Privacy Policy
At Cardmates, we are committed to safeguarding your privacy and protecting any personal data you provide while using our website. We recognize the importance of data security, and we strictly adhere to UK data protection laws, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, store and protect your information. It also describes your rights concerning your data and how you can manage your privacy preferences. This document together with Terms & Conditions constitutes the foundation of our resource and its legal relationship with users. Therefore, each customer must be fully informed with them.
Please review this policy carefully. By continuing to use Cardmates, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to the terms outlined herein. This policy is subject to periodic updates, so we encourage you to revisit this page regularly to stay informed of any changes.
What Information and Data We Collect
During your visit and interaction with Cardmates, we may collect and process certain types of data to improve our services, enhance user experience and ensure compliance with all current UK regulations. The data we collect falls into two primary categories, and they are described in detail below.
Non-Personal Information
This type of data is also called automatically collected. This process happens when you interact with our website and such info does not directly identify you. It may include the following:
- Technical details. Examples include browser type (e.g., Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari), operating system (Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, etc.), device information (desktop, tablet, mobile phone), screen resolution, language preferences and internet connection type.
- Website interaction data. Examples include pages visited, time spent on the site, referral sources (e.g., search engines, social media, third-party websites), navigation patterns and scrolling behavior, links clicked and search queries.
- IP address. It is used for analytical and security purposes and is partially anonymized. With its help our team can analyze general user locations (e.g., city or country level), but they do not provide precise personal identification.
Non-personal data helps us analyze website performance, improve functionality, and enhance user experience without revealing personal identities.
Personal Data
This type of information is also called user-provided, so it isn't collected in an automatic way. Personal data is collected only when voluntarily provided by the user through specific interactions with our platform, such as:
- Account registration. Username, email address (required for verification and account-related communications), password, personal settings and preferences.
- Newsletter subscription. Name, email address, subscription preferences (e.g., types of updates and promotional materials a customer wishes to receive).
- Customer support inquiries. Any details you provide when contacting us (such as troubleshooting details, feedback or complaints).
- User reviews and comments. Any content you submit in public or private interactions, ratings or recommendations shared on our platform.
Sensitive Personal Data
Our resource do not collect sensitive personal data of our visitors, such as:
- financial or banking information
- national identification numbers (passport, driver’s license, etc.)
- payment details (credit card numbers, PayPal credentials, etc.)
- medical or health-related data
- political affiliations, religious beliefs or racial/ethnic details
If you are redirected to a third-party gambling website through our platform and are required to enter financial details, please ensure that you carefully review beforehand the Privacy Policy and the T&C of that external site.
Main Reasons of Data Collection
Here at Cardmates, we collect and process data only for lawful, transparent and legitimate purposes. We strictly adhere to the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We do not collect unnecessary data, nor do we use it for automated decision-making or profiling without explicit user consent.
The key reasons for processing user data include:
- Making user experience better
Our resource aims to provide a smooth, efficient and user-friendly experience, that's why we need to understand how visitors interact with our platform. Detailed analysis of browsing behavior gives us a possibility to optimize website structure and navigation, so that users can find relevant content quickly. Also we can improve page load speeds and compatibility across different devices and gadgets, adapt website content to user preferences, location and language settings. Identification of common browsing patterns help us enhance usability and make our platform more intuitive.
Example: if we see that a high percentage of customers access our site via mobile devices, the mobile-friendly improvements will have higher priority, such as faster page loading and better touch-screen navigation.
- Personalized content and recommendations
The relevance and quality of the information we provide is very important to us. That's why via analysis of user interactions we can recommend articles, reviews and guides tailored to your interests, suggest casino reviews or promotions based on your searching history. Cardmates does not use aggressive personalization techniques, such as excessive targeting. Users always have the option to opt out of personalized content or marketing emails.
- Communication and customer support
It’s important for us to have effective communication with all our users. So we process contact details submitted through newsletter subscriptions, support inquiries, user comments and feedback. That's how our team has the possibility to send updates and industry news, to provide timely responses when contacted for assistance or feedback.
Example: if a customer submits a request through our contact channels, we use the provided email address to respond. But we will not use it for marketing purposes unless you explicitly opt in.
- Website security and fraud prevention
Cardmates aims to protect its platform and users from any cyber threats, fraudulent activities and unauthorized access. For this purpose, we monitor website activity to detect potential security breaches, analyze IP addresses and unusual behavior to prevent hacking attempts, block automated bots and scrapers that attempt to extract or misuse content. Our team also fights spam and fake reviews. For all this, we use encryption, firewalls and secure authentication protocols to protect your personal data from unauthorized access.
Example: if multiple failed login attempts occur on an account, we may temporarily lock access and notify the user to verify their credentials.
Compliance with Legal Obligations
Cardmates process user data to ensure full compliance with:
- UK Gambling Commission regulations (when reviewing gambling platforms)
- Data protection laws (abovementioned UK GDPR & Data Protection Act 2018)
- Legal inquiries or law enforcement requests (where required).
We will never share or disclose user data unless legally required and will always act in accordance with UK data privacy laws.
Data Retention and Deletion Policy
We store your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy. This data retention period can only be increased or extended if there are legal obligations to do so or for regulatory compliance.
Once your data is no longer needed, Cardmates team takes steps to securely delete or anonymize it to prevent unauthorized access.
