Data is everywhere, and it’s difficult to keep track of who’s keeping track. Online casinos are one such company that people do not necessarily think collects personal data on people. But what if they do, and if so, what kind of data might they have?
This is important to know, because many people don’t particularly want their casino activity to be known to others, be it financial companies, insurance companies, or worse, public. This article will look at how the sorts of casinos you’ll find on CasinosOnline collect and store your data, and what that means.
Essential Data Types Collected by Online Casinos
Online casinos do indeed collect a wide variety of data, and they tend to serve their own specific purposes. Personal identification details, which include your name, date of birth and address, are almost always gathered by licensed casinos. These are needed to comply with age verification laws, and potentially as part of Know Your Customer regarding anti-money laundering, so they can find the paper trail of any fraud.
Next are the behavioral metrics, which aren’t for compliance but instead aimed at gaining and retaining customers to keep them engaged. These track your session length, game preferences, betting stakes, and other habits. As a result, they may offer you better personalized recommendations, for example.
Device and IP address are what’s generally used to prevent multi-accounting and ensure regulatory compliance. They could be used for behavioral metrics too in theory, but given that customers are required to sign in anyway, there’s an easier way of just tracking the account.
Regulatory Compliance
Unsurprisingly, like any website and company accepting money, online casinos have some pretty serious regulatory and legal requirements to stick to. KYC protocols, as touched on earlier, are ways of verifying player identities to help prevent fraud and verify age.
AML help detect and prevent money laundering activities, which in theory would be targeted towards gaming firms online as a means to wash money. Age verification can include ID documents and database cross-referencing, making it slightly different to KYC/AML.
Tax reporting obligations also mandate the sharing of financial records with authorities in jurisdictions where gambling winnings are taxable. This is an interesting one because failure to comply with regulations can result in substantial fines and losing the license. This means that the tax office may also know about your activity, but it heavily depends on the jurisdiction. In the UK for example, winnings are not taxable anyway.
Finally, GDPR, like for all sites, is needed so that users inform their consent before data collection. Operators must also allow users access to their data too, so in theory, you can actually request all the data they have on you and read it for yourself. Importantly, you can request to have it deleted!
Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) may be needed for high-value players, which are measures that go above and beyond to ensure protection for both players and the integrity of the online gambling industry.
Player Protection
Online casinos have many measures to protect players and promote responsible gambling. Behavioral pattern monitoring can help identify users exhibiting signs of problematic gambling, and this can be used to block players (though this isn’t all that common). Self-exclusion are integral in mature gambling markets to remain safe as they allow players to ban themselves. But, they can ban themselves from all platforms that comply with these rules, and therefore such sharing of data is necessary (and it’s opt-in).
Spending limits also help users to control their deposits and wagers, so this is extra data they have.
Marketing Uses
Online casinos leverage player data extensively for marketing and personalization. Promotional campaigns are designed to appeal to specific player segments. So, if you’ve shown a preference for a certain type of game or mechanic, this may be the email you receive in your newsletter, which could be different from other players. This is generally legal, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if regulations catch up on this, just as they have done with crypto.
Security Measures and Data Protection
Online casinos use security measures to safeguard player data, but this will vary from casino to casino (though, regulating bodies may have their own requirements). Encryption protocols like SSL and TLS are needed to convert info into unreadable code. Of course, financial transfers are occurring, so they must be safe. But things like 2-factor authentication when signing in is generally up to the casino, and many are yet to use it. Regular security audits identify vulnerabilities and are often needed for compliance with security standards.
Despite security measures, privacy risks persist, and your data can never be said to be 100% safe because mistakes and attacks occur. However, to minimize your risks, it’s best to only use licensed casinos, and ones that are reputable with a strong track record. And remember, according to GDPR, you can request to have your account, and all data pertaining to it, permanently deleted.
