Exclusive: Tabcorp is pitching its media, sponsorship and creative accounts. Australia’s largest wagering company has begun courting interest from the major holding companies and Accenture Song.
OMD currently handles Tabcorp’s media planning and buying, and has worked with the betting firm for more than 30 years. Tabcorp has recently worked with several agencies for brand strategy, creative and customer experience, including Accenture Song and Bastion; the latter worked on Tabcorp’s most recent brand campaign, ‘Shout’, which launched late last year.
Tabcorp spent $127.5 million on advertising and promotions in FY25, up 14 per cent on the previous financial year.
B&T understands the review is procurement led and an RFP was released this week.
One agency leader, who is aware of details about the review, and spoke to B&T anonymously, said Tabcorp’s media planing and buying expectations are “unrealistic”, and that most agencies would struggle to make the account commercially viable.
Tabcorp has undergone a series of internal changes since the appointment of former AFL boss Gillon McLachlan as its CEO in January last year.
Former Paramount ANZ executive Jarrod Villani joined as Tabcorp’s inaugural chief commercial and media officer, a newly-created role designed to unify all commercial and media operations under one leadership structure.
In FY25, the company rolled out a “zero-based cost design model” that it said streamlined its operations by removing around 230 roles.
What’s at stake
Wagering companies were once highly coveted clients for media agencies because they possessed large and growing media budgets. Ten years ago, gambling was the fastest growing category in terms of ad spend, according to SMI data.
Today, the gambling advertising landscape has shifted somewhat with uncertainty about future regulation.
Two years ago, Labor MP Peta Murphy released the report ‘You Win Some, You Lose More’, recommending the government phase out online gambling advertising, and place heavy restrictions around when gambling ads can run on TV.
Currently, there are rules that prevent gambling ads from running during live sport and for a period before and after play. There are also tight rules around gabling ads that run between 5am and 8.30pm to protect children who may be watching or listening.
The Albanese government, which has so far failed to act on any of Murphy’s recommendations, is under pressure to clamp down on gambling ads, but is facing resistance from the wagering and TV broadcasting sectors.
Tabcorp, OMD and Accenture Song declined to comment about the review.
