Tabcorp fined after failing to stop teen from punting 30 times

Wagering giant Tabcorp will pay $370,000 after failing to stop a child from gambling at Victorian pubs on more than 30 occasions between 2022 and 2023.

Tabcorp, which holds the licence to all retail betting in Victoria and is responsible for the state’s 1800 betting terminals, faced a maximum penalty of $700,000 after it was charged by the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission with 72 alleged offences last year.

Tabcorp has been fined after failing to stop a minor from gambling on more than 30 occasions at pubs in Victoria.Credit: Getty

However, the Magistrate’s Court made no conviction on Thursday and instead directed the wagering giant to pay just $274,000 in fines, plus an additional $100,000 in costs – less than half the maximum penalty it faced for the alleged contraventions.

Tabcorp plead guilty to 43 offences and accepted it had failed to stop the minor from gambling and had not properly supervised its electronic betting terminals housed across the state’s pubs and clubs.

The Victorian regulator began its investigation after a complaint from a member of the public in May last year. The commission found the teenager, who recently turned 18, was able to place bets at 13 venues between September 2022 and November 2023, when aged 16 and 17.

The pubs – the bulk of which are owned by ASX-listed pubs giant Endeavour – face a maximum collective fine of $1 million.

So far, five of the 13 pubs have had to pay penalties of less than $10,000 and the Preston Hotel was fined $25,000.

The boss of the state regulator, Annette Kimmitt, said the breaches showed a lack of vigilance on Tabcorp’s part. “These failures undermine the integrity and safety of the industry ... It is their duty to rigorously check IDs and supervise gambling activities to ensure minors are not able to access these services,” she said. “Their vigilance is crucial in safeguarding young people from the harms of gambling.”

A Tabcorp spokesperson said the company was focused on preventing minors from gambling. “Tabcorp accepts the decision of the Melbourne Magistrates Court and notes the magistrate’s comments that Tabcorp has taken ‘considerable remedial steps to deter minors from gambling at its venues’,” a Tabcorp spokesperson said.

The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission issued a statewide direction in January that prevents Tabcorp’s betting terminals in pubs and clubs from accepting cash bets unless they are within five metres of the counter, as part of its decision to renew the wagering giant’s gaming licence for the next 20 years.

About 60 per cent of Tabcorp’s betting machines in pubs and clubs are outside the required five-metre rule. This means these venues are restricted to cashless bets, or the pubs must move the terminals closer to the counter.

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