Every user has the right to request the deletion of their personal data at any time. To do so, please contact us via the details provided in the section called Your rights and control over your data.
Once your request is received, we will follow this procedure:
- Verify your identity to ensure the request is legitimate.
- Review the request to determine if any legal obligations prevent immediate deletion.
- Confirm the deletion within a reasonable timeframe (typically within 30 days, unless exceptions apply).
Data Security and Protection
Our resource takes data security seriously and implements all possible latest technologies to safeguard your information. Our protective measures include:
- encryption and secure protocols – personal data is transmitted using SSL encryption to prevent interception
- access control – only authorized personnel can access stored personal data and only in cases of necessary use
- firewall and intrusion detection systems – our experts continuously monitor our systems to prevent unauthorized access
- regular security audits – Our platform undergoes periodic security reviews to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities.
We do not sell, trade, or share your personal data with third parties unless legally required.
Cookies and Tracking Technologies
Cookies are small text files stored on your device or gadget (computer, smartphone or tablet) when you visit a website. These files contain anonymous data that help websites recognize returning users, remember preferences and improve overall functionality. Like most modern websites, Cardmates also uses cookies and similar tracking technologies.
We utilize cookies for the following reasons:
- functionality (as we remember your preferences and improve website navigation)
- analytics and performance (user behavior helps us to refine content and optimize features)
- advertising and personalization (relevant recommendations for visitors).
Cookies do not store sensitive personal information such as passwords or payment details, and they cannot access any data stored on your device.
Managing Your Cookie Preferences
It is a user who has full control over cookies. That’s why you can do the following:
- modify your browser settings to accept, reject or delete cookies.
- opt out of analytics tracking by adjusting your privacy settings.
- use “Do Not Track” settings on supported browsers.
It’s important to understand that disabling cookies may limit certain website functionalities.
Third-Party Links and External Websites
Our Cardmates platform contains links to external gambling websites, regulatory bodies and industry resources. However, once you navigate away from our website, we no longer control how your data is handled.
External sites may have different privacy policies, data collection practices and security standards. We strongly recommend reviewing their policies before engaging with their services.
Example: if you click on a UK casino review link, any personal information you provide to that casino is governed by their Privacy Policy, not ours.
Your Rights and Control Over Your Data
As a user that is based in the United Kingdom, you have a list of certain rights under the main documents, namely UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. The norms adopted by these acts indicate that the user can control exactly how his personal data is collected, stored, and processed.
Here is a list of key user rights on Cardmates while using the website:
- Right to Access. You can at any time request a copy of the personal data we hold about you. Upon request, we will provide a detailed summary of the information we have collected, how it is being used, and with whom it may have been shared. This approach and these actions guarantee full transparency and help you understand how your data is managed.
- Right to Rectification. It is the user who can request corrections if he finds out that any of the personal data we store is inaccurate, outdated or incomplete. For example, these could be edits to a name, an email address or something else, and our team will update the information as soon as possible to ensure its accuracy.
- Right to Deletion. It also has another name as a Right to be forgotten, so a user may at any time request the permanent removal of their personal data from our records. This may be done if the collected data is no longer necessary, if the user withdraws consent or if there is a suspicion that your data is being processed unlawfully. However, in some cases we are obliged to retain certain information for regulatory or compliance purposes.
- Right to Object. The user can easily restrict or object to specific types of data processing, such as marketing, analytics or tracking activities. Upon request, Cardmates will stop targeted advertising, research or automated decision-making.
- Right to Data Portability. If a user needs to transfer his personal data to another service provider or platform, he can leave a request and receive it in a special machine-readable format. This is convenient for the visitor and can make the process easier for him.
- Right to Withdraw Consent. The user always remains the one who controls his decisions. If he previously gave consent for us to process his personal data (for example, this could concern receiving marketing emails or newsletters), then this can be changed at any time. After that, we can continue working with the data only if there is a legal basis to continue.
To exercise any of the listed rights, the user must make a request through the channels provided on the Contact Us page. In accordance with the UK GDPR, we try to process all applications within 30 days. The privacy of our visitors is our priority, so we make every effort to ensure that you have full control over how your data is handled.
Updates to This Privacy Policy
We reserve the right to update, modify or revise this Privacy Policy at any time. This may be done to reflect new UK legal requirements, to strengthen security measures (for example, to protect user data against new cyber threats, fraud attempts, or unauthorized access), to take into account changes in business operations that affect data collection and processing.
Whenever a significant update is made to our Privacy Policy, we will publish the new version on this page, including the date of the latest revision. Occasionally, a notification banner or pop-up may also appear on the Cardmates website to draw users' attention to the changes made. Registered customers may be sent an email if the updates significantly impact data processing practices.
However, it is the user's responsibility to stay informed about the current terms and conditions of this document. They should review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we handle all data. Therefore, our team recommends that you periodically check this page and the date of the changes, especially if you are a frequent user of our platform.
If you continue to use Cardmates after changes and updates have been published in the Privacy Policy, you thereby confirm that you have read and accepted them. If you do not agree with any part of the changes or with them in general, you should immediately stop using our resource and contact us if necessary.
If you have any questions, send an email to our customer support service: [email protected]. All applications are processed within 24 hours.
Last updated: February 10, 2025
