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This week we have a question from one of our readers David, who lives in Liverpool, and he would like to know….
This is a great question and one that we get quite often here at Betting.co.uk. Should you opt-in, or opt-out from receiving emails from an online betting company?
Well, we should probably begin by explaining exactly why players are given the option to receive emails from Gaming companies in the first place.
On 25 May 2018, new data protection legislation came into force in the UK and
across EU member states. General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) were brought in to ensure that gaming companies* took more accountability for their use of customer data.
There are many reasons why this legislation was introduced but for now, we will concentrate on something that is often considered to be the bane of people's lives….SPAM!
The law states that you and I have the right NOT to receive unsolicited emails from anyone to whom we haven’t given our express permission. If you have ever had your inbox plagued with messages informing you that your Bitcoin account contains $5,000, or offering you pharmaceuticals to cure your unfortunate problem ‘downstairs’, then (guys) you know exactly what we mean.
One of the major concerns that players have (and the main reason that they decide to opt-out) is the fear that they will get bombarded with emails from online gambling companies. Often though this fear is unfounded. Whilst it may be true that in the early days of online gambling far too many emails got sent out to players, nowadays things are quite different.
Anti-spam law in the UK is enforced by the Information Commissioner and the penalties for breaching GDPR can be quite severe. Consistently flouting the rules could lead to a fine of up to £500,000. There is also the potential for a civil liability case being undertaken by anyone who suffers damage arising from electronic communications.
These regulations stem from the EU inspired Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003. Because of these regulations, reputable online casinos and bookmakers are not prepared to take the risk of sending out unnecessary emails.
Due to the severe penalties (and quite frankly the hassle) of disregarding GDPR, top online casinos and bookmakers tend to limit the number of times they will send out emails to customers.
Electronic communications (emails to you and me) are the responsibility of the casino or bookmaker Customer Relationship Management (CRM) department. UK licensed casinos or bookmakers will generally send out a maximum of one email shot per week. You may even expect to see something in your inbox as little as once a month. They will only ever send out emails when they offer genuine value to you the player. Usually, this means only for the following reasons...
So now you can begin to understand that, gaming companies in the UK by and large act responsibly when it comes to email. What this means, is that online casino players and online sports bettors in the UK need not be concerned about being pestered with invitations to gamble.
There really isn’t anything scary about opting-in to receive online casino or bookmaker emails. However, you do need to consider if it is the right thing for you. Only tick the box to opt-in to receive emails if the following applies to you...
There are of course certain people for whom opting in to receive emails from online gambling companies is a dangerous thing to do. Betting.co.uk strongly recommends not ticking the box if any of the following criteria apply to you…
**The reason we advise not subscribing to emails if you share an email address with a family member, is that you may wish not to expose close family members to gambling communications.
Effectively there is no hard and fast rule as to whether you should opt-in or not. However, if you gamble responsibly and you are able to manage both your time and your money then opting in opens up a fabulous world of casino bonus offers, cashback and FREE spins. At the end of the day isn’t that a good enough reason to tick the box?
NOTE:
*GDPR is of relevance to all companies in the UK and Europe, however, for the purpose of this article we have focused on land-based gaming and iGaming companies only.
Users must be 18+. If you are having trouble with gambling then help and advice can be found at begambleaware.org. Please Play Responsibly.
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