Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

PokiesAustralia.com (“we”, “us”, “our”) is an independent online casino review and gambling information website operated from Australia. The site was founded in 2013 by Steve Thompson and provides reviews, rankings, guides and responsible gambling resources for adult Australian players.

For the purposes of applicable privacy law, PokiesAustralia.com is the data controller in respect of personal data collected through this website.

Contact: [email protected]

This Privacy Policy applies to all pages and content published at pokiesaustralia.com. It does not apply to the websites of casinos or other third parties linked from this site — those operators maintain their own privacy policies and are responsible for their own data practices.

2. Data We Collect

2.1 Data you provide directly

We collect personal data you voluntarily provide when you:

• Submit a contact form or email us directly (name, email address, message content)
• Subscribe to any newsletter or update notifications we offer (email address)
• Leave a comment on the site, where enabled (name, email address, comment content)

We collect only the minimum data necessary for the purpose you are providing it. We do not require you to create an account or log in to use any part of this website.

2.2 Data collected automatically

When you visit pokiesaustralia.com, certain data is collected automatically by our web infrastructure and analytics tools:

• Log data: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, referring URL, pages visited, time and date of visit, time spent on pages.
• Device data: Device type (desktop, tablet, mobile), screen resolution, language settings.
• Analytics data: Session behaviour, page flow, click patterns, bounce rate — collected through Google Analytics 4 (GA4) in an anonymised or pseudonymised form.
• Cookie data: As described in Section 5 below.

IP addresses are processed in a truncated or anonymised form where required by applicable law. We do not use this data to identify individual users by name.

2.3 Data from affiliate link clicks

When you click an affiliate link from this site to a casino or other operator, the receiving website may place its own tracking cookies on your device. That operator’s privacy policy governs how they handle any data collected. We may receive aggregated, anonymised reporting from affiliate networks (e.g. click counts, sign-up counts) that does not identify individual users.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use the data we collect for the following purposes:

• To operate and improve the website: Understanding how visitors use the site allows us to improve content, navigation and performance. Analytics data is used in aggregate.
• To respond to enquiries: When you contact us, we use the data you provide to respond to your message.
• To send requested communications: If you subscribe to a newsletter, we use your email address to send the updates you signed up for. You can unsubscribe at any time.
• To detect and prevent fraud or abuse: Log data may be used to identify and block malicious traffic, spam or security threats.
• To fulfil legal obligations: We may process data where required by Australian law or a valid legal order.
• To measure affiliate performance: Aggregated, non-identifying data helps us understand which content performs commercially, which in turn funds the site’s operation. This data does not affect editorial rankings, which are set independently.

We do not use your data for automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

For visitors from the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United Kingdom, we rely on the following legal bases under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and UK GDPR:

• Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR): Website analytics, security monitoring and fraud prevention — where these do not override your privacy rights.
• Consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR): Non-essential cookies and marketing communications, where you have given clear affirmative consent via our cookie banner or sign-up process.
• Contract performance (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR): Processing your contact form submission in order to respond to your enquiry.
• Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c) GDPR): Where we are required to process data to comply with a legal requirement.

For Australian visitors, processing is carried out in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

5. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

Cookies are small text files placed on your device by websites you visit. We use cookies for the following purposes:

5.1 Strictly necessary cookies

These cookies are required for the website to function and cannot be switched off. They include session management cookies and security tokens. No personal data is stored in these cookies beyond what is strictly required for site operation.

5.2 Analytics cookies

We use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to understand how visitors interact with the site. GA4 collects data including pages visited, session duration, device type and referral source. Where required, we configure GA4 with IP anonymisation enabled. Google’s privacy policy applies to the processing Google performs: policies.google.com/privacy.

You can opt out of Google Analytics across all websites by installing the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-On.

5.3 Advertising and affiliate tracking cookies

When you click an affiliate link to a casino partner, that partner may set tracking cookies on your device to record the referral. These cookies allow the affiliate network to attribute any subsequent sign-up or deposit to our site, enabling us to receive a commission. These cookies are set by third parties and are governed by their respective privacy policies. We do not have direct access to the data these cookies collect.

5.4 Managing your cookie preferences

You can control and delete cookies through your browser settings. Instructions for the most common browsers:

• Chrome: Settings → Privacy and security → Cookies and other site data
• Safari: Preferences → Privacy → Manage Website Data
• Firefox: Options → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data
• Edge: Settings → Cookies and site permissions

Disabling all cookies may affect your ability to use certain features of this site and other websites.

