United Kingdom: Issued Reprimand in investigation into Sky Betting and Gaming for alleged unlawful data processing

On 17 September 2024, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) announced that it had concluded its investigation into Bonne Terre Limited, trading as Sky Betting and Gaming, concerning the processing of personal data without consent through the use of advertising cookies. The ICO issued a Reprimand, and recommends that the company carries out continued monitoring of its processes and warns that future avoidable repetitions of the same infringements could be aggravating factors in deciding whether to take further formal action. The investigation, which focused on the company's practices from 10 January to 3 March 2023, found that Sky Betting and Gaming had unlawfully processed individuals' personal information by sharing it with advertising technology companies without first obtaining consent. This action contravened data protection regulations by deploying certain cookies on visitors' browsers as soon as they accessed the SkyBet website, although no evidence of deliberate misuse was found. Subsequent to the investigation, Sky Betting and Gaming implemented the requisite changes in March 2023, thereby ensuring that visitors were able to reject advertising cookies prior to the sharing of their personal information.