The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has fined racing and wagering operator Tabcorp Holdings Limited AU$158,400 (US$113,000) for taking online in-play sports bets – an activity that is prohibited in Australia under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA).
The authority said that an investigation found Tabcorp had accepted 426 in-play bets across 32 tennis matches between February 2024 and June 2025. While the ACMA accepted evidence from Tabcorp that the breaches occurred due to systems and communication issues with its third-party provider, it noted that this was the third time since 2021 the company had breached in-play betting rules.
“The law is clear and wagering services must have processes in place to prevent illegal in-play bets from being accepted,” ACMA member 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.”
In addition to the financial penalty, the ACMA said Tabcorp has entered into a comprehensive enforceable undertaking requiring the company to undertake a review of its systems and processes relating to the closing of betting on tennis matches, and to report back regularly.
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