Supermarket colossus Woolworths has been called the “worst” pokies operator in Australia for over-serving alcohol to patrons in an attempt to keep them playing. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the company faces substantial fines and possibly revocation of some of its gaming licenses due to the practice, which seems to have been widespread across dozens of shops.
A former staff member blew the whistle on Woolworths’ majority-owned ALH Group, Australia’s biggest provider of poker machines. The staffer claimed that workers were charged with keeping players at the poker machines for “as long as possible.”
Last year, federal MP Andrew Wilkie viewed screenshots of company directives, including one that ordered employees to “do whatever you have to do to keep people in the room.”
“The complaint lodged with the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority alleges that the practice of supplying gaming patrons free alcohol was systemic” at two North Coast hotels, a spokesman for Liquor & Gaming NSW said.
The ALH Group is a joint venture between the retailer and billionaire Bruce Mathieson. It operates 330 gaming venues with more than 12,000 poker machines. One of Woolworths’ biggest shareholders, Perpetual Investments is urging the company to divest of its pokies interests, calling it a threat to its brand and reputation.
“This is disgraceful conduct from the ‘fresh food people’ (who) repeatedly claim to be responsible when in fact they are the worst major pokies operator in Australia—keeping venues open as long as possible, lobbying against reform, plying gamblers with free grog,” said Reverend Tim Costello of the Alliance for Gambling Reform. “Recently installed ALH chairman and Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci should be fronting up publicly to explain his company’s behavior.”
ALH faces fines of up to $110,000 and suspension or cancellation of licenses, the Herald reported.
Wilkie, meanwhile, says it’s “implausible” that the misconduct in NSW was limited to two pubs. “We can only have confidence in the NSW regulator’s inquiries if they can assure us that all 50 pubs that were originally under investigation have been thoroughly examined and found to be in the clear,” he said. “The community also needs to see the details of Woolworths’ own investigations in its venues.”
An internal ALH investigation confirmed that 22 of its pubs in three states collected personal information on high rollers—including their favorite drinks—and used it to help staff encourage gamblers to increase their losses. But Independent NSW MP Justin Field says the government’s investigation “smacks of political interference.” He conceded that the two ALH venues identified in the complaint should be stripped of their gaming and alcohol licenses.
