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The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) Office has partnered Tabcorp Holdings Limited has been fined $158,400 for taking online in-play sports bets, which is illegal in the country.
Regulators said an investigation found the company accepted 426 in-play bets on 32 tennis matches between February 2024 and June 2025.
However, they stressed that online in-play betting, where bets are placed on a sporting event after it has already started, is not permitted in Australia under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.
The in-play sports bets allegedly found in the investigation were described as an accepted violation of the IGA and Tabcorp voided and returned the bets.
The breaches are also said to have occurred due to systems and communication issues with its third-party provider. the the company was previously fined more than AUD 4 million ($2.6 million) after the ACMA found it breached national spam laws by sending thousands of marketing messages to its VIP customers without following the rules.
Tabcorp is said to be accepting in-play sports bets due to system and communication issues
While the ACMA accepted evidence from Tabcorp about the breaches, ACMA member Carolyn Lidgerwood said it was the third time since 2021 that the company had breached in-play betting rules.
“The law is clear and betting services must have processes in place to prevent illegal in-play bets being accepted,” Ms Lidgerwood said.
“While we know that most betting operators rely on third-party providers to finalize 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,” Ms Lidgerwood said.
As well as the financial penalty, the company must also enter into a comprehensive enforcement undertaking requiring the company to conduct a review of the systems and processes relating to the closing of bets on tennis matches and report regularly to ACMA.
Regulators warned that any further non-compliance by the company could result in proceedings through federal court.
Featured image: Canva
The post Tabcorp hit with $158,400 fine for taking illegal in-play sports bets first appeared in ReadWrite.
