Sky Bet legal battle to proceed after successful appeal

(AsiaGameHub) –   The High Court case between Sky Betting and Gaming (SBG) and a self-proclaimed problem gambler, who alleges receiving marketing materials without consent, has taken a new turn.

The operator has secured an appeal following a January 2025 High Court ruling by Justice Collins Rice. The ruling determined that consent for the collection of personal data from the problem gambler had not been obtained.

SBG is being represented by the law firm Wiggin.

The High Court established a new three-part test for obtaining valid consent under UK GDPR and PECR. The court indicated that consent would be considered valid if either of two conditions could be evidenced: the individual subjectively intended to give their consent, or their decision regarding consent was autonomous.

Based on the operator’s cookie placement and data collection practices, direct marketing communications were sent to RTM. RTM subsequently gambled and lost £45,000 on SBG’s platform between 2007 and 2019, as disclosed last year.

SBG appealed the decision on five grounds, including:

• The ruling addressed a point not raised by the claimant, specifically that the claimant had not argued their consent was invalid due to their gambling disorder, thus preventing SBG from presenting a defence.
• The legal approach to what constitutes valid consent was incorrect, as UK GDPR outlines the proper test as specific, informed, unambiguous, and freely given.
• The conclusion that SBG had not obtained consent was erroneous.

A Flutter UK&I spokesperson stated: “We are pleased that the Court of Appeal has ruled in our favour. This is a very important decision not only for Sky Bet but the wider industry.

“We take pride in our leading position on customer safety and remain absolutely committed to player protection.”

The Information Commissioner’s Office intervened and provided assistance to the court regarding the matter of data collection consent.

With the Court of Appeal ruling in favour of SBG, the case will now be sent back to the High Court for further proceedings.

Wiggin noted that the Court of Appeal rejected the notion that the ‘test for consent contains any subjective element’, asserting that it is entirely objective and measured against UK GDPR criteria.

The law firm further added that the court concluded that what a controller ‘knows or ought reasonably to know about a data subject is not relevant when considering whether consent was freely given’, meaning the test for valid consent is ‘an objective one without any qualification’.

Wiggin stated: “The judgment provides certainty for controllers when obtaining consent. Controllers should assess the information they provide to data subjects about processing on the basis of consent and their mechanisms when obtaining consent.

“If these, objectively, result in data subjects’ consent being specific, informed, unambiguous and freely given, then controllers can have greater confidence that their processing complies with the UK GDPR and PECR.”

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