Tabcorp fined $4 million for spamming customers with thousands of unlawful marketing messages
Australia's largest betting company Tabcorp has been fined more than $4 million for breaches of spam laws.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), which governs spam laws, found that Tabcorp sent more than 5,700 unlawful marketing messages to customers of its VIP program.
The VIP program is where eligible customers receive personalised and direct communications regarding Tabcorp services from Tabcorp personnel or an agent.
Almost 3,000 SMS and WhatsApp messages were sent between February 1 and May 1 of 2024, without providing an option to unsubscribe from the messages, while 3,148 SMS and WhatsApp messages did not contain adequate sender information across the same period.
Eleven SMS messages were sent without consent between February 15 and April 29, 2024.
Under the Spam Act 2003, businesses must have consent before sending marketing messages.
Messages sent with consent must also contain a working unsubscribe option and information about the sender.
The ACMA said gambling marketing materials often involve personalised messages offering incentives, such as bonus bets, deposit matching, rebates and offers of tickets to sporting and other events.
ACMA authority member Samantha Yorke said the breaches were deeply concerning as they involved non-compliance by a large and established gambling provider that targeted VIP program customers.
"The gambling industry needs to understand that spam laws apply to all direct marketing — whether it's generic campaigns or personalised messages.
"It is utterly unacceptable that Tabcorp did not have adequate spam compliance systems in place."
VIPs aren't necessarily high-rollers, they can be anyone, including those who are not well off or experience significant losses.
The $4,003,270 penalty against Tabcorp is one of the highest of its kind by the ACMA.
The ABC understands that the fine has been paid and the penalty and legal costs will be recognised in this year's Tabcorp financial statements.
Over the last 18 months, businesses have been penalised more than $16.9 million by the ACMA for spam breaches.
The ABC understands a leadership change was triggered at Tabcorp following the ACMA investigation.
"Under its new leadership team, Tabcorp is remediating and significantly improving our processes, systems and overall compliance pursuant to an enforceable undertaking" a spokesperson said in a statement.
Tabcorp acknowledged the findings of the ACMA investigation and entered into a 3-year court-enforceable undertaking, which includes an independent review of its direct marketing systems, making improvements, running quarterly audits of its VIP direct marketing, training staff and reporting to the ACMA regularly.
The ACMA said it would be watching closely to ensure Tabcorp meets its commitments and complies with the spam laws in future.
Last year, the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission fined Tabcorp $4.6 million after the company failed to adequately train staff in responsible gambling and sent direct marketing materials to a customer who had opted out.
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