Tabcorp says it doesn’t yet know what the full financial impact of COVID-19 will be on its business after announcing several cost-saving measures to the ASX .

With sport around the world at a standstill and most racing jurisdictions on hiatus due to coronavirus, betting companies across the country have been severely impacted.

Tabcorp has been particularly impacted, with its agencies and outlets also forced to close due to government restrictions which are in place to slow the spread of the virus.

Tabcorp said it was ‘seeking to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on the Group’s businesses and financial position by reducing operating and capital expenditure and reviewing various commercial arrangements’.

The specific actions taken and outcomes to date that Tabcorp announced to the ASX include the temporary standing down of over 700 Tabcorp employees to 30 June, 2020 in businesses of the Group where there is no work as a result of COVID-19 shutdown.

CEO David Attenborough said: “This continues to be a very challenging time for our people, businesses, partners and the community.

“We are committed to working proactively and collaboratively with all our stakeholders so that we can collectively emerge from the COVID-19 period as strongly as possible.”

A Victorian Racing Industry (VRI) spokesman, on behalf of all three codes, said: “Tabcorp are a long-term Joint Venture partner of the Victorian Racing Industry (VRI) and a significant contributor to the funding which underpins the sustainability of all three racing codes.

“Like many businesses, Tabcorp has experienced significant disruption as a result of COVID-19 with the closure of their retail outlets and the loss of sports and international racing for their customers to wager on.

“Whilst this disruption is expected to significantly impact the VRI through lower distributions from the VicTab Joint Venture arrangements, we are all committed to this partnership and are working closely together to support one another during this period.”