Australian horse racing and betting company Tabcorp has been fined 4.6 million Australian dollars (3.09 million US dollars) by the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) for violating state gambling regulations.
According to Australian news media, the VGCCC found that the company failed to provide sufficient responsible gambling training to its employees.
One example is that its employees sent direct marketing materials to a customer who had explicitly chosen not to receive such materials. A second example is that a Tabcorp customer manager offered a 2,000 Australian dollar deposit match promotion to a customer marked as a problem gambler over the phone.
VGCCC Chair Fran Thorn stated that this multimillion-dollar fine is the most "egregious" case in a series of violations by Tabcorp.
"This fine (4.6 million Australian dollars) is the largest we have issued to Tabcorp... with a maximum possible fine of 9.1 million Australian dollars."
Thorn said that Tabcorp's violations occurred between 2020 and 2023, "reflecting 'systemic' failures, including 'significant harm to customers'".
Ms. Thorn added: "This behavior indicates that in this culture, the licensee's obligation to minimize harm was not taken seriously."
The VGCCC has required Tabcorp to fix its systems and prevent further violations by the end of 2025.
Tabcorp's latest developments include agreements between 1/ST Content, Tabcorp, Arena Racing Company (ARC), and Racecourse Media Group (RMG) to cover horse racing events in international markets.
Meanwhile, the Australian Gambling Authority (ACMA) has recently blocked several affiliates that violated the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001.
