Researchers at the University of Swansea’s GREAT Centre have published findings indicating widespread non-compliance with data protection regulations among online bookmakers and casinos operating in Britain. The study examined 624 gambling websites and concluded that the vast majority appear to be breaching the general data protection regulation, which sets strict standards for how organizations collect, store, and process personal data.
The research focused on cookie banners, the notifications that appear when users first visit a website and are asked which information they wish to share. Among the key findings, nearly a quarter of the gambling websites tested did not provide customers with an option to disable tracking software, which enables advertisers to monitor user behavior across the internet and deliver targeted marketing. Operators identified as not offering such controls included Hollywood Bets and Admiral Casino. Additionally, roughly two-thirds of the websites studied began collecting personal information before users had provided explicit consent, with data subsequently shared to third-party analytics platforms for marketing purposes. The researchers noted that approximately 2% of the gambling sites examined offered no consent choice whatsoever.
The study also documented widespread use of so-called dark patterns on gambling websites. These design tactics nudge visitors toward accepting data sharing through various means, including visual highlighting of privacy-unfriendly options, pre-selecting privacy-unfriendly settings by default, and concealing rejection options behind additional layers of navigation. The proportion of websites employing dark patterns closely matched the proportion found to have committed at least one GDPR breach, at 86% each.
This compliance rate among gambling operators stands significantly higher than non-compliance figures observed across the broader internet. Previous research examining all website categories found that 54% appeared to have committed GDPR breaches. Meanwhile, the Information Commissioner’s Office, Britain’s data privacy regulator, has reported successfully compelling 95% of the country’s top 1,000 websites to comply with cookie and tracking regulations as part of an ongoing compliance initiative.
Legal experts and advocacy groups have characterized the findings as evidence of systemic non-compliance, with particular concern raised regarding the potential for data surveillance practices to intersect with harmful gambling behaviors. The study’s authors emphasized that the targeting and data collection practices observed appear designed to maintain user engagement and encourage continued gambling losses.
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