Australia Warns Tabcorp Over In-Play Betting

This week it was announced that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) issued a formal warning to operator Tabcorp after the company was found to have accepted in-play bets for an American NCAA Basketball game.

The incident took place on January 3rd of this year and saw Tabcorp accepting 37 in-play bets during the game. The activity is illegal in Australia due to the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001.

For their part, Tabcorp claimed that it failed to close betting in time for the event start due to a bad feed from a third-party as well as an internal technical error. The company paid out winning bets and refunded losing bets after the company realized it was offering the wagers.

The AMCA decided a formal warning was sufficient, as Tabcorp admitted the mistake and said it implemented processes to ensure the incident doesn't happen again.

Regarding the issue ACMA's Fiona Cameron said, "We know that in-play betting, such as bets on the next point in a tennis match or the next ball in cricket, can pose a very high risk to problem gamblers.

"These rules have been in place for many years and Tabcorp has had more than enough time to put systems in place to ensure that in-play betting is not offered on local or international sports."