Gambling Websites Illegally Share User Data with Meta – Prompting Regulatory Scrutiny

The investigation was conducted by The Observer and examined 150 gambling sites which are licensed in the UK. The findings were alarming, with 52 of these sites found be to be transmitting user data to Meta through a tracking tool called Meta Pixel. This tool collects information about the users’ interactions on websites, included the pages they’ve viewed, the buttons that they’ve clicked. It then goes on to send this data to Meta without the user’s knowledge or their consent.

The sites examined include sports betting’s, gambling and bingo sites. The data collected allows Meta to profile individuals as ‘potential gamblers’. These users are then seemingly targeted with advertisements for casino sites and betting sites on Facebook. This profiling and targeted advertisements possibly breach data protection regulations, and these revelations have prompted calls for immediate action.

Iain Duncan Smith, chair of the all-party parliamentary group on gambling reform said that
“The use of tools such as Meta Pixel without explicit consent seems wholly in breach of the law and should be immediately stopped.” He went on to say that the gambling industry’s marketing practises are out of control and highlighted issues with current regulatory structures.

This is not the first instance of Meta being involved with improper data-sharing practises. In 2022 the company agreed to a whopping $725m settlement in response to the class action suit brought against them regarding data breaches linked to Cambridge Analytica scandal in which 87 million profiles of a quiz app had personal data improperly shared without authorisation.

The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is responsible for enforcing the UK’s data protection laws and will be expected to fully investigate these findings. The ICO has in the past indicated that tracking tools like Meta Pixel must be used “fairly, lawfully and transparently” and will take the necessary action to enforce.