Direct Marketing Consent Rules by Market

The comparison

United Kingdom and Great Britain

PECR and the UK GDPR apply across the UK; Gambling Commission codes apply to Great Britain.

PECR. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) says that for marketing emails to individuals "you must have their consent or be able to meet all the requirements of a soft opt-in." The soft opt-in needs all five conditions the ICO lists, including that "You are only marketing your similar products and services" and that the person had an opportunity to opt out when their details were collected and "in every subsequent communication."

Fines. The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 provisions on PECR enforcement, section 115 and Schedule 13, came into force on February 5, 2026 under SI 2026/82. According to Clifford Chance's summary, they raised the maximum fine for PECR breaches from £500,000 to UK GDPR levels: the higher of £17.5 million or 4% of global annual turnover. We could not read the Act's schedule itself, and some ICO guidance pages still show £500,000 while they are under review.

Gambling Commission. Code 5.1.11 bars direct electronic marketing "without their informed and specific consent" unless the law permits it. Code 5.1.12 requires remote casino, bingo and betting licensees to offer opt-in "on a per product and per channel basis"; see managing preferences across products and channels, and screen patterns for capturing those choices are in registration and preference center design. Code 3.5.3 covers self-excluded customers; see gambling suppression lists.

United States

Email. The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) CAN-SPAM guide says "the primary purpose of the message is the deciding factor" in whether a message is commercial, and that opt-outs must be honored "within 10 business days." The guide, edited in January 2024, states penalties of up to $53,088 per violating email and notes that the figure is adjusted for inflation.

Calls and texts. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) 2023 "one-to-one" consent rule for marketing calls and texts was vacated by the Eleventh Circuit in Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC, decided January 24, 2025 according to Kelley Drye's report. The FCC then repealed the revised rule text in Order DA 25-621 of July 14, 2025. Its April 7, 2025 order (DA 25-312) delayed the part of its revocation rules that would make an opt-out from one type of message apply to all unrelated messages, and Order DA 26-12 of January 6, 2026 says "the effective date of section 64.1200(a)(10) is extended to January 31, 2027". Other parts of the revocation rules took effect on April 11, 2025, according to the FCC order.

State gaming rules. Self-exclusion programs are run by state regulators. Pennsylvania's iGaming self-exclusion leaflet, for example, requires that "self-excluded persons do not receive junket solicitations, targeted mailings, telemarketing promotions" and other promotional material.

Canada

CASL. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) explains that implied consent from an existing business relationship lasts for "the two-year period immediately before the day on which the message was sent" for purchases, and a "six month period" for inquiries. "Express consent is not time-limited." Opt-outs must stop messages "within 10 business days."

Ontario. The Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming say marketing "shall not target high-risk, underage, Self-Excluded Persons, or Centrally Self-Excluded Persons" (Standard 2.03), allow inducements only on the operator's site and through direct marketing after active consent (Standard 2.05), and require "a method to withdraw their consent at any time" (Standard 2.07). Since BetGuard launched on May 14, 2026, Standard 2.14.1 requires operators, "no later than 24 hours after an individual is added to the Centralized Self-Exclusion Registry," to "take all reasonable steps to prevent any marketing material, incentives or promotions from being sent to that individual."

Australia

Spam Act. The Australian Communications and Media Authority's (ACMA) guidance covers three steps: consent, identify the sender and unsubscribe. A person who gives express consent "knows and accepts that they will receive marketing emails or messages from you." Unsubscribe requests must be honored "within 5 working days". Under section 6 of the Spam Act, a message is commercial if promotion is "the purpose, or one of the purposes" of the message. Messages that consist of no more than factual information are designated commercial electronic messages under Schedule 1: they are exempt from the consent and unsubscribe rules, but must still identify the sender.

Gambling rules. The National Consumer Protection Framework requires wagering providers not to "send direct marketing to customers without their consent", and customers must be able to open an account without being required to consent to it, according to the Victorian regulator's summary. BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register, started on August 21, 2023 and lets people exclude themselves from "all interactive gambling services and direct marketing for a minimum of 3 months", according to the Department of Social Services. The ACMA says the Interactive Gambling Act bars "direct marketing to a self-excluded individual."

Using this page

Treat each row as a starting point for your own legal review. For opt-out handling across all four markets, see withdrawal and opt-out handling. For footer and sender requirements in each channel, see what gambling emails and texts must contain. Other consent guides are listed in the consent and compliance section.