TAB Pays $1.76 Million After Australian Regulator Finds Widespread Telemarketing & Spam Breaches

Key Takeaways

• TAB Penalized for Telemarketing and Spam Breaches: TAB paid more than $1.76 million (AUD $2.7 million) after the ACMA found widespread violations of Australia's telemarketing and spam laws involving VIP customer marketing.
• Thousands of Consumer Protection Violations Identified: The regulator found 351 calls to Do Not Call Register numbers without consent, 82 calls outside permitted hours, nearly 4,000 improperly identified telemarketing calls, and more than 217,000 marketing emails and SMS messages sent to customers who had unsubscribed from specific channels.
• Compliance Systems Found Deficient: The ACMA said the scale and variety of the breaches revealed serious weaknesses in TAB's compliance controls and required the company to undertake an independent review of its telemarketing systems, implement improvements, and report regularly on its compliance.
• Repeat Offender Faces Increased Scrutiny: The enforcement action follows a 2024 penalty of more than $2.61 million (AUD $4 million) for separate spam violations, reinforcing regulatory concerns about TAB's ability to sustain effective marketing compliance.

Deep Dive

The Australian Communications and Media Authority found that Tabcorp Holdings' wagering business repeatedly breached Australia's telemarketing rules while marketing to VIP customers. The regulator identified 351 calls made to numbers listed on the Do Not Call Register without consent, 82 calls placed outside legally permitted hours, and nearly 4,000 calls in which TAB failed to properly identify itself, the purpose of the call, or both.

Those failures did not stand alone. In 2025, TAB also disclosed to the regulator that, over a 16-day period, it had sent more than 217,000 marketing emails and SMS messages to customers who had unsubscribed from receiving promotions through specific communication channels. For the ACMA, the two episodes pointed to the same underlying problem.

"The scale and range of these breaches point to serious weaknesses in TAB's compliance systems," ACMA Authority Member Samantha Yorke said. "The ACMA expects TAB to fix these issues, and we will be watching closely to ensure it meets its obligations."

Yorke's sharper observation came earlier. "When people join the Do Not Call Register or unsubscribe from marketing messages, they are making a clear choice," she said. "Those choices must be respected – especially given the heightened risks of financial loss and psychological harm from gambling marketing."

Regulators have long treated gambling advertising differently from ordinary consumer marketing because the consequences of getting it wrong extend beyond annoyance. An unwanted marketing message for a pair of shoes is one thing. A message encouraging gambling reaches people regulators recognize may already be vulnerable to financial or psychological harm.

The ACMA said it considered several factors before determining the spam penalty. TAB had reported the issue itself, the emails and text messages were sent during a confined 16-day period, and the affected customers had withdrawn consent for particular marketing channels rather than opting out of all marketing from the company. Those factors reduced the severity of the response. They did not eliminate it.

The regulator has required more than a financial payment. TAB has entered into a court-enforceable undertaking requiring an independent review of its telemarketing systems, implementation of any necessary improvements, and regular compliance reporting to the ACMA. Those obligations sit alongside a separate spam undertaking that remains in force following an earlier enforcement action.

That history almost certainly shaped how the regulator viewed this latest case. In 2024, the ACMA penalized TAB more than $2.61 million (AUD $4 million) for sending non-compliant SMS and WhatsApp marketing messages to VIP customers. A repeat offense inevitably raises a different question from a first one. It is no longer simply whether the company broke the rules, but why the lessons from the previous enforcement action failed to prevent it from happening again.

The ACMA noted that businesses have paid more than $7.83 million (AUD $12 million) in penalties for spam and telemarketing breaches over the past 18 months. The legal requirements themselves are uncomplicated. Businesses cannot call numbers on the Do Not Call Register without consent, may only place telemarketing calls during permitted hours, must identify themselves clearly, and cannot continue sending marketing messages to people who have unsubscribed.

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