Tabcorp fined again after offering in-play tennis betting

Tabcorp has been fined $158,400 after accepting online in-play bets across 32 tennis matches between February 2024 and June 2025.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) conducted an investigation into 426 in-play bets placed on tennis, which is a breach of the Australian Interactive Gambling Act.

Under the Act, bookmakers can only offer in-play betting either in person or over the phone. The bets were voided once Tabcorp became aware that they were placed online while a match was in progress.

Tabcorp’s submission was that the breaches resulted from systems and communication issues with its third-party provider. ACMA accepted this reasoning but still levied a fine for the breach, which followed a similar breach by Tabcorp in 2021.

“The law is clear and wagering services must have processes in place to prevent illegal in-play bets from being accepted,” ACMA’s Carolyn Lidgerwood said

“While we understand that most wagering operators rely on third-party providers to close betting on sporting events, they cannot outsource their legal responsibilities.

“The length of time it took Tabcorp to identify and then fix the problem was concerning and we expect Tabcorp to do better in the future.”

Tabcorp, which risks Federal Court action if it breaches the rules again, has entered into a comprehensive, enforceable undertaking requiring it to review its systems and processes.

ACMA recently fined Tabcorp $112,680 for failure to comply with rules that protect people who registered with BetStop. It also issued remedial directions or warnings to five other bookmakers.

Last year, ACMA issued a $4 million fine to Tabcorp, finding it had sent 5700 unlawful messages to customers involved in its VIP scheme.

It amounted to a breach of the Spam Act, ACMA found Tabcorp had failed to provide an option to unsubscribe on 3000 messages, while during the same period, 3148 SMS and WhatsApp messages did not contain adequate sender information.

The breach of in-play betting laws comes after a trial by Tabcorp to offer in-play, in-app venue betting in New South Wales last year.

Tabcorp received regulatory approval in New South Wales for those people utilising in-venue mode in select venues to place in-play bets on sport via the TAB app.

The trial has not yet been rolled out across more venues.

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