Banned – Tabcorp boots high-risk punters  

Up to eight major punters have been banned permanently from betting with Tabcorp, which determined them as “outside of its risk appetite”, preventing them from betting online, in person, on the phone or by any other means with the ubiquitous wagering company.

The Straight understands there was a cohort of punters informed that they were banned in the past two days and has sighted a letter sent to one of them, a well-known name in the ranks of major gamblers in Australia.

The letter, which advised the punter that they will no longer be accepted as a wagering customer and clarified the terms of the ban, has been confirmed as authentic.

“This decision has been made in good faith, consistent with Tabcorp’s regulatory and compliance obligations and for the purpose of managing and mitigating risk,” the letter read.

“If you act, or attempt to act, in contravention of this notice, you may be trespassing and may be contravening applicable laws, Tabcorp and its staff reserve the right to notify law enforcement where appropriate.”

There have been suggestions that all of the punters were involved in both betting in retail outlets and wagering on greyhound races, but that was not confirmed by Tabcorp.

The wagering company declined to comment to The Straight about any specific customers but said it conducted risk assessments every day.

It said it regularly issues such banning notices to customers who were found to have fallen short of its know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering requirements.

While the cohort of punters may share similar betting habits, it has not been confirmed if Tabcorp identified and banned them as a group.

The Straight understands the move was not part of a concerted crackdown, but the profile of one of the punters had meant the ban had received considerable attention.

The “risk appetite” cited in the Tabcorp letter is believed to relate to whether the customer meets compliance guidelines, not to whether the customer is profitable.

But the leaking of the letter has led to strong speculation about the motivations behind the action.

All of Australia’s bookmakers have been under considerable compliance scrutiny as regulators, in particular AUSTRAC, step up checks around anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing.

The number of punters banned for failing to meet the stricter requirements is said to be in the thousands.

AUSTRAC is pursuing legal action against Entain over compliance failures, while it is believed the financial crimes regulator is examining the accounts of at least one other major bookmaker.