Sky Betting and Gaming Targeted by UK Data Regulator Over Illegal Cookie Practices

• Sky Betting and Gaming's practices have come under scrutiny for processing user personal data without consent.
• A regulatory reprimand from the UK Information Commissioner's Office mentions the Sky Bet website used advertising cookies.
• The investigation tried to uncover whether Sky Betting and Gaming intentionally misused personal data to target gamblers with tailored ads.

The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a reprimand to Sky Betting and Gaming for processing users’ personal data via advertising cookies without explicit consent between January 10 and March 3, 2023, while visiting the Sky Bet website.

The investigation, prompted by a complaint from Clean Up Gambling, scrutinized whether Sky Betting and Gaming exploited personal data to target vulnerable gamblers. While no evidence emerged of intentional misuse, the ICO condemned the company's lack of transparency and fairness in its data practices.

By March 2023, Sky Betting and Gaming implemented corrective measures, allowing users to reject advertising cookies before any data sharing occurs.

The ICO's action against Sky Betting and Gaming is part of a broader initiative to review the top 100 most frequented UK websites for compliance with cookie consent regulations. Alarmingly, over half were found non-compliant, resulting in 52 making necessary changes. The gossip site Tattle Life remains under investigation as the sole holdout.

Deputy Commissioner at the ICO Stephen Bonner highlighted the intrusive nature of advertising cookies and emphasized the regulator’s commitment to ensuring user choice over targeted advertising.

“Our enforcement action against Sky Betting and Gaming is a warning that there will be consequences if organizations breach the law,” Bonner stated, underscoring the importance of transparent data practices.

In other news, social media giant X (formerly ___) unlawfully used the personal data from over 60 million users in the EU/EEA without notice or asking for their consent to train its AI technologies, as per 9 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) complaints filed by European privacy advocate NOYB (None of Your Business).