EGBA Establishes Compliance With GDPR To Provide Data Protection In Online Gambling Sector

Published: 15/06/2020

Reading Time: 3 Min

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A new code is initiated to bring the best practices and regulations to fortify data protection in the sector of online gambling. On June 10, 2020, in Brussels, EGBA has issued a Sectoral Code of Conduct regarding data protection which creates best-committed practices and rules related to each sector.

These rules will assure compliance with EU GDPR 2016/679 and simulate the highest level of data protection in the sectors of online gambling.

Table of Contents

Best Practices and Initiatives Adopted by Code of Conduct

This code of conduct will ensure prolonged data protection regulations across all the online gambling sectors of Europe. It is proposed to strengthen the sector’s commitment to GDPR. It is the first self-regulatory measure in Europe to encourage compliance with GDPR.

A great initiative was taken by EGBA to promote regulations in online gambling and support of the GDPR. The conduct will further assist to strengthen the utilization of codes in the respective sectors to assist the right applications of its provinces. The Code of Conduct establishes particular initiatives and best practices on the following parameters.

Ensures Transparency- It includes the regulations that should be included in a company’s privacy policy and necessary exceptions in the transparency practices according to the particularity of the sector.
Boosting portability rights- It specifies general guidelines to allow customers to share their private data from one company to another more securely and easily. The data may include guidelines for account registration, marketing choices, transaction history, and much more.
Introducing VIP accounts- It includes how the company can generate their player’s accounts for VIP clients in order to protect personal data and privacy.
Safe and secure gambling- It will include how companies can maintain their player’s privacy rights against the requirement to secure them from harmful gambling practices.
Security from breaches- All online gambling operators must formulate an in-depth plan to secure personal data against breaches.
Analyzing fraud- There should be some actions to prevent fraud and make sure that data is followed according to the applicable laws.
Direct marketing- It will include regulations on how to prevent customer’s private data at the time of direct marketing and secure self-excluded customers from experiencing direct marketing.

Code Supervision

All the members of EGBA will comply with the conduct and can further apply to other gambling operations that are included in the EU/EEA. Moreover, compliance with the code of conduct will be supervised by a third-party governing body.

In order to get the formal and legal approval of the compliance of the code with GDPR, it has been forwarded to the Maltese Data Protection Authority. It is a significant step that will include data protection governing bodies in other European countries and lasts between 1.5 to 2 years.

Statements Made By the Executive of EGBA

Maarten Haijer is the secretary-general at EGBA. He stated that it has been two years since the establishment of GDPR. The utilization of personal data and the security of data is still a major concern for the citizens of Europe. For this reason, they are delighted to establish this new code that determines the online gambling sector’s dedication towards securing the personal data of their 16 million customers.

They are glad to be the first industry sector in Europe to establish this self-regulatory code that assists in compliance with GDPR. They believe that data and its utilization will play a key role in the online interaction of businesses and citizens.

Moreover, through this code, online gambling companies can make their customers know about the utilization of personal data. Not just that, this will also assist companies in how to address and tackle the harmful gambling behavior of their customers.