The Responsible Affiliates Group made the same point: “There are valid controls contained within GDPR and Data Protection laws to limit exchanges of personal data even if the aim is to improve protections for them https://www.onlinecasinoitaliani.com/recensioni/voglia-di-vincere/. To date this has limited the ability of operators to share data between themselves and with the affiliate sector.”

We therefore approached the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) ourselves, and asked if the GDPR prevented gambling operators from sharing the personal data of vulnerable gamblers with other gambling operators, and what would need to be changed to allow operators to do this. We received a full and helpful reply whose main conclusion is: “Data protection law does not prevent gambling operators from sharing the personal data of vulnerable gamblers. We believe that there are ways to do this that are compliant with data protection legislation. It is important that people who may be vulnerable receive the help they need.”

The ICO explain some of the steps which will be needed to enable data to be shared, and their full evidence, like all written evidence, is available on our website for the operators to read. Operators will have to contact the ICO and make their case for an exemption from the GDPR. But there is no doubt that this can be done. The ICO’s evidence concludes: “Our key message is that data protection legislation does not prevent gambling operators from sharing the personal data of their vulnerable users. Operators will need to ensure that they share data fairly and proportionately and consider particular elements of GDPR such as the lawful basis to enable the sharing.”