SBC News

Sky Betting and Gaming (Sky Bet) has been reprimanded by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for unlawful data processing practices.

This morning, the ICO revealed that following an investigation, it had concluded that Sky Bet had processed personal data through advertising cookies without providing users’ consent.

The investigation was launched following a complaint submitted to the ICO by gambling reform campaigners Clean Up Gambling.

The complaint, which was publicised by the Financial Times and Daily Mail, accused Sky Bet of illegally gathering data to build “detailed and intimate profiles of individuals, often without their knowledge.”

Clean Up Gambling’s complaint demanded that the ICO investigate whether Sky Bet was deliberately using personal data without consent to target vulnerable gamblers – “such profiles include indicators of personal vulnerability and addictive behaviours, which can then be used to target the most vulnerable.”

The ICO investigation found that..

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has published wave-1 datasets of Year-2 (2024) of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) providing statistics on gambling participation.

The redesigned survey forms part of the Gambling Commission’s new operating structure monitoring UK gambling prevalence and activities under a new methodology and approach to data collection.

As previously noted, the Commission supports a new survey “to establish a new baseline for understanding gambling behaviours in Great Britain.”

The Commission stands by its new methodology to provide the most comprehensive evaluation of gambling participation undertaken by a regulatory authority.

For 2024, wave-1 datasets on gambling participation have been published for fieldwork conducted on a sample size of 5191 adults aged 18+, by the National Centre of Social Research (NatCen) for the period of January-to-April.

Once more, the Commission reminds stakeholders that datasets of the GSGB are not comparable with previo..

Finland’s government has been advised to maintain an open approach to marketing and customer incentives as it begins its roadmap to launch a new gambling regime in 2027.

The recommendation comes from the European Gaming Betting Association (EGBA), the Brussels-based trade group promoting unified standards for regulated European gambling markets.

The EGBA welcomes Finland initiating a timeframe of 2024 to 2026 to launch its new gambling regime, ending its status as the “only EU member state with a monopoly system for online gambling.” The trade body welcomes Finland’s shift towards a multi-licensing approach for online gambling as a positive change.

Proceedings began in July with the Ministry of the Interior launching a consultation seeking feedback on how to structure Finland’s online gambling market to ensure consumers are protected from harm.

The EGBA supports the decision to withdraw state-owned monopoly operator Veikkaus Oy from Finland’s new online gambling marketplace in 2027..

Sweden has recorded total gross gaming revenues (GGR) of SEK 6.89bn (€602m) during Q2 2024.

The total GGR figure was revealed by the Gambling Inspectorate Spelinspektionen’s monitoring of gambling activities for Swedish licensed land-based and online businesses.

Q2’s GGR of SEK 6.89bn (€602m) surpasses the SEK6.71bn (€586.8m) recorded in Q2 2023 and is 3.3% higher than Q1 2024’s revenue of SEK6.67bn (€583.1m).

The inspectorate’s data reveals that Sweden has recorded its highest Q2 wagering activities since records began in 2019, corresponding with Sweden relaunching its gambling marketplace.

Online gambling, including Svenska Spel revenues, remains the largest revenue segment, generating a 9.2% increase in GGR to SEK 4.57bn (€399.4m). The outcome surpasses all previous quarterly results tracked by Spelinspektionen.

GGR figures recorded by Sweden’s national lottery declined by 7.5% to SEK1.29bn (€112.8m), marking its lowest quarter since Q1 2020.

Further segments saw state-owned C..