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.

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.

Loading

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.”