Woolworths launches fresh review of pokies business

An independent investigation has been launched into the scandal engulfing Woolworths-owned pokies venues after staff allegedly used customers' personal information to encourage continued gambling.

Gaming industry insiders said prominent law firm Minter Ellison and a leading accountancy firm had been engaged to conduct the fresh review of Woolworths' hotels business, the ALH Group.

The investigation is linked to whistleblower allegations levelled last month claiming employees in ALH pokies venues had been secretly harvesting information about gamblers that they would use to bond with them, keep them in venues longer and maximise their losses.

ALH Group on Monday confirmed that "an investigation has commenced", but would not expand further on details of the inquiry or whether it would examine broader issues.

ALH Group chairman and former Woolworths chief executive, Roger Corbett, said the company had announced it would have an independent inquiry, "and independent it will be".

The new investigation comes on top of a separate review already being conducted by the Responsible Gambling Council of Canada, which was also recently widened to include the issues raised by independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie's whistleblowers.

Woolworths' majority-owned ALH Group is a joint venture between supermarket giant and billionaire businessman Bruce Mathieson, and owns hundreds of pubs across the country.

It is Australia's largest pokies provider, with more than 12,000 poker machines.

Mr Wilkie revealed the whistleblower evidence to parliament last month, presenting a series of screenshots appearing to show an ALH Group database accessible across all its venues that contained details of regular pokies players' gambling habits, drinking habits and favourite sports teams.

The ALH Group runs hundreds of pubs and more than 12,000 poker machines across Australia.Credit: JOSH ROBENSTONE

The documents also appeared to suggest staff were rewarded when their venues hit pokies revenue targets, and gaming-floor staff were told to "be there as much as possible ... do whatever you have to do to keep them in the room".

ALH said it treated its responsible gambling obligations seriously, and compliance with the law was "not negotiable".

The company said there was a "line that must be respected" between responsible gambling obligations and legitimate customer service and loyalty initiatives.

"If there are instances where that line has been crossed, ALH is committed to taking the necessary steps to rectify any breach and address any non-compliant behaviour," the company said.

The ASX-listed Woolworths has recently been the target of intense campaigning from the anti-pokies lobby over its involvement in the gambling industry.

Woolworths reaped $1.55 billion in revenue from its hotels business in the last financial year producing a $232 million profit before tax and interest.

In response to the allegations raised by Mr Wilkie last month, the New South Wales gaming regulator, Liquor & Gaming NSW, said it was making urgent investigations into the matter.

"Such behaviour is in clear breach of Responsible Conduct of Gambling responsibilities which all NSW venues with gaming machines are required to uphold," the regulator said.

Australia's information and privacy commissioner, Timothy Pilgrim, has also initiated inquiries, as the allegations also involve potential breaches of gamblers' privacy.