Data privacy in the casino industry

 

Data is a precious thing that will last much longer than a website or software. They are crucial to the success of any modern business, including gambling. After all, companies inevitably collect information about visitors and customers, but the latter, in most cases, are uncomfortable because they consider it insecure. With the increasing number of cyber-attacks in the Internet space, it is increasingly difficult for entrepreneurs to keep the online casino industry growth at the same level and not violate the law. Nevertheless, it is not the time to tempt fate - while you sleep, anything can happen. For example, in January 2022 Crypto.com platform was hacked - 483 users suffered. As a result, they lost $18 million in Bitcoin and $15 million in Ethereum. Since the encroachment on online gambling sites can be regarded as an indomitable thirst for money and not a sporting interest, we decided to bring over the importance of general data protection regulation. This article will look at data security from different angles, namely in terms of legitimacy, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and standard practices to improve data security.
Intensified cyberattacks have become an insecure routine that only a robust security system can handle. On how to protect online casino users, read this article.
 

A quick guide to data protection law

Before we begin this section, we’ll take the liberty of explaining what data privacy is and why it is so important in the gambling industry.
The painful experience of many companies and even the global trade giants makes us more and more in the throes of uncertainty and the hope that the cyberattack will pass us by. But it is not like that: a successful business may have many vulnerabilities, which will become a tidbit for hackers. According to Cloudflare , data privacy should be viewed regarding a customer's willingness to leave personal information for another party. Name, location, contacts, or any other digital imprint can serve as compromising evidence in the real world. That is why today's iGaming business  is undergoing an evolution of attitudes, where the security of the user and the company's transparency about a collection of information comes first. Remember when cookies used to blow up the Internet? But after a few years, they have become bitter enemies and annoying agents, which are already being replaced by Google's more modern FLoC solutions . Over time, technology is modernizing, and its demand is growing, which means only one thing: the need for flexibility in decision-making and unambiguous legitimacy.
Everyone who processes personal data must also strictly comply with the law ( Data Protection Act, 1998 ). Processing refers to any manipulation of information, including viewing, deleting, or copying.
Three types of participants can take responsibility for data processing: 

1. Customers of your platform are ordinary people who have performed some action.
2. Controllers are entrepreneurs and online casino site owners who use the information to develop their businesses.
3. Data processors are third parties or intermediaries who may also have access.

In any case, controllers are responsible for all actions against people who have shared data.
To not violate the Data Protection Act, 1998, you must do the following:

• Notify the national regulator that you are working with people's personal information. Otherwise, you will face criminal liability. 
• All information must be handled according to the principles of honesty and fairness and for a legitimate purpose.
• You can update arrays if your business requires it. But you will have to set an expiration date, or rather the date until which they will be stored on your servers. 
• You have the right to process contacts only if the sub-actor who provides them agrees. 
• It would help if you implemented appropriate measures in case of unauthorized access by third parties and took technical solutions to protect info from accidental loss, damage, or leakage. 
• It would help if you did not allow data to be transmitted outside the legally regulated territory.

These rules are a brief restatement of the law, but you should take a few robust data protection solutions for the gambling industry's development. Let's talk about them!
 

Data protection in gaming industry

To ensure complete data privacy in the casino industry, you should follow these tips.

1. Introduce clear rules for internal company policies that directly affect customer protection. This can keep you from having your employees leak data to third parties.
2. Create a transparent privacy environment for your customers. For example, you can describe the process of collecting information with cookies (if you still use them), sending advertising bulletins to clients, etc. You may even have to provide your clients with a certified legal undertaking.
3. Remember the main rule of a project manager? It's called “Always have a Plan B to manage risk effectively.” So, you should develop your actions to eliminate the consequences and prevent a security breach.
4. If third parties do this thankless job, agree with them about the controlled transfer of information and the security of its presence in their hands.
5. Study the rules on the national regulator's website. 

Data privacy in gambling also depends directly on customers and their willingness to share. Here is a list of actions regulated by law:

• Entrepreneurs and players who bought the game and registered an account with the publisher. 
• Creating a profile in a gaming community or for an online game.
• Participating in a newsletter or making any information public in a forum.
• Simple manipulation of customer, partner, and employee data. 

As you have understood any action with personal information, you must report to the state management body. Otherwise, there is a high probability of problems.

Also read:  Online Gambling USA Statistics

The principles of GDPR for online casinos

The GDPR is a regulation that requires companies to protect the personal information and privacy of their clients, partners, and third parties. It needs each entrepreneur to be accountable for monitoring and the ability to export intelligence out of state.
Gambling GDPR protects the following types of data:

1. Those that identify an individual;
2. Location, IP address, cookie data, and RFID tags;
3. Health, political views, biometric measurements, race, sexual orientation. 

The GDPR contains 99 articles and preambles applicable to online gaming. So, it would help if you observed the following rules for cybersecurity and data privacy.

• Because children under the age of 16 are very tempted to gamble, you should add a notice of consent from an adult to collect and process personal information.
• Implement data protection in the game design to control arrays and apply preventive measures if anything happens. Reiterate your intention in your company's privacy policy notice.
• All visitors or customers to your site are entitled to a copy of the personal info you handle. So be sure to mention it in your company policy.
• Don't forget to notify players when they stop processing and remove their contacts from the database. This is also called the Right to be Forgotten.
• Store data in encrypted form on your servers. Otherwise, you will automatically fall under Article 32, Security of Processing .
• What happens if you find a server-side leak? To prevent this from happening, apply the preventive measures described in the first rule of the project manager.

Well, anything can happen: powerful systematic cyber-attacks can welcome any business to the prison of its existence. So to keep yourself safe, you should apply these rules.

Rules you need to follow and why
The Code of Conduct for digital casino operators is based on the GDPR and covers the processing of clients’ info. It is also a clear set of rules answering the question of what data protection impact is and how to keep the legality. So let's look at the primary user safety regulations according to The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA). 

1. Gambling operators must abide by the information review system and perform actions aimed exclusively at data mapping, control, risk, review assessment, and documentation. You must keep information about your manipulations for about three years to provide proof of non-involvement in the event of a conflict.
2. A particular category of data can only be disclosed if the owner consents.
3. Entrepreneurs will have to prove their legality through a legitimate interest evaluation, which is a juridical basis to complete a Legitimate Interest Assessment. This point is part of the GDPR requirements and mainly concerns the exchange and transmission of confidential information.
4. You must read and confirm that you are not engaged in regulatory requirements such as Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Terrorism Financing (TF), and Responsible Gambling (RG). Nevertheless, while the GDPR needs transparency, the Code cites a few exceptions: companies are not required to disclose all their transactions if they could affect legal obligations or investigations.
5. The delicacy of choosing automated tracking can also affect legal law. This decision will have a significant effect if it can affect a player's circumstances, behavior, or choices.

To avoid operating on the AML, TF, or RG principle, it is important not to collect more data than your business requires. There is a concept of depreciation in gambling, where competing rights are balanced, and regulators are aware that the company is flexible concerning confidentiality.
 

Conclusion

Respecting the sensitive data of your clients is an immutable norm. This article explained why data privacy is important and how to make an online casino website legitimate. There is a legal framework regulating the relationship between consumers and entrepreneurs; it comprises The Code and the GDPR rulebook, which will have to be followed.