Cookie Policy
This page lists the cookies and similar technologies in use on Gala Bingo, what each one does, how long it sits on your device, and how to control or remove them. The broader topic of personal-data handling is covered separately on the Privacy Policy page; this page serves as the technical partner to that one. The site as a whole is summarised on the About page, while the flagship operator write-up opens at the Gala Bingo Casino homepage.
1. Cookies in plain language
A cookie is a small text file that a website asks your browser to keep on the device. The next time that same site loads, the browser sends the file back, letting the site recognise the visit, remember a setting, or count traffic. Cookies cannot execute code on your machine, cannot read other files, and cannot identify you personally without additional information already tied to the cookie. Many things popularly called "cookies" today are technically alternative browser-storage mechanisms — localStorage, sessionStorage, IndexedDB — that operate in much the same way; for plain English, the term "cookie" on this page covers all of them.
2. Cookie types deployed across Gala Bingo
Gala Bingo deploys three categories of cookie. These are shown to you on first visit via a consent banner, and your selection can be changed at any moment through the link in the site footer.
| Category | Purpose | Consent required |
|---|---|---|
| Strictly necessary | Make the site work: load the page, remember your cookie-banner choice, route traffic, prevent abuse. | No (legal basis: legitimate interest) |
| Analytics | Anonymous, aggregated traffic measurement: which pages are read, where readers come from, which links are clicked. | Yes |
| Affiliate tracking | Recognise that a click through to an operator came from Gala Bingo so the partnership can be credited. | Yes |
Gala Bingo does not deploy advertising or remarketing cookies. We do not run on-site display advertising, do not operate programmatic ad networks, and do not pixel-track readers across other websites. The funding model behind this site is documented on the Affiliate Disclosure page.
3. Individual cookies — sources and storage durations
The table below covers the cookies that can be set when you visit Gala Bingo. Third-party cookies are placed by services Gala Bingo relies on; full control over their behaviour stays with the third party, with links to their own policies provided alongside.
| Name | Set by | Category | Purpose | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|---|---|
galabingo_consent | Gala Bingo | Strictly necessary | Stores your cookie-banner choice so the banner does not reappear on every page load. | 12 months |
galabingo_session | Gala Bingo | Strictly necessary | Anonymous session identifier used to load assets and rate-limit abusive traffic. | Until browser closes |
_ga, _ga_* | Google Analytics 4 | Analytics | Aggregated traffic statistics: pages per session, traffic sources, average time on page. IP addresses are anonymised before storage. | 14 months |
galabingo_aff | Gala Bingo | Affiliate tracking | Records that a click on an outbound operator link originated from Gala Bingo so the partnership is credited. | 30 days |
Third-party policies: Google Privacy and Terms covers Google Analytics. Operator partner sites place their own cookies once a reader has clicked through; those operate under the operator's own privacy policy, not Gala Bingo's.
4. Managing cookie behaviour through browser settings
Every current browser lets you block cookies, delete the ones already saved, or reject third-party cookies entirely. Official documentation for each:
You can also open Gala Bingo in your browser's private or incognito mode, which prevents any cookies from persisting across sessions.
5. Site behaviour when optional cookies are refused
The site keeps working normally. Every page stays readable, every internal link still works, and clicks through to operator sites still function. Three small differences apply: traffic statistics will not register your visit; if you click an affiliate link with affiliate tracking declined, the partnership cannot be credited — the operator still gives you, the user, the same offer; only the commission paid to Gala Bingo fails to register; plus the consent banner will reappear if cookies get cleared, because the choice itself lives inside a cookie. The full editorial standards behind every page (including the way affiliate links are flagged) sit on the Editorial Policy page, while the player-safety commitments live on the Responsible Gambling page.
6. GPC support plus the legacy DNT header
Gala Bingo respects the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal: if a browser sends GPC, every non-essential cookie is blocked automatically and the consent banner stays hidden. The older Do Not Track header carries no agreed enforcement standard and is not relied upon here.
7. How this page gets refreshed
If the cookies in use on Gala Bingo change, this page is revised and the "Last updated" date at the top moves forward. Material changes — new categories, new third parties — bring a one-off consent banner refresh so existing visitors are asked again. Minor housekeeping edits (rewording, link updates) do not trigger a fresh consent prompt.
8. Reader queries and formal complaints
Anything cookie-specific on Gala Bingo should reach us through the Contact page in the first instance. For formal complaints about UK-based websites under the UK GDPR plus the Data Protection Act 2018, the regulator is the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), accessible at ico.org.uk.