Tabcorp has paid more than AUD 2.7 million ($1.9 million) in penalties after Australia’s communications regulator found the wagering giant repeatedly broke telemarketing and spam laws by contacting customers who had opted out of marketing, calling numbers on the Do Not Call Register, and ignoring basic telemarketing rules.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) announced the enforcement action on 22 July after investigations covering more than a year of activity involving the company’s VIP customer marketing program.
Tabcorp compliance failures trigger sweeping ACMA regulatory sanctions
ACMA said Tabcorp made 351 telemarketing calls to numbers on the Do Not Call Register without consent, placed 82 calls outside permitted hours, and made nearly 4,000 calls without properly identifying the caller or explaining the purpose of the call. The regulator also found the company sent more than 217,000 marketing emails and SMS messages over 16 days to customers who had already unsubscribed.
The findings combined several investigations completed over the past two years. One inquiry covering February to May 2024 found 283 breaches of the Do Not Call Register Act and another 867 breaches of the Telecommunications Act. A later investigation covering November 2024 to June 2025 uncovered 68 additional Do Not Call Register breaches and 6,438 telemarketing rule breaches involving prohibited calling times and failures to identify callers.
ACMA also examined Tabcorp’s electronic marketing after the company disclosed problems with its messaging systems. Investigators found 217,687 commercial electronic messages were sent to 41,550 electronic addresses between March 31 and April 15, 2025, despite recipients having withdrawn consent. The regulator issued a $1.254 million ($877,700) Spam Act penalty alongside a separate $1,504,800 ($1.1 million) telecommunications infringement notice, taking the combined total above $2.75 million.
The latest action follows an earlier ACMA case in June 2025, when Tabcorp paid more than AUD 4 million after investigators found thousands of unlawful marketing messages were sent to members of its TAB X VIP program without meeting Spam Act requirements. The investigation concluded the company failed to obtain consent in some cases, omitted required sender details, and did not provide working unsubscribe facilities. Regulators also criticized personalized promotions offering incentives including bonus bets and event tickets.
Beyond the financial penalties, Tabcorp has entered an enforceable undertaking requiring an independent review of its governance, systems, policies, staff training and compliance processes for VIP marketing. The consultant must report findings to both the Tabcorp board and ACMA, while the undertaking remains in force for 24 months.
“When people join the Do Not Call Register or unsubscribe from marketing messages, they are making a clear choice,” Yorke said.
“Those choices must be respected – especially given the heightened risks of financial loss and psychological harm from gambling marketing.”
The regulator said the action forms part of a crackdown on unlawful marketing, while Tabcorp has also faced recent regulatory action over illegal in-play betting and failures to prevent underage gambling, adding to mounting compliance scrutiny.
Featured image: ACMA via Facebook
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