The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has reprimanded Sky Betting and Gaming after finding it guilty of unlawfully processing user data through advertising cookies.

The charges relate to activity ranging from 10 January to 3 March 2023, during which time the firm processed customers’ personal information and shared it with ad technology companies as soon as they accessed the SkyBet website.

Sky Betting and Gaming shared this data before giving customers the opportunity to either accept or reject their advertising cookies, meaning that they could now be targeted with personalised ads without their knowledge.

Whilst the gambling site was cleared of deliberately misusing people’s personal information to target vulnerable gamblers, it was however found to be processing user data in a way that is neither lawful, transparent or fair.

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Following the ICO’s investigation, Sky Betting and Gaming has enacted concrete changes to the ways in which it processes customer data, and users now have the ability to reject advertising cookies before any of their personal information is shared.

“Our enforcement action against Sky Betting and Gaming is a warning that there will be consequences if organisations breach the law, and people are denied the choice over targeted advertising,” ICO deputy commissioner, Stephen Bonner said.

“We are preparing to scrutinise the next 100 most frequented websites, so I urge all organisations to assess their cookie banners now to make sure consent can be freely given before a letter arrives from the regulator.”

The move forms part of a wider, concerted crackdown on the misuse of advertising cookies by some of the UK’s top websites, with the ICO finding that over half of these faced potential issues in how they processed customer data.