Pokies scandal: Has Woolworths really cleaned up its act?

WHEN: 11:00am TODAY 14 February **please note time change**

WHERE: Senate Courtyard, Parliament House CANBERRA

Mr Wilkie first raised allegations in February 2018 that Woolworths were spying on poker machine users and plying patrons with free alcohol. According to documents obtained under freedom of information laws by the ABC and released today, the NSW regulator is conducting an investigation into free alcohol being used to manipulate gamblers across the country – something Woolworths claimed was limited to Queensland and would be stamped out.

“Today we see shocking revelations about Woolworths’ so-called investigation into allegations of poker machine misconduct,” Mr Wilkie said.

“Turns out that not only was the investigation a whitewash, because it was conducted internally and the investigators only spoke to venue bosses and not ordinary workers, but in fact the company chose to hide even this substandard report from the NSW regulator.

“And at the same time we learn that the NSW regulator is investigating ALH for giving people free alcohol in order to get them to gamble more. This is a practice that the Chair of Woolworths himself assured me last year would be stamped out.

“When I revealed these allegations last year the community were quite rightly shocked at the behaviour that was alleged to be occurring in these poker machine venues. No doubt people will be disappointed that, according to documents released today, the practice might still be going across more than 50 venues.”

The Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group, which is majority owned by Woolworths, operates about 12,000 poker machines across over 300 venues, including five in Tasmania.

Mr Wilkie’s statements from last year publicising these allegations, along with video testimony from whistleblowers, are at http://andrewwilkie.org/interview-woolworths-whistleblower/ and http://andrewwilkie.org/interview-woolworths-whistleblowers/