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A Swansea University study found widespread cookie and tracking problems across licensed British gambling websites, with only 14% of the 624 sites audited meeting GDPR requirements.
Researchers also found that 86% of consent banners used at least one dark pattern, raising fresh questions about how gambling operators collect data and steer users toward targeted marketing.
Good to Know
- Swansea University researchers audited 624 UK licensed gambling websites.
- 67% processed personally identifiable data before users gave consent.
- 24% offered no option to reject tracking, while only 14% met GDPR requirements.
Gambling Cookie Banners Steer Users Toward Tracking
The research focused on consent banners rather than gambling products themselves.
Many sites made privacy friendly choices harder to find. Researchers found that 60% highlighted the option that allowed more data sharing, 29% used preselected settings that favoured tracking and 47% placed cookie rejection behind another screen.
The study also found that 2% of sites gave users no consent choice at all.
A separate experiment involving 615 participants found that the most common banner design increased acceptance of tracking and reduced alignment between user preferences and final choices.
Tracking started before consent on 67% of the gambling websites reviewed. Some data collection can serve operational purposes, but the researchers found information also flowing to third party analytics services used for advertising and marketing.
Hollywood Bets and Admiral Casino were among operators named in reporting on sites without a tracking opt out, while Dafabet appeared among sites offering no consent choice.
Ravi Naik, Legal Director at AWO, said:
“It is sadly no surprise to see the findings in this report, yet the consequences of non-compliance are no less damaging.”
He also described the findings as evidence of “widespread and systemic non-compliance”.
ICO Data Shows a Sharp Sector Gap
The results contrast sharply with wider UK website compliance.
The Information Commissioner Office said in December 2025 that 979 of the UK top 1,000 websites had passed its cookie compliance checks. By April 2026, the regulator said 99% met its cookie banner standards following enforcement work and updated guidance.
ICO checks focus on whether websites place non-essential advertising cookies before consent, whether rejecting cookies is as easy as accepting them and whether tracking continues after rejection.
The regulator also published updated Storage and Access Technologies guidance in April covering cookies, tracking pixels, device fingerprinting and similar tools under PECR and, where relevant, UK GDPR.
The gambling study adds a consumer protection angle beyond privacy law. Researchers argued that online gambling operators can use detailed behavioural data to maintain engagement and player losses, creating added risk where profitable customer behaviour overlaps with harmful gambling patterns.
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