6. Affiliate Links & Commercial Relationships

PokiesAustralia.com contains affiliate links to online casino operators. When you click one of these links and subsequently register and/or deposit at a casino, we may receive a commission payment from that operator. This is how this site generates revenue and funds its editorial operation.

All pages on this site that contain affiliate links include a disclosure statement. Where required by the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) guidelines on sponsored content, we identify commercial relationships clearly.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices, terms and conditions, bonus policies or operational standards of the casinos we link to. Always read a casino’s own terms, bonus conditions and privacy policy before registering.

7. Data Sharing & Disclosure

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal data to third parties for their own marketing purposes.

We may share data with the following categories of recipients in the following circumstances:

• Service providers: Companies that assist in operating the website, including web hosting providers, analytics platforms (Google Analytics), email service providers and content delivery networks. These providers are engaged under data processing agreements and are only permitted to use your data for the specific purpose of providing services to us.
• Affiliate networks: Anonymised, aggregated click and conversion data is shared with affiliate networks for commission tracking purposes. This does not include data that identifies individual users.
• Legal authorities: Where required by law, court order or other valid legal process, we may disclose data to law enforcement agencies or regulatory bodies. We will notify you of such disclosures where legally permissible.
• Business transfers: In the event of a sale, merger or acquisition of pokiesaustralia.com, user data may be transferred to the acquiring party as part of the transaction. We will notify users of any such transfer and any material change to how their data is handled.

8. Data Retention

We retain personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, subject to the following:

• Contact form and email enquiries: Retained for up to 2 years from the date of last correspondence, after which they are permanently deleted.
• Newsletter subscriptions: Retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion, plus a short period thereafter to process the unsubscribe request and maintain suppression records.
• Analytics data: Google Analytics data is retained in accordance with the retention period set in our GA4 property (currently 14 months). Server log files are retained for up to 12 months for security purposes.
• Cookie data: As set by the respective cookie type. Session cookies are deleted when you close your browser. Persistent analytics cookies expire according to the schedules set by the respective providers.

When data is no longer required, it is securely deleted or anonymised.

9. Security

We implement industry-standard technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration or disclosure. These include:

• HTTPS/TLS encryption on all pages of this website
• Access controls limiting data access to authorised personnel only
• Regular security reviews of our hosting and data processing infrastructure
• Data minimisation — we do not collect data we do not need

No method of internet transmission or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we take all reasonable steps to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and affected individuals in accordance with the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme under the Privacy Act 1988.

10. Your Privacy Rights

10.2 Rights under GDPR (EEA and UK visitors)

If you are located in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, you have additional rights under the GDPR and UK GDPR:

• Right of access (Article 15): Obtain confirmation of whether we process your data and receive a copy.
• Right to rectification (Article 16): Have inaccurate data corrected without undue delay.
• Right to erasure (Article 17): Request deletion of your personal data where it is no longer necessary, you withdraw consent, or you object to processing.
• Right to restriction (Article 18): Request that we restrict processing in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability (Article 20): Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format where processing is based on consent or contract.
• Right to object (Article 21): Object to processing based on legitimate interests, including direct marketing.
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.

11. Children’s Privacy

12. International Transfers of Data

Some of our service providers, including Google (Analytics), are based outside Australia. When we transfer personal data outside Australia, we take steps to ensure an adequate level of protection is in place, including:

• Relying on the recipient country’s adequacy determination by Australian authorities where applicable
• Entering into data processing agreements incorporating Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) or equivalent safeguards
• Relying on the provider’s adherence to recognised privacy frameworks such as the EU-US Data Privacy Framework

Where data is transferred to Google’s servers for analytics purposes, this is done under Google’s data processing terms, which incorporate appropriate safeguards. Details are available at business.safety.google/adsprocessorterms.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our data practices, technology, legal requirements or business operations. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page.

For significant changes that materially affect how we use your personal data, we will take additional steps to notify users where practicable — for example, through a notice on the homepage or an email to newsletter subscribers.

We encourage you to review this page periodically. Your continued use of pokiesaustralia.com after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

14. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or the handling of your personal data, please contact us using the details below. We will respond within 30 days.