Cookies are small text files a site stores in your browser between visits. Playline uses them to keep sessions secure, remember display preferences, and measure which pages get read. This policy explains what each category does, how long the data sticks around, and how to switch cookies off if you want more control.

Why cookies matter for a betting review site

A site built around comparison tables, odds explainers, and multi-page guides relies on cookies more than a static brochure would. Without them, the table of contents on long guides would forget your scroll position, the mobile menu would reset on every click, and repeat visitors would see the same onboarding prompts over and over. Cookies remove that friction quietly, in the background, without collecting anything beyond what the feature actually needs.

Strictly necessary cookies

These load automatically and keep the site functional. They store session identifiers, CSRF tokens for form submissions, and flags that remember whether you dismissed a banner. None of them carry advertising identifiers, and none can be switched off through an in-site toggle, because doing so would break navigation, contact forms, or the mobile side-drawer menu. Typical lifespan runs from the length of a browser session up to 30 days for a "don't show this again" flag.

Performance and analytics cookies

Analytics cookies count page views, measure how far readers scroll on odds guides, and flag pages with high bounce rates so editorial content gets revised. The data is aggregated — nobody on our side is looking at an individual visitor's reading habits by name. Retention on these typically runs 13 to 26 months, matching standard analytics vendor defaults, after which the records age out automatically.

Functionality cookies

Functionality cookies remember smaller preferences: a collapsed sidebar, a previously selected odds format on a comparison page, or a region setting. Losing these on a cleared cache just means re-selecting a preference once — nothing breaks, nothing gets logged as an incident. They usually persist for 6 to 12 months unless cleared manually.

Targeting and attribution cookies

These track which referral link or campaign brought a visitor to a given article, which matters when measuring whether a guide on payment methods or promo codes is actually reaching the audience it was written for. They do not build cross-site advertising profiles on this domain. Attribution cookies typically expire within 30 to 90 days.

Third-party cookies on this site

Some pages embed third-party resources — a font loader, an analytics script, occasionally a payment-provider badge — and those vendors can set their own cookies under their own privacy terms. Playline does not control what a third-party vendor stores once its script runs in your browser; check that vendor's own cookie notice for specifics. Blocking third-party cookies at the browser level stops most of this without breaking core site functionality.

Managing cookies by browser

• Chrome: Settings → Privacy and security → Cookies and other site data, where individual sites can be blocked or allowed.
• Firefox: Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data, with an option to clear data on browser close.
• Safari: Preferences → Privacy, where "Prevent cross-site tracking" limits third-party cookies specifically.
• Edge: Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Manage and delete cookies and site data.

What happens if you block cookies entirely

Blocking strictly necessary cookies will break session handling — forms may fail to submit, and pages that rely on a persisted state (like a multi-step guide with saved progress) will reset on every reload. Blocking only performance, functionality, or targeting cookies leaves the site fully usable; you simply lose the convenience features tied to those categories. Private/incognito browsing sessions clear all cookies automatically once the window closes, which is a reasonable middle ground for anyone who wants no persistence at all.

Consent and updates to this policy

Where required, a cookie banner or preference panel captures consent before non-essential cookies load, and that choice is itself stored in a small consent-record cookie so the prompt does not reappear every visit. This policy gets revised whenever the underlying cookie categories or vendors change; the version live on this page always reflects current practice, and there is no separate changelog to track down.

Which specific cookies run behind the scenes

Naming every cookie a vendor might set is impractical, since third-party scripts update their own naming conventions without warning. What stays constant is the purpose behind each category. A session cookie under the strictly necessary group typically carries a random identifier tied to a temporary server-side record, nothing more. An analytics vendor script usually drops a client identifier used to group page views from the same browser without attaching a name or email address to it. A payment-provider badge embedded on the banking comparison page can set its own fraud-prevention cookie the moment that badge loads, independent of anything Playline configures directly.

How long specific categories actually stick around

• Session cookies: deleted automatically when the browser tab or window closes; nothing persists to the next visit.
• Short preference cookies: commonly expire after 24 to 48 hours, covering things like a dismissed notice that should reappear soon.
• Standard functionality cookies: six months is typical, resetting the clock each time the preference gets used again.
• Analytics identifiers: often set for 13 months by default under common vendor configurations, occasionally extending to 24 months.
• Attribution/referral cookies: usually the shortest-lived non-essential category, expiring within 30 days in most implementations.

How the consent banner actually works

On a first visit, only strictly necessary cookies load before any choice gets made. A banner or preference panel then asks whether performance, functionality, and targeting cookies can run; declining blocks those categories from loading at all rather than loading them and asking forgiveness afterward. Accepting stores that decision in a small first-party cookie so the same prompt does not reappear on the next page load. Clearing browser cookies wipes that consent record too, which means the banner reappears until a new choice gets recorded — that is expected behavior, not a bug.

How this compares to GDPR and PIPEDA expectations

Canadian visitors fall under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) rather than the EU's GDPR, but the practical cookie handling on this site follows similar principles either way: consent before non-essential tracking, a clear description of what each category does, and a straightforward way to withdraw consent later. European visitors browsing this Canadian-hosted site still see the same consent mechanism, since building two separate cookie systems for different regions adds complexity without meaningfully changing what data actually gets collected.

Cookies on mobile browsers versus native apps

Everything described above applies to browsing this site through a mobile browser — Safari on iOS, Chrome on Android, or any other standards-based browser handles cookies the same way a desktop browser does, with the same settings menus for blocking or clearing them. Playline itself does not operate a native mobile app, so none of this policy covers app-based local storage, device identifiers, or push-notification tokens; those concerns only apply to third-party sportsbook apps referenced elsewhere on this site, and each operator's own app carries its own separate data policy.

Practical effect of blocking cookies category by category