UK Gambling Websites Face Cookie Consent Scrutiny After Swansea University Study

A new Swansea University study has put cookie consent practices across the UK gambling sector under closer scrutiny. The research found that many licensed gambling websites use consent-banner designs that may steer visitors toward accepting tracking, rather than helping them make a clear and freely chosen privacy decision.

The findings matter because gambling platforms can collect detailed behavioural information through browsing, account use, visit frequency, product interactions and play activity. When consent is clear, balanced and meaningful, users are better positioned to control how that information is used. For operators, transparent privacy practices can support stronger customer trust and a more sustainable digital experience.

What the Swansea University research examined

Researchers associated with Swansea University’s Gambling Research, Education and Treatment Centre examined 624 licensed UK gambling websites. They assessed cookie-consent banners against GDPR-related requirements and reviewed whether their design included techniques commonly described as dark patterns.

Dark patterns are interface choices designed to influence a user’s behaviour in a particular direction. In a cookie banner, this can include making an “accept all” option brighter, larger or easier to find than the option to refuse non-essential tracking. It can also involve adding extra steps to reject cookies or making the available choices unclear.

The research also included an experiment with 615 participants. This part of the study tested whether banner design affected real choices about tracking. The results indicated that manipulative consent designs could increase acceptance rates, including in situations where accepting tracking did not align with a participant’s stated privacy preferences.

Key findings from the audit

The audit identified several significant patterns across the licensed gambling websites reviewed. While cookie notices were widespread, the presence of a banner did not necessarily mean that visitors were offered a balanced or compliant choice.

These figures point to an opportunity for the sector to improve. A privacy notice is most useful when it gives people a genuine, understandable choice before non-essential data collection begins. Clear design can turn consent from a frustrating obstacle into a positive part of the customer experience.

Why cookie consent is especially important in online gambling

Cookies and similar technologies have legitimate uses. Some are necessary to deliver core website functions, such as keeping a user logged in, remembering security settings or supporting essential account processes. Other tools help websites measure performance, understand site journeys or provide advertising and marketing services.

However, analytics and advertising technologies can also generate a detailed record of a person’s interactions with an online service. In gambling, those interactions may include:

• How often a person visits a platform.
• Which pages, games or betting markets they view, including when they use a slot machine online.
• How long they spend using particular products.
• How they move between promotions, account tools and gameplay areas.
• Patterns of engagement over time.
• Responses to marketing messages or personalised offers.

Viewed together, this information can reveal meaningful behavioural patterns. That is why an effective consent process should give users an easy way to decide whether non-essential tracking is acceptable to them. It should also ensure that the decision is respected in practice.

How dark patterns can shape privacy decisions

The Swansea University experiment reinforces an important point: consent-banner design is not merely cosmetic. The layout, wording, colour, button size and number of steps can influence what users ultimately choose.

A visitor may be more likely to accept all cookies when acceptance is immediate and visually prominent, while refusal is hidden behind a secondary menu or written in low-contrast text. Likewise, users can be pushed toward acceptance if the rejection route requires several additional screens.

These approaches may increase acceptance in the short term, but they can undermine confidence when users later realise that a choice was not as straightforward as it appeared. A better approach is to make privacy choices easy to identify, equally accessible and understandable at a glance.

Examples of clearer consent design

Transparent cookie interfaces can help both consumers and responsible operators. Practical features may include:

• Presenting “accept” and “reject” options with similar visual prominence.
• Using plain language to explain the purpose of each cookie category.
• Offering a simple route to manage preferences without unnecessary steps.
• Keeping non-essential analytics and advertising tools inactive until consent is obtained.
• Making it easy for users to revisit or withdraw consent later.
• Separating essential operational cookies from optional tracking technologies.

When implemented well, these measures can reduce confusion and demonstrate that customer choice is valued rather than treated as a barrier to data collection.

The importance of consent before non-essential tracking

One of the study’s most notable findings was that 67% of the audited websites processed personally identifiable data before consent had been obtained. Under UK data-protection expectations, non-essential tracking generally requires meaningful consent. Essential cookies may be needed for a service to function, but advertising and optional analytics technologies should not simply begin collecting personal information by default.

The distinction is important. Users may reasonably expect a gambling website to use necessary technologies for security, login sessions and other core functions. They may not expect optional advertising or profiling tools to begin operating before they have had a real opportunity to decide.

A consent-led model offers a constructive path forward. It encourages operators to map the technologies on their sites, identify which cookies are strictly necessary, control third-party tags and ensure that optional trackers follow the user’s stated preferences.

What the findings mean for gambling operators

For gambling businesses, privacy improvements can be more than a compliance exercise. A well-designed consent experience can support credibility in an industry where customer protection, fairness and responsible conduct are central to long-term success.

Operators that prioritise transparent data practices can create several practical advantages:

• Stronger customer confidence: Clear choices show visitors that their preferences are respected.
• Better governance: Cookie reviews can reveal unmanaged tags, outdated vendors and unclear internal data flows.
• More reliable consent records: A structured consent process can help organisations demonstrate how and when preferences were captured.
• Improved user experience: Simple banners reduce friction and help visitors make decisions quickly.
• Reduced regulatory exposure: Proactive compliance work can help address issues before enforcement action is required.
• Alignment with responsible gambling values: Privacy-respecting design supports a broader commitment to treating customers fairly.

The study’s findings suggest that many websites have room to improve, but that also creates a clear opportunity for operators that choose to lead with straightforward, user-centred consent practices.

Why clearer regulatory standards could help

The researchers called for stronger enforcement and clearer standards around cookie-consent design. More specific expectations could help create consistency across the market, making it easier for users to recognise a genuine choice and easier for operators to understand what good practice looks like.

Clear standards could address areas such as visual symmetry between acceptance and rejection options, the maximum number of steps required to refuse optional tracking, the use of pre-selected settings and the treatment of third-party advertising technologies before consent.

Stronger clarity can benefit compliant businesses as well as consumers. When expectations are consistent, operators that invest in privacy-first systems are less likely to compete against designs that rely on friction, confusion or behavioural pressure.

A practical privacy checklist for online gambling websites

Gambling operators reviewing their cookie practices can begin with a focused set of questions:

1. Can a visitor reject non-essential cookies as easily as they can accept them?
2. Are acceptance and rejection choices presented with comparable prominence?
3. Does the banner explain cookie purposes in clear, accessible language?
4. Are optional analytics and advertising tools blocked before consent?
5. Have all third-party scripts and tags been identified and categorised?
6. Can users revisit, change or withdraw their preferences without difficulty?
7. Are consent records maintained in a way that supports accountability?
8. Does the design avoid unnecessary pressure, confusing wording or repeated prompts?

Regular testing is also valuable. Cookie technology changes quickly, especially when third-party marketing, analytics and personalisation tools are involved. A banner that appears compliant at launch can become less reliable over time if new tags are added without proper controls.

A better path for privacy and customer trust

The Swansea University research highlights a significant gap between the presence of cookie banners and the quality of consent they provide. With 86% of audited websites found to use at least one assessed dark pattern, and only 14% meeting all assessed GDPR requirements, the evidence points to a sector-wide need for more transparent privacy design.

At the same time, the findings identify a practical route to improvement. Gambling websites can make consent choices clear, balanced and easy to act on. They can prevent non-essential tracking before permission is given. They can also treat privacy as part of a wider commitment to fair and responsible customer relationships.

For users, that means more meaningful control over behavioural data. For operators, it offers an opportunity to build trust through clarity, accountability and a better digital experience. In an industry built on online engagement, making privacy choices genuinely accessible is not simply a legal consideration; it is a meaningful way to show respect for every customer.