The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has expressed its concern over the fact that an interim agreement between Europe and the UK, which covers data transfers between the jurisdictions, is due to expire in less than six months.
This is problematic for the online gambling sector since, according to EGBA, “it does not resolve man of the direct consequences of the UK’s exit from the EU.”
“At this stage, we consider the most concerning outstanding issue with Brexit to be the question of cross-border data flows, given the vast amounts of data used in the online gambling sector and the many companies which have operations in both the EU and UK,” said Maarten Haijer, the secretary general of the EGBA.
“Without a long-term agreement which secures the smooth flow of data, online gambling companies who operate in both jurisdictions would need to decide, among other things, where best to locate their data hubs to ensure as little disruption as possible to their everyday operations.”
Haaijer added that irrespective of any future agreement on data flows between Europe and the UK, EGBA encourages any UK-based company which wishes to continue operating in the European Union to sign up to EGBA’s code of conduct on data protection as a means to demonstrate that they are compliant with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2016/679.
