Tabcorp has paid more than A$2.7 million in penalties after the Australian Communications and Media Authority found the wagering operator called customers on the Do Not Call Register, rang outside permitted hours, and sent more than 217,000 marketing messages to people who had already unsubscribed.
Key Facts:
• Tabcorp Holdings paid more than A$2.7 million (about US$1.9 million) in penalties — Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), July 22, 2026
• 351 telemarketing calls were made to numbers on the Do Not Call Register without consent, between February 2024 and June 2025 — ACMA
• 82 calls were placed outside permitted hours, and nearly 4,000 without properly identifying the caller or the purpose — ACMA
• Tabcorp self-reported sending more than 217,000 marketing emails and SMS messages to unsubscribed customers across a 16-day period in 2025 — ACMA
• The penalty follows earlier ACMA action in Australia, including the blocking of illegal offshore gambling sites — ACMA enforcement record
What ACMA found
The breaches fall into two categories. The first is telemarketing: over a 16-month window from February 2024 to June 2025, TAB’s VIP calling operation placed 351 calls to numbers listed on the Do Not Call Register without the consent that would make those calls lawful, 82 calls outside the hours telemarketers are permitted to operate, and close to 4,000 calls in which the caller or the purpose of the call was not properly identified.
The second is spam. Tabcorp itself disclosed that across a 16-day stretch in 2025 it sent more than 217,000 marketing emails and text messages to customers who had unsubscribed from those specific channels. That the company self-reported the volume is notable — it is also what turns a systems failure into a documented one.
The distinction matters for how regulators treat repeat conduct. A single mis-sent campaign is an error. More than 217,000 messages to people who had opted out, alongside a 16-month pattern of non-compliant calling, describes a control environment rather than an incident.
This article is informational only and is not betting or financial advice.
Why gambling marketing is treated differently
Direct-marketing rules apply to every industry in Australia, but the regulator was explicit that gambling raises the stakes.
“When people join the Do Not Call Register or unsubscribe from marketing messages, they are making a clear choice. Those choices must be respected – especially given the heightened risks of financial loss and psychological harm from gambling marketing.”
— Samantha Yorke, Member, Australian Communications and Media Authority (Casino.org)
That places the case in consumer-protection territory rather than pure telecoms compliance. A customer who unsubscribes from gambling marketing may be exercising an early, informal form of self-limitation, and contacting them anyway cuts across the harm-minimisation logic the rules serve. The VIP context sharpens it: high-value customers are the cohort with the most to lose.
What it means for operators
Yorke also signalled that the matter is not closed. “The scale and range of these breaches point to serious weaknesses in TAB’s compliance systems. The ACMA expects TAB to fix these issues, and we will be watching closely to ensure it meets its obligations,” she said.
Tabcorp, for its part, pointed to a restructuring already under way: “We’re committed to being a compliant company and commenced a whole business transformation under new leadership at the end of 2024. Tabcorp assisted the ACMA throughout the investigation and will continue to work closely with all regulators as we continue our transformation.”
For the wider market, the practical lesson is that marketing-suppression lists are now an enforcement surface in their own right. Unsubscribe handling, Do Not Call scrubbing and calling-hours logic sit in customer-relationship systems that are often owned by marketing teams rather than compliance ones — and Australian regulators are demonstrably willing to price failures there in the millions. The case lands while Australia is separately weighing a broader gambling advertising ban, and it mirrors the direction of travel in Britain, where the Gambling Commission has staged financial risk assessments around similar harm-reduction goals.
FAQ
How much was Tabcorp fined?
More than A$2.7 million, roughly US$1.9 million, paid in penalties after the ACMA’s investigation. Several outlets reported the figure in US dollar terms, which is why lower numbers such as US$1.75 million or US$1.9 million appeared alongside it.
What exactly did TAB do wrong?
Between February 2024 and June 2025 it made 351 telemarketing calls to Do Not Call Register numbers without consent, 82 calls outside permitted hours, and nearly 4,000 calls without proper identification. Separately, it sent over 217,000 marketing messages to customers who had unsubscribed.
Is the matter finished?
The penalties have been paid, but the ACMA has said it expects TAB to remediate its compliance systems and that it will be monitoring the company. Tabcorp says a business-wide transformation began under new leadership at the end of 2024.
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