Cookie Policy
Last updated 12 October 2026
Scope and current use
This Cookie Policy explains cookies and similar browser storage on gcauthority.com, operated by Gambling Consulting Authority LLC (GCA). It should be read with our Privacy Policy. It describes the website version to which this policy is attached.
The current configuration uses two first-party cookies for forms and sessions and one local-storage entry for your cookie choice. No analytics or marketing cookie, third-party tracking script or embedded map is active. Accepting optional categories therefore does not currently activate any such service.
A cookie is a small file stored by your browser. Local storage is another way to retain information on your device; it is not a cookie and is not automatically sent with requests to the website server. Cookie periods below describe configured lifetimes, not a guarantee that a browser will retain them for the full period.
Strictly necessary cookies and storage
The two cookies support secure form submissions and session continuity. They are set by this website before a choice is made in the banner. The local-storage preference is written only after you answer the banner. These entries are first-party storage and are not used for advertising or optional audience measurement.
| Name and type | Purpose | Storage period |
|---|---|---|
XSRF-TOKEN — cookie |
Helps protect website forms against cross-site request forgery. | 2 hours |
gambling-consulting-authority-session — cookie |
Preserves session information, including form values after validation errors and submission confirmation. Also supports staff sign-in. | 2 hours |
gca_consent — local storage |
Remembers the analytics and marketing selections, the date of your banner choice and the version of this policy that the choice relates to. | No automatic expiry in the browser. The website asks again 365 days after the recorded date, and sooner if the version of this policy changes. |
The two cookie periods may be renewed when the website sets the cookies again during use. Blocking necessary cookies can prevent forms from working or retaining entered information after a validation error. Blocking or deleting the preference record can cause the banner to appear again.
Analytics and marketing categories
Analytics is intended for optional audience measurement. Marketing is intended for optional advertising, campaign tracking or remarketing. Neither category currently has an active tool or cookie. Selecting “Decline” records rejection of both categories and does not prevent ordinary access to content or forms.
These categories are included in the banner for possible future use. Their presence is not a statement that tracking is active. Before introducing a tool, we will update this policy with its provider, cookie names, purposes and periods and obtain the necessary consent before it runs. Existing saved choices are not blanket consent to undisclosed tools or new purposes. Cookie choices do not subscribe you to an email newsletter.
How your choice is remembered
The banner offers “Accept all”, “Decline” and “Manage”. “Manage” reveals a separate control for each optional category, so you can accept analytics without accepting marketing, or the reverse, and confirm with “Save choices”. Strictly necessary cookies appear there as well, always on and not switchable, because the website cannot operate without them. The website stores the resulting choice and a timestamp in gca_consent in the browser you use. The choice does not automatically transfer to another browser, browser profile or device. Closing the banner or continuing to browse does not itself grant optional consent.
The preference record itself has no automatic expiry in your browser. The website asks for your choice again 365 days after the recorded date, and also whenever the version of this Cookie Policy changes. Until you answer again, an expired or superseded choice grants nothing beyond the strictly necessary cookies, whatever it previously recorded.
When you answer the banner, the website also sends a record of that answer to its own server. That record contains the date and time, the categories you selected, the version of this policy then in force, your IP address and your browser’s user-agent string. It contains no name or email address, and it is not used to identify you, to build a profile or for marketing. Its purpose is to let us demonstrate that a choice was made and what it covered. If the record cannot be saved — for example because a rate limit or a temporary fault blocks it — your choice still takes effect in your browser.
Changing your choice and browser controls
A “Cookie settings” link in the website footer reopens the banner, so you can change your choice at any time. Answering again replaces the stored preference and creates a new server-side record of the new answer. You can also reset your choice by clearing cookies and site data for gcauthority.com in your browser and reloading the website; clearing cookies alone may leave local storage intact, so choose an option that also removes site data.
Use your browser’s privacy settings to manage or remove cookies and site data. In Chrome and Edge, use the privacy and security settings; in Firefox, use Privacy and Security and Cookies and Site Data; in Safari, use the privacy and website-data controls. Names of settings vary by browser and version.
You can block cookies through browser settings, but blocking the necessary cookies may disrupt forms or sessions. Resetting the banner does not unsubscribe you from email communications. For privacy or marketing requests, email info@gcauthority.com.
External links and staff administration
Social sharing buttons are ordinary links to Facebook and LinkedIn. They do not load embedded social scripts on our pages. Clicking an external link takes you to a service governed by its own cookie and privacy rules. No external font service or embedded map is currently loaded.
The staff administration interface also stores appearance and navigation preferences locally under theme, isOpen, isOpenDesktop and collapsedGroups. These are interface preferences for staff, not public-site analytics or marketing. They have no automatic expiry and can be removed through browser site-data controls. The same two cookies support sessions and staff sign-in. No sessionStorage entry is used on public pages.
Changes and contact
We will update this policy when the relevant technologies or preference controls change. For questions about cookies or personal data, contact Gambling Consulting Authority LLC at info@gcauthority.com.