Must Read Gambling Firms Secretly Sharing User Data with Facebook Without Consent

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Gambling companies have been covertly tracking website visitors and sharing their data with Facebook’s parent company, Meta, without consent—potentially breaching data protection laws. According to an investigation by The Observer and The Guardian, this data is used to profile users as gamblers and bombard them with targeted betting ads.

A hidden tracking tool, Meta Pixel, was found embedded in dozens of UK gambling websites, automatically extracting visitor data—including the pages they viewed and buttons they clicked—before users could opt in or out of marketing.

Testing by The Observer across 150 gambling sites revealed that 52 of them shared data with Meta without obtaining explicit user consent. Among those implicated were major betting platforms such as Hollywoodbets, Sporting Index, Bwin, and Lottoland.

Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith condemned the practice, calling for “immediate intervention.” He stated: "The use of tools such as Meta Pixel without explicit consent seems wholly in breach of the law and should be immediately stopped. The gambling industry’s marketing practices are now out of control."

Data privacy expert Wolfie Christl criticised Meta’s role in this data-sharing, asserting that the tech giant “benefits from facilitating problematic and unlawful data practices for its clients.”

While Meta did not directly respond to the findings, it pointed to its terms and conditions, which require advertisers to obtain consent before data is shared.

The issue adds to growing concerns about the gambling industry’s marketing tactics. A recent case saw Sky Betting & Gaming reprimanded by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for unlawful data processing. Meanwhile, UK regulators have begun clamping down on cross-selling within gambling firms, though third-party profiling remains a loophole.

Following the investigation, several gambling operators have adjusted their websites to curb automatic data sharing or removed Meta Pixel altogether. However, experts warn that tighter enforcement is needed to prevent further exploitation of users' data.
 
Too lazy to read at the moment but... why are gambling companies doing this? Is Meta coming to them to buy data? Or the other way round? And why gambling?
I would imagine its a similar setup to what shopping centres do with data collection around spending habits. The data is collected (how much is spent on average, what is selling well etc.) and then the information is sold to specific stores so they can better understand trends and set their shops up according to what is doing well

With regards to the above, I would presume (possibly incorrectly) that Meta buy the information from the gambling sites, then utilise this for target advertising. Anyone who signs up to a gambling site through a facebook ad, facebook would receive revenue for this.
 
Too lazy to read at the moment but... why are gambling companies doing this? Is Meta coming to them to buy data? Or the other way round? And why gambling?
Really good question. It seems bizarre that they would freely give away so much information. I am guessing that it might be junior marketing exec's that don't know any better and are just happy to share stuff with Meta without thinking about the consequences.
 
Really good question. It seems bizarre that they would freely give away so much information. I am guessing that it might be junior marketing exec's that don't know any better and are just happy to share stuff with Meta without thinking about the consequences.
Yeah there doesn't seem to be any context. Why would anyone share data just like that. You normally sell it, or use it, in which case most ToS or Privacy Policy covers it already. Not share it with Meta.
 

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