ACMA Fines Tabcorp’s TAB AU$2.7m for Marketing Compliance Failures

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has levied a AU$2.7m (€1.4m) penalty against Tabcorp Holdings’ flagship brand TAB after uncovering systematic breaches of telemarketing and consumer marketing rules. The fine follows an investigation that documented hundreds of illegal calls and a separate self-reported email and SMS blunder.

Details of the Breaches

ACMA’s probe covered violations from February 2024 through June 2025. During that period, TAB placed 351 telemarketing calls to individuals registered on the national Do Not Call Register without obtaining consent, 82 calls outside legally permitted hours, and nearly 4,000 calls in which agents failed to properly identify themselves or state the call’s purpose.

Separately, TAB self-reported that a systems error in 2025 caused more than 217,000 marketing emails and text messages to be sent over 16 days to customers who had previously unsubscribed from those specific communication channels.

ACMA Compliance Director Samantha Yorke stressed the seriousness of the lapses given the nature of gambling advertising. “When people join the Do Not Call Register or unsubscribe from marketing messages, they are making a clear choice,” she said. “Their choices must be respected – especially given the heightened risks of financial loss and psychological harm from gambling marketing.”

Yorke added that the breadth of violations indicated “serious weaknesses in TAB’s compliance systems,” and warned that ACMA would closely monitor the operator’s remediation efforts.

Regulatory and Business Context

This enforcement is the second major action against TAB in two years. In 2024, the company paid over AU$4m for sending non-compliant SMS and WhatsApp marketing to VIP customers. Although ACMA acknowledged that the latest spam incident was limited in duration and affected only opt-outs from specific channels, it still imposed a court-enforceable undertaking alongside the financial penalty.

Under the undertaking, TAB must commission an independent review of its telemarketing systems, implement compliance improvements, and provide regular progress reports to ACMA. This new obligation stacks on top of a separate enforceable undertaking already in place from the 2024 case.

The fine coincides with a broader strategic overhaul at Tabcorp. The company recently brought in Jarrod Villani, a former Paramount Australia executive, as part of a leadership refresh led by CEO Gillon McLachlan. TAB is also revamping its customer engagement model while taking full control of the 20-year exclusive Victorian Wagering and Betting Licence. That deal is expected to deliver an annual EBITDA uplift of roughly AU$115m (€69m) and around AU$300m (€180m) in additional reported revenue.

ACMA noted that over the past 18 months, Australian gambling licence holders have collectively paid more than AU$12m (circa €10m) in penalties related to telecom and telemarketing failures, underscoring the need for continued enforcement against companies that flout consumer marketing laws.