Australia
Victoria Racing Club, Tabcorp and Nine Enter Landmark Deal for Melbourne Cup Carnival
The Victoria Racing Club (VRC), Tabcorp and Nine Entertainment (Nine) announced a groundbreaking broadcast, media and sponsorship deal for the world-famous Melbourne Cup Carnival from 2024 to 2029.
The landmark agreement will see the VRC and Tabcorp enter a game-changing partnership combining enhanced year-round sponsorship, and domestic and international media rights for the Carnival.
The Melbourne Cup Carnival will be broadcast on all SKY platforms and the TAB app, with Tabcorp having the right to on-sell the coverage to wagering providers.
Nine will be the free to air partner of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, including audio-visual rights for broadcast, streaming, mobile, digital and social platforms. Tabcorp will be the exclusive wagering integration partner for Nine’s broadcast of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
The new rights package means that Nine will be the broadcast home of Penfolds Derby Day, Lexus Melbourne Cup Day, VRC Oaks Day and TAB Champions Stakes Day. All four days of the Carnival – one of the nation’s most significant cultural events – will be broadcast live and free in high-definition on Channel 9 and streamed on 9Now.
The partnership allows the VRC to invest strategically for the long term in the key areas of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, member engagement, the year-round racing programme, Flemington Racecourse tracks and facilities and the broader community. It will also bring significant new investment to the racing industry which will support and fund innovations on and off the track, create new jobs and further enhance equine welfare initiatives.
The agreement represents a partnership encompassing broadcast, content, partnership rights and race naming rights. This partnership will create significant exposure for the brands and their partners as it brings together the biggest names in sport.
VRC Chairman Neil Wilson said that this was an important strategic announcement for the industry, Tabcorp, Nine and the VRC.
“The VRC is delighted to extend and enhance its long-term partnership with Tabcorp. As Australia’s first major event, the Melbourne Cup Carnival will sit very appropriately in the calendar of Nine’s Wide World of Sport major event coverage,” Mr Wilson said.
“The Melbourne Cup Carnival is Australia’s pre-eminent racing event, and the partnership continues the VRC’s unwavering commitment to showcasing the very best the sport of racing has to offer and attracting new fans to the sport.
“The iconic nature of the event was highlighted by a successful 2023 Melbourne Cup Carnival, with more than 262,000 racing fans at Flemington and millions more engaging with the Lexus Melbourne Cup at home and abroad.
“The Melbourne Cup Carnival is one of Australia’s most culturally and economically important major events, and it is right here in Melbourne – considered by many as the sporting capital of the world.
“As its custodians, the VRC places significant emphasis on protecting the history and tradition of Cup Week, which is loved by so many Australians, while innovating for the future and investing in our club and the major event that is the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
“This landmark partnership is not only good for Melbourne and Victorian racing, but it also guarantees our sport has primacy across multiple platforms and channels.
“The partnership will enhance the community engagement and economic contribution that followed the 2023 Melbourne Cup Carnival, which saw more than $500,000 raised for different charity groups, an estimated 16,000 jobs generated and the delivery of thousands of visitors to Victoria from interstate and international locations, highlighting the broader impact of the event,” Mr Wilson said.
The Melbourne Cup Carnival delivered $422.1 million in economic benefit to Victoria in 2022, making it the largest economic contributor to the state of any major annual sporting event in the past decade, with early modelling suggesting the 2023 economic impact will be even greater than 2022.
In 2022, one in two adult Australians engaged with Lexus Melbourne Cup Day in some way and in 2023, the race itself was broadcast to 209 countries and territories with a potential global reach of 750 million people.
A key component of the partnership will see the VRC take the reins on managing the production for racing coverage through VRC Media, working closely with Tabcorp and Nine to elevate the way racing is broadcast across the globe.
VRC Chief Executive Officer Steve Rosich said the partnership underlined the club’s strategic commitment to being a world leader in racing, media, sponsorship and event experience.
