Woolworth’s ongoing poker machine scandal—called pokies—in Australia could cost it an A$150 million investment from a superannuation fund representing local councils in Victoria.
A motion to have the fund, Vision Super, divest the holdings in Woolworth’s will be put to a vote at a statewide meeting of councils next month.
The scandal involves whistleblowers from Woolworths’ majority-owned ALH Group which allege the secretly targets vulnerable gamblers and seeks to maximize their losses. ALH is a $1.5 billion joint venture between Woolworths and the Mathieson family and is the country’s largest provider of pokies, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
If successful, the motion will pressure on the local government workers’ $9 billion default superannuation fund, Vision Super, to pull out its shares in Woolworths unless the Woolworths board agrees to publicly announce its intention to divest from ALH Group by the end of the year.
The motion has been put forward to the upcoming Municipal Association of Victoria state council by a unanimous decision of Darebin councillors. In addition to seeking the divestment, it also “condemns Woolworths for operating Australia’s biggest poker machine business in a reckless and unsustainable fashion,” the Herald reported.
