Casino app cookies and tracking

Casino app cookies and tracking at a glance

“Tracking” covers several different tools, and only some of them are cookies. Knowing which is which tells you where the controls are: in your browser, in your phone settings or in your casino account.

The last row isn’t tracking in the advertising sense, but it is the data trail most players forget. Our guide to how casino apps use your data covers that legal core; this page is about the optional layer on top.

Cookies on casino mobile sites vs tracking inside apps

A cookie is a small file a website stores in your browser so it can recognise you on the next page or visit. If you play through Safari or Chrome rather than an app, or use a casino web app on your home screen, cookies do most of the remembering, and the site’s cookie banner is where you choose which ones to allow.

A native app downloaded from the App Store or Google Play doesn’t need browser cookies to keep you logged in. It stores its own data on the phone and can read identifiers the operating system provides. Many casino apps still open some screens, such as help pages or terms, as web pages, and those pages can set cookies of their own.

That is why clearing your browser cookies won’t log you out of an app, and why clearing an app’s cache doesn’t touch your browser. For the wider pros and cons, compare a casino app with the mobile site.

Which UK casino apps say they track you

On iPhone, the privacy label’s “Data Used to Track You” heading covers data linked with other companies’ apps, websites or data for advertising or measurement. Here is what the five partner apps declared on the UK App Store at the time of checking.

Ladbrokes stands out for listing no tracking at all, while the Casumo app lists the most categories. A combined sports and casino app like 10bet also serves betting customers, which can widen what it measures. Our privacy label walkthrough explains every heading.

What casino tracking is actually used for

Tracking in a casino app usually serves four purposes, and only the last two are optional from your side.

1. Keeping the account working: staying logged in, security checks and confirming you are in a licensed area, which Apple’s and Google’s rules require of real-money gambling apps.
2. Fixing the app: crash logs and diagnostics help the developer find faults after an update.
3. Personalisation: ordering the game lobby, suggesting games and choosing which promotions to show you.
4. Advertising and attribution: measuring which ad or partner link brought you in, and targeting future ads.

None of this changes a game’s return to player. RTP is fixed by the game version the casino runs, so if you want the figure, open the game’s help or paytable screen. Our guide to finding a game’s RTP in an app shows where it usually sits.

How offer links and affiliate tracking work

When you tap an offer link on a review site, the link usually carries a reference so the casino knows where you came from. That is how operators make sure you get the offer you were shown, and how comparison sites like ours may be paid. Our advertiser disclosure explains our side, and our cookie policy covers cookies on this site.

Some offers depend on that link. PlayOJO’s 80 free spins offer, for example, is available only through the designated offer link and can’t be combined with other offers. If you block the link’s tracking or sign up another way, you may get a different welcome deal, or none.

Tracking and the gambling ads that follow you

Visiting a casino site or installing an app can mean more gambling ads elsewhere. Rules limit who sees them: Google Play’s real-money gambling policy (opens in a new tab) says gambling ads in apps must not be shown to users known to be under 18, and the ASA’s guidance on under-25s in gambling ads (opens in a new tab), based on CAP rule 16.3.14, says nobody who is, or seems to be, under 25 should be shown gambling in ads.

You can also act yourself. The Gambling Commission’s guide to controlling gambling ads on YouTube (opens in a new tab) explains how to choose “See Fewer” for gambling in Google’s ad settings, though Google doesn’t promise to remove them all.

Direct marketing from the casino itself is a separate switch. Since 1 May 2025 you choose by product and by channel (phone, email, SMS), and the boxes start unticked. See gambling marketing consent rules and push notifications and gambling marketing.

How to reduce casino app tracking on iPhone

1. Before installing, scroll to App Privacy on the App Store listing and read the “Data Used to Track You” heading.
2. When the app first opens, say no to any request to track your activity across other companies’ apps and websites.
3. Open your iPhone’s privacy settings and review tracking and location permissions for the app; keep location to the minimum the app needs to confirm you’re in the UK.
4. Turn off notifications for the app if you don’t want prompts.
5. Inside the app, open your account settings and look for marketing preferences; leave each product and channel off.
6. If you also use the casino’s mobile site in Safari, reject optional cookies on its banner.

Device-specific help is in our casino apps on iPhone guide.

How to reduce casino app tracking on Android

1. On the Google Play listing, open the data safety section and check what is “shared” and “collected”.
2. After installing, open the app’s permissions in your phone settings and remove anything not needed to play, such as contacts.
3. Set location permission to the narrowest option that still lets the app check you’re in a licensed area.
4. Look in your phone’s privacy or Google settings for ad personalisation options and turn them down.
5. Set marketing preferences inside the casino account and turn off the app’s notifications.
6. Reject optional cookies on the casino’s mobile site in Chrome if you use it too.

Menu names differ between makers, so our Android phones guide and casino app permissions explained cover the variations.

Cookie banners on casino sites: what to accept

Casino mobile sites usually split cookies into essential and optional groups. Essential cookies keep you logged in and the cashier working, so the site may not work without them. Analytics, personalisation and advertising cookies are the ones you can refuse.

Exact group names vary by operator, so read the banner’s settings view rather than tapping the first button.

Tracking, self-exclusion and blocking tools

Clearing cookies or resetting an advertising identifier doesn’t undo self-exclusion. GAMSTOP works on your identity details, so it applies to every GB-licensed online operator whatever device you use.

If gambling ads or app prompts make it harder to cut down, combine ad settings with a blocker such as Gamban and a bank gambling block. Our page on notifications and gambling urges has more ideas, and the free National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 is open 24/7.

Casino apps with a welcome offer, and what their labels show

If tracking is a deciding factor, Ladbrokes declares the least on iPhone, while Coral and PlayOJO each list one or two tracking categories. All three are run by UKGC licensees and offer no-wagering free spins to new players; 18+ and terms apply.

• Ladbrokes Casino: new customers, 18+. Deposit and spend £10+ on slots for 50 free spins a day for your first 10 days (up to 500), 10p each on selected games. Claim before 23:59 each day; each batch lasts 7 days; no wagering. Prepaid cards, PayPal, Paysafe, Neteller, Skrill and Moneybookers deposits don’t qualify.
• Coral Casino: new players, 18+. Deposit and bet £10+ on slots for 100 free spins on selected games at 10p each; accept within 48 hours, use within 7 days, no wagering on winnings. Neteller, PayPal, Paysafe, Skrill, prepaid cards and certain debit cards are excluded. Runs 1 October 2026 to 1 February 2027.
• PlayOJO: new UK customers (not Northern Ireland), 18+. Deposit £10 or more for 80 free spins on Big Bass Bonanza at 10p each, no wagering, winnings paid in cash; only through the designated offer link.

Read the Ladbrokes app review, Coral app review or PlayOJO app review for the full picture, or browse more casino app guides.

18+. Every casino game has a built-in house edge, so over time you should expect to lose what you stake. Set a budget before you play and stop when it’s gone: safer gambling tools and support. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.