“The partnership with Tabcorp and the arrangements with Nine have been developed by our close strategic alignment and a desire to grow and innovate in our industry,” Mr Rosich said.
“We are thrilled that in 2024 the Melbourne Cup Carnival will join the Nine big event stable alongside the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Australian Open and State of Origin.
“Nine’s capability to showcase coverage of Melbourne Cup Carnival racing and events across the depth of their leading broadcast and streaming assets make for a compelling partnership outcome.”
Mr Rosich also thanked previous Melbourne Cup Carnival broadcast partner Network 10.
“The VRC acknowledges and thanks Network 10 for bringing together exceptional coverage of the Melbourne Cup Carnival since 2019. In partnership with Network 10 the VRC has expanded the range and reach of Cup Week across domestic and international audiences, and we were delighted to finish the partnership on a high, with increased viewership on Network 10 and 10 Play.”
Tabcorp CEO Adam Rytenskild said: “Tabcorp’s partnership with the VRC and Nine is the most innovative in Australian sport and we can’t wait to bring our entire digital, broadcast and retail ecosystem together to grow and promote the Melbourne Cup Carnival together.
“This partnership builds on Tabcorp winning the 20-year Victorian exclusive wagering licence and will be a key pillar of our growth strategy. Together with our Brand and Customer transformation, this partnership gives us a terrific platform to grow in Victoria, throughout Australia and around the world as we beam the Cup to more than 60 different countries through Sky Racing.”
The organisers of Regulating the Game have announced the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) as a confirmed judge for the inaugural RTG Global Awards, to be presented at the Regulating the Game 2026 Gala Dinner on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Sydney.
The RTG Global Awards celebrate excellence in leadership, innovation and impact across community impact, compliance, safer gambling, industry integrity and financial crime risk management. The Awards form part of the sixth edition of Regulating the Game, an international conference committed to enhancing sector integrity, regulatory capability and ethical leadership.
Founded in 2005, IBIA is the leading global voice on integrity for the licensed betting industry. It is a not-for-profit association whose members include many of the world’s largest regulated betting operators, active across six continents. IBIA plays a crucial role in safeguarding sport and the betting industry from corruption, operating a world-leading monitoring and alert platform and collaborating with regulators and sports governing bodies around the world.
Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, joins the RTG Global Awards judging panel, bringing deep sector expertise and a steadfast commitment to integrity and responsible betting practices.
He said: “I am honoured to join the judging panel for the RTG Global Awards. At IBIA, we are dedicated to upholding integrity and transparency across the global betting landscape. These Awards spotlight the organisations and individuals working to advance ethical conduct and effective regulation, and we are proud to support that mission.”
Paul Newson, Principal at Vanguard Overwatch and founder of Regulating the Game, welcomed the announcement: “Khalid’s appointment and IBIA’s involvement reflect the global calibre and integrity-centred mission of the Awards. Their leadership in monitoring and protecting sport from betting-related corruption aligns perfectly with our vision to champion excellence and elevate standards across the sector.”
• The RTG Global Awards will feature six categories:
• Leadership Voice – for principled, reform-focused leadership contributing to sector uplift
• Safer Gambling Champion – for operators or organisations demonstrating tangible harm minimisation outcomes
• Compliance Excellence – recognising uplift in AML, risk culture, or regulatory compliance
• RegTech Solution of the Year – celebrating innovative technologies improving sector integrity and compliance
• Community Impact Initiative – for initiatives delivering measurable community benefit
• Emerging Leader – Safer Gambling or Compliance – spotlighting rising talent (under 40) making meaningful contributions.
Key Dates:
• Nominations Open: Tuesday, July 1, 2025
• Nominations Close: Friday, December 12, 2025
• Finalists Announced: Monday, February, 2 2026
• Awards Presented: Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at the Regulating the Game Gala Dinner.
