Tabcorp fined record $1 million for 2020 system outage that crippled Australian betting

Tabcorp has received a record-breaking fine of $1 million from the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) due to a system failure that occurred during the 2020 Spring Racing Carnival.

On November 7, 2020, Tabcorp’s Wagering and Betting System (WBS) which is utilized by TAB and other wagering operators, experienced an outage that lasted for roughly a day and a half.

The outage occurred on one of the final days of the Spring Carnival, Mackinnon Stakes Day; with Golden Gift Day being run in Sydney.

With many corporates offering prices indexed of TAB tote prices, and the scratchings and results feeds coming from the TAB data feed; the chaos spread far and wide across most all online bookmakers as well as Tabcorp’s own offerrings.

It was estimated that downtime cost the industry over $100 million in lost betting turnover.

At the time, Tabcorp refused to confirm the exact cause of the outage to punters, releasing a waffling statement that concluded the issue was “currently understood to have been caused by a major power disruption at one of the external data centres which houses Tabcorp’s servers.”

Not only did Tabcorp not come clean with the betting public, but the VGCCC effectively accused Tabcorp of obstructing their investigation by not complying with demands and directions and, in one case, lodging a compliance form more than four months late.

After investigating the matter, the VGCCC determined that Tabcorp did not sufficiently test and maintain its WBS, resulting in the outage.

Furthermore, it was found that Tabcorp lacked backup systems to handle such a situation.

This magnitude of the VGCCC fine is the first of its kind.

The VGCCC said the fine imposed reflects the severity of the outages impact on both the racing industry and the community at large.

An independent review of Tabcorp’s systems and processes will also be conducted by an expert appointed externally.

The VGCCC slammed Tabcorp management for not being cooperative and transparent, saying, “All entities we regulate – no matter how big or small – have an obligation to be open and honest with the Commission and responsive to its lawfully issued directions.

“We will not tolerate attempts to frustrate our investigations.”

The condemning report on Tabcorp’s mismanagement from a Victorian Government body comes at bad time for Tabcorp as it tries to defend its exclusive retail licence in Victoria from Sportsbet, and Entain, who own Neds and Ladbrokes.

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