DATA PROTECTION IN UK GAMBLING
RTM v Bonne Terre Ltd and another: The Court of Appeal sets the standard for consent to direct marketing RULING RESOLVES A QUESTION OF FAR-REACHING SIGNIFICANCE: WHETHER CONSENT CONTAINS ANY SUBJECTIVE ELEMENT SUCH AS STATE OF MIND FINDS ADELAIDE LOPEZ
T he Court of Appeal's decision in RTM v Bonne Terre Limited [2026] EWCA Civ 488 1 , handed down on 21 April 2026, is the first appellate authority on the meaning of 'consent' in UK data protection law. The appeal by Sky Betting and Gaming related to a claim by a self- described gambling addict who alleged that he was sent direct marketing emails without his consent and that they had fueled his addiction and thereby caused him financial loss and distress. The judgment resolves a question of far-reaching significance: whether consent, as defined in the UK GDPR and related legislation, encompasses any subjective element (such as the data subject's actual state of mind and associated vulnerabilities), or whether it is determined objectively by reference to the data subject's outward actions and the context in which they were taken. For online gambling operators, it
clarified whether or not they could ever have any commercial or regulatory certainty in the consent mechanisms they rely upon when seeking consent for direct marketing. In overturning the High Court's novel three-part subjective test, the Court of Appeal’s decision is welcomed by gambling operators, and data controllers across all sectors, while providing helpful warnings related to the fairness of processing the personal data of vulnerable individuals, including potentially problem gamblers. Introduction and background to the dispute RTM is a self-described 'recovering online gambling addict' who used the services of Sky Betting and Gaming ('SBG'), operated by Bonne Terre Limited and Hestview Limited.
1 https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/RTM-v-Bonne-Terre-2026-EWCA-Civ-488.pdf
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IMGL MAGAZINE | JUNE 2026
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