Nominations will open on July 1, 2025, with further details and submission guidelines available at: www.regulatingthegame.com/global-awards-2026.
The post IBIA Joins the Judging Panel for Inaugural RTG Global Awards appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has found four wagering service providers – Buddybet, Ultrabet, VicBet and Topbet – breached rules that protect people who registered with BetStop – the National Self-Exclusion Register (NSER).
An ACMA investigation found Buddybet failed to close wagering accounts for people on the NSER and sent marketing to them. The company has since exited the Australian market.
A separate ACMA investigation found Ultrabet reopened the account of someone at the end of their self-exclusion period and allowed that person to bet with that account. Ultrabet also caused marketing to be sent to another self-excluded person.
Under the NSER rules, once an individual registers with the NSER, wagering service providers must close that person’s account as soon as practicable. Accounts must not be reopened or reinstated once a person ceases to be registered with the NSER.
Instead, people at the end of their self-exclusion period who want to recommence gambling need to make a clear and deliberate choice to do so. Providers must also cease sending self-excluded people any electronic marketing such as emails or texts.
The ACMA has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from Ultrabet, which commits the company to review its compliance systems and processes and implement improvements.
Following two other separate investigations, online bookmakers VicBet and Topbet have each been issued with a formal warning after the ACMA found they contravened the NSER marketing rules. The ACMA found each company had sent marketing material to a self-excluded person.
Authority member Carolyn Lidgerwood said breaches of the NSER rules can lead to significant harm.
“Wagering providers should know their obligations under the rules and know that we are enforcing them. The rules about account closure must be complied with,” Ms Lidgerwood said.
“People on the NSER have made a conscious effort to exclude themselves from online gambling services. Sending gambling marketing messages to people who are trying to stop gambling is unacceptable. Betting services must have systems in place that respect the decisions of people to self-exclude, or face further consequences.”
The post ACMA: Four Betting Services Breach Gambling Self-Exclusion Rules appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Regulating the Game 2026 has welcomed its first joint sponsors, CherryHub and Ebet, two Australian companies driving transformation across the gaming and hospitality sectors.
Now in its sixth edition, Regulating the Game has cemented its reputation as the premier gambling law and regulation conference. Returning to Sydney in March 2026, the event will again bring together global regulators, industry pioneers and compliance professionals for three dynamic days of policy and sector dialogue, strategic insights and capability building.
The programme will span high-impact keynotes and panel sessions addressing regulatory challenges, financial crime and public policy reform; innovation showcases exploring AI, RegTech and emerging technology; and deep dives into safer gambling, risk management and compliance uplift.
With expert-led masterclasses and the return of Pitch!, now hosted at the iconic Yallamundi Rooms at the Sydney Opera House, Regulating the Game 2026 will “continue to shape the future of not only effective and leading-edge gambling regulation, but also a forward-thinking, innovative, and socially responsible industry,” the organisers noted.
Frank Makryllos, Managing Director and CEO of Ebet, said: “Regulating the Game plays a critical role in fostering the collaboration and thought leadership our industry needs. As suppliers, Ebet and Cherry Hub are committed to equipping venues with practical tools to manage risk, support safer gambling practices, and meet evolving regulatory expectations, including AML/CTF and financial crime compliance.”
Paul Newson, Principal at Vanguard Overwatch and founder of Regulating the Game, said: “CherryHub and Ebet represent the innovation and integrity we seek to champion through Regulating the Game. Their support reflects a strong alignment with our mission to promote evidence-led policy, ethical leadership, and safer gambling outcomes.”
With a refreshed agenda, an expanded Exhibition Showcase, and the return of the Pitch! Challenge, Regulating the Game 2026 is “set to raise the bar once again, fostering critical dialogue, driving collaboration, and advancing not only regulatory excellence but also a vibrant, innovative, and ethically led industry,” the organisers concluded.
The post Regulating the Game 2026 Announces CherryHub and Ebet as RegTech Sponsors appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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