seemingly breaking data protection laws.
An investigation by the Observer found that 52 of 150 gambling sites tested were extracting visitors’ data without explicit consent and sharing it with the social media company. This data included granular details of websites visited, and buttons clicked.
Under data protection rules and regulations, data can only be used and shared for marketing purposes after users have given explicit consent on the websites where such tracking tools are implemented.
The Observer investigation found that Bwin, Sporting Index, Lottoland, Hollywoodbets, Bet442, and 10Bet were among the gambling operators allegedly breaching data protection law.
How the Data Was Illegally Collected and Used
Upon loading the operators’ webpages, the data transfer happened automatically before the user could agree or decline marketing. The report outlines that at no point during the testing did the reporter agree to allow the use of their data for marketing purposes.
In the days following, the reporter was ‘bombarded with Facebook ads for gambling websites.’ In a single browsing session, they were shown gambling ads from 49 brands. The adverts presented were not just from operators who were found to have breached the regulations but also from others.
The report outlines that this included companies unaware of unlawful sharing and whose use of Meta Pixel was within the rules, such as Ladbrokes, Sky Bet, and Bet365.
Marketing material shown to users included sign-up bonuses and a ‘gold blitz’ claiming to offer the user a chance to “win up to 5,000 times your bet.”
The offers included free bets, a “new players offer” with a 200% bonus, and a “gold blitz” with the chance to “win up to 5,000 times your bet”.
As a result of the reported breaches, pressure is mounting on relevant regulatory authorities to take action. In recent weeks, Bonne Terre Ltd (trading as Sky Bet) was found to have used a customer’s data illegally for marketing purposes without consent.
The UK High Court judgment handed down by Justice Collins Rice found that the company had violated UK data protection laws.
A company spokesperson at the time commented: “We fundamentally disagree with this judgment and will be considering an appeal. We have made significant changes to our controls and processes over the past six years as part of our ongoing investment behind safer gambling and will continue to do so.”
Calls for Immediate Action Against Illegal Data Practices
In the wake of the Observer’s report, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the Conservative Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling Reform, commented: “The use of tools such as Meta Pixel without explicit consent seems wholly in breach of the law and should be immediately stopped. The gambling industry’s marketing practices are now out of control, and our regulatory structure and codes of practice are repeatedly shown to be inadequate. This cannot go on.”
The Betting and Gaming Council, representing the UK’s sports betting industry, commented: “Advertising must comply with strict guidelines, and safer gambling messaging is regularly and prominently displayed. The previous government stated that research did not establish a causal link between exposure to advertising and the development of problem gambling.”
The UK Gambling Commission, commented: “Operators may only collect and use data to attract custom in ways that are lawful and in compliance with data protection legislation, and their focus should be on preventing gambling harm. Questions around data protection are a matter for the ICO.”
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