ICO cookie compliance – Sky Betting and Gaming reprimand

In its continuing crackdown on cookies, the UK ICO has reprimanded Bonne Terre Ltd (trading as Sky Betting and Gaming) for using advertising cookies without obtaining proper consent from users – meaning the business was unlawfully processing personal data via advertising cookies.    

From 10 January to 3 March 2023, the company shared personal data with advertisers as soon as individuals landed on the SkyBet website – before they had a chance to accept or reject cookies – meaning users' data was being used for targeted ads without their knowledge or consent. The ICO determined that the way the company handled personal data through cookies wasn’t lawful, transparent, or fair. 

This case is part of a wider crackdown by the ICO on websites that don’t offer a fair choice when it comes to advertising cookies. Last year, the regulator reviewed the top 100 UK websites and found that over half were mishandling cookies.  

The ICO is also now investigating data management platforms for potential breaches of data protection laws and the crackdown continues.  

This reprimand highlights the importance of staying on the right side of cookie and data protection compliance law rules. Now is the time for businesses to get their houses in order and ensure compliance with cookie law rules.  

Becky White, our Senior Data Protection Solicitor, comments: 

It’s very easy for companies to get cookie compliance wrong, but as the ICO is making it a clear focus, it’s a risk area which requires prioritisation. Once a company has a compliant process is in place, and relevant staff are aware of how to maintain it, cookie compliance is a relatively low resource box to tick, so it makes sense for companies to tick it sooner rather than later

What can your business do to comply with cookie laws? 

To avoid any potential issues with your website and to build a positive reputation among your visitors, we recommend that you: 

• Know what cookies your website and platforms use: Make sure you understand your cookies and how they operate as a starting point.  
• Audit your cookie policies: Conduct a thorough review of your website's cookie policies to ensure they align with all relevant data protection legislation (such as the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations and UK GDPR) and ICO guidelines and that they are updated. 
• Update your cookie consent mechanism: Make it a priority to provide users with fair and accessible choices when it comes to personalised advertising tracking. Transparency is key to building trust with your audience.  Make sure that the mechanism is effective and that the installation of (non-essential) cookies is being blocked until users have consented.  
• Educate your team: Ensure that your team is appropriately informed about the latest developments in data protection laws. Create a process and provide training to ensure any changes to the cookies your website or app uses are reflected in your cookie policy and consent mechanism. 
• Stay informed of potential developments in the pipeline: The ICO is planning to publish updated guidance for consultation later this year regarding using cookies and similar tracking technologies and the controversial ‘consent or pay’ model. It’s vital to stay on top of any changes and ensure your business follows the regulator’s latest guidance. 

Now is the time for your website to get on top of cookie law compliance. The ICO is using artificial intelligence to help identify non-compliant websites and will continue its clampdown as a warning to businesses to take compliance seriously.  

A lot of businesses find cookie banners and cookie law compliance difficult to navigate practice. However, prevention is always better than cure and it is far better to achieve compliance now rather than face the threat of regulatory action against your business. Our team of specialist data protection solicitors can help you implement these points with advice tailored to your business requirements. Additionally, our FAQs on cookie consent provide further useful guidance.