BelieveSportThis Cookie Policy explains what cookies and similar technologies BelieveSport.com (the "Site") uses, what they do, how long they last, and the choices you have. It supplements our Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Cookie settings Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, which describes how we handle personal information more generally. If anything in the two documents appears to conflict, the Privacy Policy governs the handling of personal information and this policy governs cookies and similar technologies.
WHO WE ARE AND WHAT THIS POLICY COVERS
BelieveSport.com is the sales website for the SportsBowl sports coverage membership. BelieveSport and SportsBowl are operated by separate companies under common ownership; SportsBowl holds the content licenses, provides and bills the membership and runs the members area. We advertise the Site on Google and Microsoft advertising networks, and most of the cookies described here exist so that we can tell which of those ads led to a visit or a sign-up and so that we can measure how the Site is used.
This policy covers believesport.com and its pages, including the offer pages under /offers/. It does not cover sportsbowl.com, checkout.sportsbowl.com or any other partner site. When you continue to SportsBowl to create your account and confirm the offer, that site sets its own cookies under its own cookie and privacy policies, which are linked from its pages.
WHAT COOKIES AND SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES ARE
A cookie is a small text file that a website stores in your browser. Each cookie has a name, a value, the domain it belongs to and an expiry. A first-party cookie is set by the site you are visiting (for us, believesport.com). A third-party cookie is set by a different domain whose code runs on the page, for example google.com or bing.com. A session cookie is deleted when you close your browser; a persistent cookie stays until its expiry date or until you delete it.
We also use technologies that work in a similar way:
- Local storage and session storage are areas of your browser where a site can keep small pieces of information. Session storage is cleared when the tab is closed; local storage stays until it is cleared. We use them to carry the details of your visit from one page of the Site to the next.
- Tags and pixels are small pieces of code or invisible images that load from a third party when a page opens. They let that third party know that the page was viewed and, together with a cookie, whether the visit followed one of our ads.
- URL parameters are values added to a link. When you continue from the Site to SportsBowl, advertising click identifiers (such as a Google click ID) are passed in the link so that a sign-up can be matched to the ad that led to it, even where cookies cannot be read across the two domains.
Where this policy says "cookies" it means all of the above unless it says otherwise.
WHY WE USE THEM
We use cookies for three purposes, and nothing else:
- To make the Site work. Keeping your session, remembering your language, protecting the Site against automated abuse, and remembering the cookie choices you have made so we do not ask again.
- To measure the Site and our advertising. Counting visits and sign-ups, understanding which pages are used and how, and attributing sign-ups to the Google or Microsoft ad that led to them. This is how we know whether an advertising campaign pays for itself.
- To limit and improve the ads you see from us elsewhere. Advertising cookies let Google and Microsoft recognise that a browser has already visited the Site, so they can avoid showing the same ad repeatedly or show a more relevant one.
We do not sell cookie data to data brokers, we do not use cookies to build profiles of you for third parties, and we do not run third-party advertising on the Site.
THE COOKIES AND STORAGE WE USE
The lists below were compiled from the live Site on the date at the top of this page. Third parties may change the names or lifetimes of their cookies; where they do, the third party's own documentation (linked in the next section) is the authoritative description, and we update this page when we become aware of a change.
Strictly necessary
These are needed for the Site to function and to honour your choices. They are always on and do not require consent. They do not track you across other websites.
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHPSESSID | believesport.com | Identifies your session on our server while you move between pages. | Session |
| lang | believesport.com | Remembers the language the offer page was shown in. | Session |
| bs_consent | believesport.com | Records the cookie choices you made in the banner or the privacy choices panel, so we can apply them and not ask again. | 6 months (EEA, UK, Switzerland); 12 months (California opt-out) |
| __cf_bm, cf_clearance | Cloudflare | Set only when Cloudflare, which protects and speeds up the Site, needs to check that a request comes from a real browser. | 30 minutes; up to 1 year |
| gclid, gbraid, wbraid, m, clickid (session storage) | believesport.com | Carry the advertising click identifiers and the offer variant from the page you landed on to the sign-up step, so a sign-up can be matched to the ad that led to it. | Until the tab is closed |
| email (session storage), subemail (local storage) | believesport.com | Remember the email address you typed so the next step of sign-up is pre-filled if you go back. | Until the tab is closed (email); until cleared (subemail) |
Analytics
These tell us how the Site is used: which pages are viewed, in what order, from what kind of device, and how many visits end in a sign-up. In the EEA, the UK and Switzerland they are set only if you agree.
