Aristocrat to defend claims against its pokies game

Sunday 4th of September 2016

Gaming technology supplier Aristocrat says it will “vigorously” defend legal action from Maurice Blackburn over its popular Dolphin Treasure game.

Last week, compensation lawyer Jacob Varghese, of Maurice Blackburn said he will be formally writing to Crown and Aristocrat on Monday over the popular Dolphin Treasure game.

The litigation is on behalf of recovering South Australian gambling addict Shonica Guy, who claims the game deceives people by disguising losses as wins through images and sounds.

"The machines are actually designed to take your money; as soon as I touched the machine I was hooked. There is a fine line between gambling and entertainment," she said.

According to The Age, researchers at Monash University have analyzed the slot game, and the legal action will focus on the uneven spread of symbols needed to win across the five “reels” central to the game.

The legal action is also supported by the Alliance for Gambling Reform.

In a filing to the Australian Stock Exchange, Aristocrat said while it is aware of media reports, it has not received any formal communication, but confirmed “that it would intend to defend any action vigorously if filed.”

“Aristocrat has long supported balanced and fact-based harm minimization initiatives, recognising that these issues are complex and multi-faceted, and require ongoing collaborative effort on the part of the industry, regulators and broader community,” said the company.

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