Tabcorp has again apologised to frustrated customers after its betting app crashed for the second Saturday in a row during the peak racing period around Australia.
Online access to the TAB’s app became a problematic exercise for punters wishing to invest during last Saturday’s racing which included the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes card at Flemington.
The Melbourne meeting was given added significance as part of the Hong Kong Jockey Club-backed World Pool roster.
Three races - the Let’s Elope Stakes, the Makybe Diva Stakes and the Bobbie Lewis Quality - figured in the World Pool coverage.
The TAB confirmed at 4.26pm (AEST) on Saturday via social media platform X that wagering had been affected by an outage - a week after it experienced similar issues that led to a significant shortfall in turnover on some races.
“We are aware some customers are currently experiencing issues with the TAB app. We are working to resolve this as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience,” the TAB said.
Bren O’Brien
The Straight has approached Tabcorp for comment on the latest outage after customers received an apology from the wagering firm on Monday.
“We are sorry for the recent technical fault in our system which impacted your experience betting with TAB,” read a Tabcorp statement to account holders.
“Once again, we are sorry for not meeting your expectations and we look forward to helping you if you require further support.”
The Straight understands the latest outage happened just before the running of the Makybe Diva Stakes.
The race, despite featuring some of the biggest names of the Australian turf that are familiar to an international audience, was the smallest of the three World Pool holds at $1.33 million.
It is not known what contractual implications an outage during a World Pool event may have.
A week earlier online punters were left with long waits for payouts, and some could not place bets due to untimely Tabcorp outages during the peak of Saturday racing.
Confirming online customers were impacted by technical issues on September 7, a Tabcorp spokesman told The Straight: “Those issues have since been rectified.
“The company apologised to customers who were impacted,” the spokesman said.
Tabcorp was fined $1 million over an outage in November 2020, which struck during the last day of the Melbourne Cup carnival.
But the most recent outages during Australia’s premium day of racing has put Tabcorp on the backfoot as it vies for marketshare in a highly competitive wagering space leading into the height of spring carnival racing.
Warwick Barr
Tabcorp’s latest troubles come as new chief executive Gillon McLachlan recently announced a $1.36 billion loss, attributed to an impairment of its NSW and South Australian operations.
It led to McLachlan confirming Tabcorp would abandon its TAB25 strategy in a bid to revive the company’s flagging fortunes.
Since reporting a $1.36 million loss, it has been revealed that Tabcorp has withdrawn funding from News Corp publications as part of cost-cutting measures.
Tabcorp ended its long-term formguide agreement with the Herald-Sun in July.
A $3 million annual contribution to the coffers of radio station RSN has also been reportedly pulled in favour of a short-term contract at a significantly reduced rate.
Tabcorp shares slumped from 56 cents to 38 cents on the back of its 2023/24 announced loss before retrieving some lost ground in recent days to be trading at 43 cents on Tuesday.
