{
  "id": 5944037,
  "title": "Online bookies accused of UK privacy breaches with use of cookie banners",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/06/online-bookies-accused-of-uk-privacy-breaches-with-use-of-cookie-5944037",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-06T07:00:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Guardian Technology",
    "slug": "guardian-technology",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/06/online-bookies-privacy-breaches-cookies-tracking"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A study conducted by researchers at the University of Swansea's GREAT Centre reveals that 86% of licensed British gambling websites, including major operators like Ladbrokes, William Hill, Hollywood Bets, and Admiral Casino, are allegedly violating data privacy regulations such as the GDPR. The majority of these websites, 24%, do not offer users the option to disable tracking software, which allows advertisers to follow users and target them with personalized marketing. Furthermore, two-thirds of these operators began collecting user data before obtaining consent, a practice found to include data being sent to third-party analytics platforms for marketing purposes. Researchers also found that 86% of the websites feature \"dark patterns\" intended to push users towards accepting data sharing, such as emphasizing the least privacy-friendly option, default pre-selection of privacy-unfriendly settings, and hiding the reject option behind a second layer. Despite the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) having forced 95% of the top 1,000 websites to comply with cookie and tracking regulations, the researchers claim that the ICO has failed to take meaningful enforcement action against the online gambling sector, which they describe as displaying \"widespread and systemic non-compliance.\"",
  "summary": "Most gambling websites nudge users towards accepting tracking data and harvest it before consent is given, study shows Online bookmakers and casinos have been accused of widespread non-compliance of information privacy requirements, including “data surveillance” of customers, according to a study. Nearly nine out of 10 (86%) licensed British gambling websites appear to be flouting the general…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Guardian Business",
        "title": "Online bookies accused of UK privacy breaches with use of cookie banners",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/06/online-bookies-accused-of-uk-privacy-breaches-with-use-of-cookie",
        "published": "2026-09-06T07:00:01.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}