A lover’s quarrel has caused local authorities to question the privacy practices of gaming clubs across the country. After a man used the gambling records of his ex-girlfriend to publicly humiliate her, gaming officials are looking into the security of privacy practices of pokie clubs. Australian gaming clubs collect information on their players using data cards.

Players who sign up to loyalty programs have their activities monitored and the data is stored on the club’s servers. The information can only be disclosed if requested by a court of law, but, in this case, the data traded hands illegally. The pokie player’s ex-boyfriend requested the data using a subpoena. While this is the legal way to go about things, the data was not sent directly to the court, but to the ex-lover himself, violating gaming laws.

The victim suffered an anxiety attack as a result of the episode, and a complaint was filed against the club which divulged her personal information. She has not received any compensation, but the club was ordered to pay a $7500 fine for breaching security. Clubs Australia believes that there are inherent dangers involved when clubs collect such sensitive data from their customers.

With mandatory precommitment requiring players to use ID cards to gamble, similar situations are likely to arise.

About the Author

George Anderson
Author George, has over 25+ years’ experience in the Pokies and Casinos industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Loves to research new Pokies games on the block and follows announcements from top industry providers about their upcoming releases. As soon as a new interesting pokie game appears on his radar, George is there to check it out and give you the scoop before anyone else and tell you about all casino sites where can play the latest game. Before this gig, George worked as Pokie game tester, making him an ideal candidate for this genre of work. He is also an animal lover and a proud owner of three dogs.