Key points:
- Tabcorp has paid an AU$262,920 penalty for accepting illegal online in-play bets on tennis matches
- Online in-play betting is prohibited in Australia under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 to protect vulnerable individuals
- The breaches occurred due to a technical "bug" in Tabcorp's systems, which took six months to identify and fix
- Tabcorp has subsequently implemented new controls and is taking steps to prevent the acceptance of illegal in-play bets going forward
Australian operator Tabcorp has incurred a penalty of AU$262,920 ($171,647) for breaching Australia’s Interactive Gambling Act 2001 by accepting in-play sports bets online.
An investigation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) revealed that between April and October 2023, Tabcorp took 854 in-play bets on 69 different tennis matches, despite the Australian ban on in-play betting.
ACMA’s restrictions on in-play betting aim to minimise gambling harm by limiting the frequency and accessibility of betting during live events.
Commenting on the logic behind this measure, ACMA member Carolyn Lidgerwood stated: “In-play betting increases access to gambling opportunities and exacerbates the risks of gambling harm, as people can place bets with high frequency on multiple outcomes during sporting events.
“There has been significant growth in online sports betting in recent years and it’s important all online wagering services have systems in place so that illegal in-play bets are not accepted.”
Tabcorp attributed the violation of this measure to a technical issue within its betting system, which first surfaced in April 2023 and was not resolved until October.
Lidgerwood queried this reason, however, commenting: “Tabcorp is a major wagering operator and it is concerning that it took some six months for the system error to be identified and fixed.”
To prevent future breaches, Tabcorp has implemented new controls and reported additional risk-minimising measures to the ACMA.
The authority also noted that Tabcorp voided all affected bets, ensuring customers were not financially impacted and that the company did not profit from the incident.
This isn’t the first time that Tabcorp has found itself in hot water this year, with the company recently being fined AU$4.6m by the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) for multiple breaches of its regulatory obligations.
