Tabcorp, Australia’s largest gambling company, has been fined AU$4.6 million ($3.12 million) by the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) for breaching the state’s gambling code between 2020 and 2023.
The VGCCC discovered significant lapses in Tabcorp’s responsible gambling practices, including poor staff training and sending marketing materials to a customer who had opted out. A particularly concerning case involved a customer flagged as a problem gambler who lost AU$135,000 in one month. Despite being identified as high-risk, this customer was offered a AU$2,000 deposit match promotion.
VGCCC Chair Fran Thorn pointed out that these breaches indicate a deeper cultural issue within Tabcorp, commenting:
The recorded call provides evidence of a lack of commitment to responsible gambling policies and demonstrates a lack of concern for the customer’s wellbeing. This action is indicative of a culture in which the license holder’s harm minimization obligations were not taken seriously.
The AU$4.6 million penalty is the largest ever imposed on Tabcorp by the VGCCC, with Thorn noting that the fine could have reached AU$9.1 million due to the severity of the violations.
Tabcorp has been ordered to revamp its internal systems, enhance harm minimization measures, and implement these changes by the end of 2025. The VGCCC will closely monitor the company’s progress.
In response, Tabcorp admitted to its shortcomings, acknowledging that its harm minimization efforts “did not meet community or regulatory expectations” at the time. The company mentioned it has since made “significant steps” to improve customer safety, including restructuring its safer gambling team and introducing new technology to better identify problematic gambling behavior.
On a broader scale, Thorn expressed support for banning gambling ads on television, highlighting the harm caused by the widespread exposure to such advertising in Australia.
