High Court ruling against Sky Betting & Gaming sets precedent amid expanded enforcement targeting top 1,000 websites
ICO’s 2025 Strategy: Key Implications for Gambling
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has launched its most aggressive data protection initiative to date, directly targeting the gambling industry’s reliance on behavioural tracking. The strategy, outlined in a 23 January 2025 blog post by Executive Director Stephen Almond, prioritises bringing the top 1,000 UK websites – including major gambling operators – into compliance through:
Automated monitoring of cookie consent mechanisms and third-party trackers
Enforcement against deceptive practices, such as non-essential cookies set without consent
Promotion of privacy-preserving advertising models, like contextual targeting
Almond emphasised the human cost of irresponsible tracking:
“Gambling addicts may be targeted with betting ads based on their browsing record – with no easy way to block them. People’s sexuality, beliefs, health and location may be identified, causing unwanted disclosures.”
The Sky Betting Precedent
A landmark High Court ruling against Flutter-owned Sky Betting & Gaming (SBG) on 28 January 2025 has crystallised regulatory risks:
Parasitic Profiling: Justice Collins Rice condemned SBG’s use of 500+ dynamic data points – including mental health indicators and gambling patterns – to build marketing profiles. The court found:
“The profiling was parasitic on the obtaining of the data... it necessarily discloses no distinct basis for lawful processing.”
Third-Party Data Exploitation: Despite claims of data confidentiality, SBG integrated 19,000 data points from Location and 83 from Signal to fuel “propensity models” predicting user behaviour.
Systemic Harm Failures: A problem gambler who lost £45k received targeted ads despite self-exclusion tools, highlighting flawed harm prevention protocols.
Ravi Naik, Legal Director at AWO representing the claimant, warned:
“This judgment serves as a warning to online gambling companies... they must comply with the law in their marketing practices.”
Compliance Roadmap for Operators
The ICO’s strategy document mandates structural changes:
1. Consent Management Overhaul
Implement ICO-approved Consent Management Platforms (CMPs) with equal opt-in/opt-out prominence
Phase out fingerprinting and silent pixels by Q3 2025
Disclose all third-party trackers in plain language
2. Advertising Model Shifts
Legacy Practice | 2025 Requirement |
Behavioural targeting | Contextual ads based on page content |
Implied consent | Granular opt-in layers |
Cross-device tracking | First-party data hubs |
3. “Consent or Pay” Model Guidance
Subscription fees must reflect genuine service value equivalence
No degraded experiences for users rejecting tracking
Prohibition of dark patterns in choice architecture
Financials & Penalty Risks
Costs: Operators face £175k-£2.8m fines for initial violations, escalating to 4% of global turnover for systemic breaches.
LTV Erosion: Loss of tracking capabilities may reduce player lifetime value projections by 15-30%.
CAC Surge: Customer acquisition costs could rise 40% as behavioural ads diminish.
Quarter | Focus Area | Penalty Risk |
Q2 2025 | Cookie Consent | £175k-£2.8m |
Q3 2025 | Cross-Site Tracking | 2-4% Turnover |
Q4 2025 | Vulnerable Targeting | Unlimited Fines |
Strategic Opportunities in a Privacy-First Market
Forward-thinking operators are leveraging compliance for competitive edge:
Trust-Based Acquisition
Betsson’s “Transparency Dashboard” reduced CPA by 22% through verifiable data ethics.
“We report KPIs for risky gaming to empower user decisions,” the company stated in its 2024 sustainability report.
Contextual Advertising Leadership
Kindred’s trials achieved 89% viewability rates using ICO-aligned contextual models vs. industry 67% averages.
Regulatory Arbitrage
Early adopters gain preferred status with media buyers and payment processors.
ICO’s planned certification scheme will differentiate compliant operators.
Vulnerability-Aware Systems
The Geopolitical Calculus
UK-EU Divergence: ICO rules now exceed GDPR in three areas: retroactive consent, vulnerability filters, and real-time audit APIs.
US Spillover: 14 states drafting ICO-inspired bills, complicating compliance for multinationals.
Adapt or Perish
The ICO’s crackdown, amplified by the SBG ruling, forces operators to choose between reactive compliance and strategic reinvention. As Almond notes:
“This isn’t just about compliance – it’s fostering innovation, trust, and a level playing field.”
Operators rebuilding infrastructure around privacy-by-design advertising and ethical data hubs may unlock new trust-driven revenue streams. Those delaying risk joining SBG as cautionary tales. With 43% of UK players now actively blocking intrusive ads, the market verdict is clear: privacy is the new frontier of competitive advantage.
Sources: ICO 2025 Strategy Document, High Court Ruling [2025] EWHC 28 (QB), Company Disclosures, ICO IoT Citizen Jury 2024