Egaming world prepares for cookie law
From Sunday websites will be expected to obtain users' consent before installing cookies.
The online gambling industry is gearing up for the introduction of changes to European Union cookie law, with UK websites required to comply with the legislation by the end of this weekend.
From Sunday UK websites will be required to seek the “informed consent” of users before installing cookies to access personal data, under a law which was introduced last May and which gave affected companies a year to fall into line.
It is currently unclear whether all such sites will begin providing pop-ups forcing the user to consent before using the site or whether other methods – such as including a cookie consent element in a site’s terms and conditions – might also be acceptable. A number of companies, including the BBC, claim to have already brought their sites in line with the legislation.
Affiliate portals such as Easyodds are likely to be affected by the new legislation with the company’s chief executive James Garmston telling eGaming Review that “For now at least we have to recognise it and we have to make efforts to show that we’re recognising it.”
However he admits that the level of concern within the industry so far “Depends who you talk to. We’ve obviously taken advice from a number of people which has ranged from ‘ignore it’ to ‘if you don’t do it tomorrow it’s going to come back to haunt you.”
Meanwhile Ian Sims of power affiliate Slot Junkies suggested to eGR that the general opinion is “wait and see”.
“It seems to me that if they go after anyone they will look to catch out the big spam companies and don’t think affiliates need to worry about it at the moment, but if I can find a quick and easy way to have a disclaimer a might do that,” he added.
The UK is one of 15 EU member states to have implemented the new law, according to law firm Field Fisher Waterhouse, with others to have done so including egaming licensing jurisdictions France and Denmark. However other countries with egaming licensing regimes, including Italy and Malta, are yet to do so.