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Google Analytics | Distinguishes one browser from another with a random identifier. | 2 years |
| _ga_9NK8LSX848 | Google Analytics | Keeps the state of the current visit for our Google Analytics property. | 2 years |
| Cloudflare Web Analytics | Cloudflare | Measures page performance and visit counts. Uses no cookies and no persistent identifier. | Not applicable |
Advertising and measurement
These let Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising measure our ads and limit repeat ads. In the EEA, the UK and Switzerland they are set only if you agree. In California you can opt out of the Google and Microsoft ones at any time (see below).
| Name | Set by | Purpose | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
| _gcl_au | Google Ads (first-party) | Stores a random identifier used to measure conversions from Google ads. | 90 days |
| _gcl_aw, _gcl_gb, _gcl_gs | Google Ads (first-party) | Store the click identifier from the Google ad you arrived through, so a later sign-up can be credited to it. | 90 days |
| IDE, test_cookie | Google (doubleclick.net) | Used by Google to measure ad performance and to check that the browser accepts cookies. | 13 months; 15 minutes |
| NID | Google (google.com) | Used by Google to remember preferences and to limit repeated ads. | 6 months |
| _uetsid | Microsoft Advertising (first-party) | Identifies the current visit for Microsoft's Universal Event Tracking. | 1 day |
| _uetvid | Microsoft Advertising (first-party) | Identifies the browser across visits for Microsoft's Universal Event Tracking. | 13 months |
| MUID, MR | Microsoft (bing.com) | Used by Microsoft to measure ads and to limit repeated ads. | 13 months; 7 days |
| 55cce456 | believesport.com | Our own click-attribution cookie; the name is derived from the Site's domain. Holds an encrypted record of the advertising click that brought you to the Site so that a later sign-up can be matched to it. Set by our server when a page loads. When you start a sign-up, our server sends that record to the attribution service we use (in-v4.ots-anltcs.com): the landing page address and referrer, the ad click identifiers, your IP address and browser details, and the email address you entered. In the EEA, the UK and Switzerland the cookie is set only after you allow advertising cookies. | 24 hours |
| _gl (URL parameter) | Google Ads Conversion Linker | Added to the link when you continue to SportsBowl so that the click identifier survives the move between the two domains. It is a link parameter, not a stored cookie. | Not stored by us |
Enhanced conversions. When you enter your email address to start a sign-up, and you are in a region where you have allowed advertising cookies, the address is converted into a one-way hash in your browser and sent to Google Ads so that the sign-up can be matched to a Google account that saw our ad. Google does not receive the readable address and uses the hash only for conversion measurement. Details are in Google's enhanced conversions documentation.
Support chat
The "Live Support" and "Support" links open a chat window hosted by LiveHelpNow. Nothing from LiveHelpNow loads until you click one of those links. If you do, LiveHelpNow sets its own cookies to keep the conversation open; they are described in LiveHelpNow's privacy policy.
THIRD PARTIES THAT SET COOKIES THROUGH OUR SITE
We load the services below through Google Tag Manager, which itself sets no cookies and collects no personal information. Each third party processes data under its own policy:
- Google LLC (Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Google Ads): How Google uses cookies, How Google uses information from sites that use its services, Google Privacy Policy.
- Microsoft Corporation (Microsoft Advertising Universal Event Tracking): Microsoft Privacy Statement, Microsoft Advertising personalised ads.
- OTS attribution service (in-v4.ots-anltcs.com): the service our server uses to match sign-ups to the ad click that led to them. When you start a sign-up it receives the click record described above; it does not set cookies of its own in your browser.
- Cloudflare, Inc. (security, performance and web analytics): Cloudflare Cookie Policy.
- LiveHelpNow, LLC (support chat, only when opened): LiveHelpNow Privacy Policy.
- SportsBowl (the membership provider you continue to from the Site): its cookie and privacy policies are linked from sportsbowl.com and from the checkout page.
YOUR CHOICES AND HOW TO CHANGE THEM
On the Site. If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, a cookie banner appears on your first visit. "Accept all" turns on analytics and advertising cookies, "Reject all" leaves them off, and "Manage choices" lets you turn each category on or off. You can change your choice at any time through the Cookie settings link in the footer. If you are in California, a Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information link appears in the footer and opens a panel with a single switch. These links appear only in the regions where they apply.
In your browser. Every browser lets you see, block and delete cookies, in its settings under "Privacy" or "Site data". Blocking all cookies will stop the sign-up flow from carrying your details between pages; blocking third-party cookies will not affect the Site. Instructions: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge.
