Tabcorp Faces Fine of $1 Million Following 2018 Spring Racing Carnival Mishap
The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) of Victoria, Australia, has been persistent in their investigation of gambling and betting operator Tabcorp, which has spanned nearly three years. This is all due to an incident that occurred during the Spring Racing Carnival in 2020, during which Tabcorp's Wagering and Betting System (WBS) experienced a significant outage lasting approximately 36 hours.
This incident caused the VGCCC to levy a hefty fine of over AUD1 million (US$638,600) against Tabcorp, as they found the operator was not in alignment with the regulator's demands. The problem stemmed from Tabcorp not complying with the VGCCC's rules that state the WBS must be accessible at all times without any interruptions. The regulator had a tough time with other gaming operators in Victoria as well and Tabcorp was no exception.
Even as the investigation progressed, Tabcorp resisted cooperating, which contributed to the lengthy investigation process. The VGCCC states that Tabcorp's Adam Rytenskild failed to respond in a timely manner to certain requests for information from the regulator. Some of these responses didn't arrive until four months after the regulator had set a deadline.
The VGCCC, currently preparing for changes in Victoria's gaming market, deemed the operator's lack of transparency and cooperation as highly irresponsible. It hindered the regulator's ability to fully understand the cause of the blackout and prevent its recurrence in the future. The fine could have been higher, as the regulator originally considered a potential fine of over AUD9 million (US$5.74 million).
Despite these controversies, Tabcorp has been on an upswing lately. They recently reported their latest financial statement, which revealed a 2.4% increase in revenue for the period ending June 30, 2022. Revenue from their continuing operations reached AUD2.4 billion (US$1.5 billion), mainly from their wagering and media division. Tabcorp brought in a net profit after tax of AUD67 million (US$42.7 million).
Although these figures were lower than the previous year's results, Tabcorp attributed this to the demerger of their lotteries and keno business, now operated under the Australian Securities Exchange listed company, The Lottery Corporation. The Wagering and Media division saw a 2.2% revenue increase, reaching AUD2.23 billion (US$1.43 billion), and their earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased by 7.3%, totaling AUD308 million (US$198 million). Improvements in the number of active accounts Tabcorp managed to secure contributed to this, with a 3% increase in customer accounts. However, digital revenue, which constituted 24.5% of the total revenue, reported a slight decline from last year's 24.9%.
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