Woolworths uses staff to spy on pokie players, say whistleblowers

Woolworths is using staff to spy on pokie machine players to encourage them to stay in the venues longer, maximising their losses – and the company’s profit.

A damning investigation by Fairfax Media into Woolworths’ network of pubs across Australia reveals how staff are instructed to write down detailed personal information about high-turnover gamblers, including their appearance, what time they usually come in, how much they bet and their favourite sports team.

The data is being shared on a Google drive among all of Woolworths’ 400 pubs and is accessible to all staff, according to Fairfax Media.

Two whistleblowers who have previously worked for Woolworths spoke out about the pubs’ practices to independent senator Andrew Wilkie.

One unnamed whistleblower told Fairfax Media that to keep their jobs, staff must record details about customers, including what time they normally come in, how much they bet and what sports teams they barrack for.

“You’d record that stuff so that any new gaming staff can easily get up to speed with our VIP customers, who we want to keep gambling for as long as possible, so you can easily strike up a conversation with them and build rapport really quickly,” the unnamed whistleblower told Fairfax.

“You know the ins-and-outs of their life. You’re writing down what they do, when they sort of …what time they normally come in, the teams they barrack for and then you can go and have a conversation with them very, very easily because you’ve got that background information.

“It’s unethical and essentially you are looking over people’s shoulders, and documenting what people are doing and they don’t know that you are doing that.

“They think you are having a general chit-chat with them, but you are actually profiling it.”

Many staff felt uncomfortable with the “predatory tactics”, he said, but have to toe the line in order to keep their jobs.

He recounts seeing addict gamblers sometimes remain glued to the poker machines so long, they end up wetting themselves.

“Over the years I’ve seen people crying at their machines or urinating on the chairs because they have been playing for so long. They’ll stay all day and even sometimes wet themselves.

“How can that be right?” he asks.

Screenshots obtained by Fairfax Media show detailed notes taken by pubs’ shift managers in their ‘gaming daily briefing sheet’, where they detail what steps they took to keep gamblers playing.

One briefing sheet reads: “WE HAVE A MASSIVE WEEKLY TARGET - 1.36 TO BEAT LAST YEAR. WE NEED TO BE OUT ON THE FLOOR REALLY PUSHING DRINKS - IT’S TAX TIME SO PEOPLE WILL HAVE MORE MONEY TO SPEND. DO HAND OUT DRINK CARDS, BE OUT THERE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, DO WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO DO TO KEEP PEOPLE IN THE ROOM.”

As well as its network of supermarkets, Woolworths is also Australia's biggest pokies owner. (9NEWS)

It then goes on to detail the steps staff took to get patrons to stay longer, including “pushing drinks and sandwiches/cakes to keep them coming back!” and “smashing out the drinks to keep everyone in the room”.

A number of customers who come in throughout the day are mentioned, some by name, including “a few big hitters” such as a “young couple betting $3 and $4” and a regular who was betting his “usual” $5.

Senator Wilkie says that the allegations show that, when it comes to poker machines, Woolworths is a dreadful corporate citizen.

“This behaviour shows a complete lack of corporate responsibility and in some jurisdictions it might be illegal,” he said.

“Regardless of that it is deeply immoral. No company has the right to engage in behaviour designed to increase addiction.”

Senator Wilkie is expected to address Parliament over the issue later today.

“We shouldn’t blame the staff at these venues because I’m told they well understand that the practice is deeply unethical,” Senator Wilkie is expected to tell Parliament.

“Indeed, the staff hate that they’re being forced by Woolworths to spy on people and use the personal information to increase gambling, even though this is creating new pokie addicts.”

A Monash University School of Public Health researcher and outspoken critic of the pokie industry, Dr Charles Livingstone, told the Sydney Morning Herald that the actions by Woolworths breached the code of conduct governing pokie venues in all Australian jurisdictions.

Dr Livingstone said it should prompt licence reviews of all Woolworths-owned venues.

Through its majority shareholding of ALH, Woolworths owns around 12,000 poker machines around the country in approximately 400 pubs.

Fairfax recently estimated Woolworths’ annual poker machine revenue to be at least $1.2 billion.

That’s an average of $272 per machine per day, or around twice as much as machines held by clubs.

On ALH’s website, the company says that it is committed to encouraging “responsible gambling” and encourages customers to make “informed decisions”.

“Our goal is to ensure our hotels provide a safe and supportive environment where our customers make informed decisions about gambling and timely appropriate assistance and information is provided,” the website reads.

Let's block ads! (Why?)