With the advertising networks. You can turn off personalised advertising at Google's My Ad Center and in Microsoft's ad settings, and learn more about interest-based advertising and opt-outs at aboutads.info (US) and youronlinechoices.eu (Europe).
Global Privacy Control. If your browser or an extension sends a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal and you are in California, we treat it as an opt-out of the sale or sharing of your personal information and apply it automatically, without you having to click anything.
IF YOU ARE IN THE EEA, THE UK OR SWITZERLAND
Under the ePrivacy rules and the GDPR (and the UK and Swiss equivalents), we may store or read information on your device only where it is strictly necessary to provide the Site, or where you have given consent. Strictly necessary cookies are used on the basis that they are needed to provide the Site you asked for. Analytics and advertising cookies are used only with your consent, which we ask for through the banner before any of them is set.
You can withdraw consent at any time through the Cookie settings link in the footer; withdrawal takes effect
immediately for new data and does not affect what was lawfully collected before. We record your choice in the
bs_consent cookie for six months and then ask again. Refusing or withdrawing consent does not affect
your ability to use the Site or to sign up for the membership.
Google and Microsoft are established in the United States. Where data collected through their cookies is transferred there, the transfer relies on the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (and its UK and Swiss extensions) and on standard contractual clauses, as described in their privacy notices linked above. You can read more about your rights, including the right to complain to your supervisory authority, in our Privacy Policy.
IF YOU ARE IN CALIFORNIA OR ANOTHER U.S. STATE
The California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act, gives California residents the right to opt out of the "sale" of personal information and of its "sharing" for cross-context behavioural advertising. Allowing Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising to set and read advertising cookies on our pages, and to use those identifiers to measure our ads and show relevant ads on other sites, can be treated as "sharing" under that law even though no money changes hands and we never hand anyone a list of our visitors.
You can opt out through the Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information link in the footer. Switching it on tells the Google and Microsoft tags on the Site to stop using advertising cookies and identifiers in your browser; strictly necessary cookies and basic measurement without advertising identifiers stay on. We honour the choice for at least twelve months, we honour Global Privacy Control signals as an opt-out, and we will not deny you the Site, charge a different price or provide a different level of service because you opted out. The choice is stored in your browser, so it applies to that browser and device; if you clear cookies or use another device, make the choice again.
Residents of other U.S. states with comparable privacy laws can use the same link, which appears wherever we recognise a California visitor; if you are in another state and do not see it, contact us and we will apply the opt-out for you. California residents can also exercise rights to know, delete and correct personal information as described in our Privacy Policy.
HOW YOUR CHOICE IS APPLIED
We apply your choice with Google's Consent Mode, the mechanism Google Tag Manager uses to pass consent to Google and Microsoft tags. For visitors in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland the tags start in a "denied" state for advertising and analytics storage. In that state Google's tags may still send a cookieless, anonymous ping to Google so that Google can estimate overall conversion totals, but they do not set or read advertising or analytics cookies, do not send advertising click identifiers, and do not use the data to build audiences. Microsoft's tag is not loaded at all until you allow advertising cookies. Our own attribution cookie follows the same rule in those regions: the server sets it only once advertising cookies are allowed. When you accept, the state changes to "granted" and the cookies described above are set from that point on. When you reject, or later withdraw, the state returns to "denied".
For California visitors who opt out, the advertising consent signals are set to "denied", Google's tags are told to redact advertising identifiers, and Microsoft's tag is told to stop using advertising cookies.
Your choice is kept in the bs_consent cookie. It contains only the categories you allowed, the
region the choice was made under, and the date; it contains no identifier of you.
HOW LONG COOKIES STAY ON YOUR DEVICE
Lifetimes are listed in the tables above. In summary: session cookies and session storage end when you close the tab or browser; our attribution cookie lasts 24 hours; our consent cookie lasts 6 or 12 months depending on your region; Google Ads click cookies last 90 days; Google Analytics cookies last up to 2 years; Microsoft and Google advertising cookies last up to 13 months. A cookie's lifetime is refreshed when the same cookie is set again on a later visit. You can delete any of them at any time in your browser.
CHANGES TO THIS POLICY
We update this page when we add or remove a cookie, change a lifetime, change a provider, or when the law changes. The date at the top shows the last revision. Where a change means we need your consent for something new, we will ask for it through the banner rather than rely on a choice you made before.
CONTACT US
Questions about cookies on the Site, or a request to apply an opt-out for you, can be sent through our contact page. For questions about your SportsBowl membership or billing, use SportsBowl member support, reachable from the Live Support link.