Personal Data of 28 Million UK Teens Exposed to Gambling Firms in Leak Scandal

A data breech scandal is rocking the United Kingdom as it was discovered a data intelligence firm has accessed sensitive data.

This data contains names, addresses, and ages of nearly 28 million teenagers in the United Kingdom.

The data intelligence firm GB Group was able to access this database which is associated with the UK Learner Record Service.

That service lets schools confirm student academic records and eligibility for funds. The data contained in the database was meant to be used strictly for academic purposes.

GB Group has clients…

…in the iGaming industry including 32 Red and Betfair, companies which operate online casinos.

It is currently not clear how the data leaked, and the Department for Education (DfE) is blaming a third party.

Reports say it appears that the access to the data was given to Trust Systems Software. It is being investigated if this company is the source of the leak, but company representatives have denied it.

A DfE spokesperson was quoted by City A.M:

“This was completely unacceptable, and we have immediately stopped the firm’s access and ended our agreement with them. We will be taking the strongest possible action.”

In a statement released to the media, GB Group said:

“We can confirm that we use the Learning Records Service dataset via a third party. We take claims of this nature very seriously and, depending on the results of our review, we will take appropriate action.”

Officials Shocked

The Children’s Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield, commented in the Sunday Times saying, “I am very shocked to learn that data has been handed over in this way.”

Regulatory Pressures

News of this data breach come at a time when the UK Gambling Commission is cracking down on certain practices within the industry.

Just last week, it warned operators to be more mindful whether or not their games meet the transparency and safety standards they are supposed to meet.

Among the issues described in the warning was the use of “feature buy-in” options in video slots. This feature lets punters spend real money to access the game’s special features such as extra spins.

To combat problems in the industry…

…the UKGC has announced three new work groups in partnership with industry leaders.

These groups will tackle issues such as product safety, the regulation of bonuses and advertising standards.

The last item is especially important as the UKGC has data showing that teenagers and younger people are often shown gambling ads through social media.

According to the Commission, the problem of youth gambling is on the rise with an estimated 55,000 children between the ages of 11 and 16 classified as problem gamblers.

This led to the opening of a problem gambling clinic for children by the NHS (National Health Service) last year.

Source:

“UK Gov Database Leak Exposes 28 Million Children”, infosecurity-magazine.com, January 21, 2020.