Asked whether he could commit Woolworths to its pokies business in the long-term, Mr Cairns said: "I don't have an answer" adding he could not predict the future. "Circumstances change, partnerships wane ... I've come to realise I'm not very good at forecasting the future," he said. "When I was on the Westpac board, I didn't see the GFC ... on the Origin board I didn't see the oil price dropping." Gordon Cairns, chairman of Woolworths, has taken responsibility for dealing with the pokies scandal that erupted this week. Credit:Jessica Hromas In the shorter term, Mr Cairns said, if ALH Group was found to have acted improperly, "both parties will fix it".

"My sole focus is on making the partnership the strongest its ever been," he said. Any potential demerger of the ALH Group business would be complicated and costly, given it is a major distributor of Woolworths liquor, and regulatory issues in Queensland that require retailers to own a pub before they can receive licences to run bottleshops. The ALH Group, a joint venture between Woolworths and billionaire businessman Bruce Mathieson, runs hundreds of venues with more than 12,000 poker machines nationally. Screenshots, revealed on Wednesday by federal MP Andrew Wilkie, appeared to show an ALH database containing details of regular pokies players' gambling habits, drinking habits and favourite sports teams, and appeared to outline actions taken by pub staff to encourage continued gambling. Loading

Notes suggested gaming-floor staff were urged to "be there as much as possible ... do whatever you have to do to keep them in the room". Mr Cairns said the allegations and the wider political backlash against the pokies in Australia - a key issue in this weekend's state election in Tasmania - was reinforcing the importance of the retail giant's duty to be responsible "custodians of gaming". He said ALH Group had expanded the scope of an independent audit into its responsible-gambling practices that was currently underway. "We, as an organisation, are very, very clear about our social licence to operate," he said. "You may have your views on pokies, good or bad, but at the end of the day, if we can have objectively validated that we are the most responsible custodians of gambling, then that will satisfy Andrew Wilkie and the regulators and the general public out there that have concerns."

ALH Group chairman, and former Woolworths chief executive, Roger Corbett, on Thursday gave a staunch defence to criticism of the company's ownership of pokies, which, he said, were a legitimate and legal pastime for many Australians. "The law of the land allows poker machines and we are absolutely committed to being the best operators of poker machines in Australia," he said. "Like drinking, like eating too much food, people can make a choice." There is nothing that ALH has done here, that I'm aware of, that is illegal. ALH chairman Roger Corbett Mr Corbett said the allegations raised by Mr Wilkie were being treated extremely seriously, but he did not believe they were systemic.

"The instances Mr Wilkie is referring to, we believe to be isolated," he said. "There is nothing that ALH has done here, that I'm aware of, that is illegal." Mr Corbett said both companies were committed to conducting business at the "highest legal and ethical standards". ALH chairman Roger Corbett has defended his company's conduct. Credit:Louie Douvis He said ALH was the only pokies provider in Australia to invest in introducing voluntary pre-commitment on all its gaming machines, and it was training staff in all its venues in how to identify signs of problem gambling and offer them support.