A FORMER employee of the South Tweed Tavern has contradicted the findings of an internal inquiry into responsible gaming by Woolworth’s poker machine arm Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group (ALH).
The tavern was one of 22 named in the investigation which uncovered evidence that ALH kept databases of customers who gambled, including their habits and behaviors, and also found evidence that, “at some venues in Queensland, there was increased provision of complimentary drinks in gaming areas and that in certain instances increased customer service efforts (including the provision of complimentary drinks) were directed to high-value customers to encourage further gaming activity”. This may not be the case with online gaming, where legit games that pay real money and keep the details of the players secure.
“Aside from the matters referred to above, the investigation did not find evidence of similar conduct in any other state or territory,” the report stated.
However, a former employee alleged to The Weekly that management provided free alcoholic beverages to encourage customers to gamble at the South Tweed Tavern.
The former employee, who did not want to be named, alleged that staff had a daily target to reach for the amount of free soft drinks, snacks, coffees, and alcoholic beverages they were to supply gaming patrons.
“We had to give out free alcohol and the manager and I knew it wasn’t right,” the former employee said. Probably they were aware of the damaging and addictive effects of alcohol and how its unadministered use can end someone in an alcohol treatment center.
“It was about $100 – we had to do around 20 free soft drinks and 20 snacks and $100 worth of alcoholic beverages each day.
“It was in writing from the head office to meet those targets but under Responsible Service of Alcohol laws you aren’t supposed to do that.”
The former employee said that they knew there were different rules in Queensland but because most of ALH’s pubs were in Queensland and the tavern was on the border they were told that Queensland rules applied.
“We even spoke to a licencing policeman about it and he said it was illegal to provide free drinks in NSW,” the former employee said.
“Then management asked why we weren’t reaching the targets – that was in free alcohol targets – and we said it’s in the law that you can’t give out free alcohol.
“It was quite a toxic culture and there was a fairly high turnover of staff.”
The former employee said the regular customers didn’t get the same service and asked why management was giving out free drinks.
“In the end they understood it was to keep them gambling,” the employee said.
“As soon as they walked into the gaming room we would have to ask, ‘do you want a coffee, do you want a snack and if they wanted an alcoholic drink sometimes they wouldn’t have to pay.”
The former employee said they didn’t think the inquiry would stop the behaviour at ALH.
Throughout the world, such practices are prevalent in many companies. The possibility exists that many employees receive the help they need from coworkers and lawyers (similar to California employment lawyers), which could lead to serious investigations into the company’s malpractice. However, employees may not have complained in this case and the firm seems to have continued violating the law.
“I reckon they would still be doing it if they can get away with it,” the former employee said
“If they can make money they would still be doing it.
“I don’t think it would have stopped at all even with all the publicity and the inquiry.”
The former employee said the company never seemed concerned about being caught.
“They didn’t seem worried about police – I’m not sure why,” the former employee said.
“I suppose it was because they were a big company.”
The ALH report stated that “the investigation found that over an approximately six-month period commencing in or around June 2017, a customer service program was operating in a limited number of venues in Queensland which gave rise to instances of ALH employees recording descriptive information about gaming customers in a manner that was below ALH’s expectations and contrary to its policies”.
“Practices varied across these hotels,” the report read.
“The practice also extended (to a limited degree) to a small number of venues in South Australia, and certain aspects of the customer service program were implemented in two venues in New South Wales.”
Twenty of the hotels named were in Queensland with only two hotels in NSW, the South Tweed Tavern which has 25 machines that earn $1,901,927 annual profit and the Westower Tavern at Ballina, which has 30 gaming machines.
ALH said in the report that the “initiatives have now ceased”.
It was anti-gambling campaigner and Federal MP Andrew Wilkie who originally aired the allegations from a whistle-blower about the databases and customer profiling in February this year.
Mr Wilkie told The Weekly that he thought it would have been better to have an outsider do the inquiry, rather than it being run internally by Woolworths.
“Although to be fair to Woolworths it was noteworthy that they were prepared to do any investigation at all,” Mr Wilkie said.
“I haven’t seen any evidence yet that it wasn’t a reasonably thorough review.”
Mr Wilkie said he didn’t think the behaviour uncovered in the investigation was confined to Woolworths-owned hotels.
“I have no doubt that these sorts of practices are widespread in the poker machine industry more broadly and am always on the lookout for ways to identify it and to call it out,” he said.
The Weekly contacted ALH management regarding the allegations but they did not want to comment.
A spokesperson for Liquor & Gaming NSW said they recognised the positive steps ALH had taken to review the matter and for assisting the regulator with its independent investigation.
The spokesperson said it was “unlawful for venues to induce gambling on gaming machines through free or discounted alcohol”.
“Our inquiries into allegations of irresponsible gaming practices at ALH venues in NSW are ongoing and it is not appropriate to comment further,” the Liquor and Gamming NSW spokesperson said.