The poker machine and pub arm of supermarket giant Woolworths has been spying on its punters in an effort to boost profits, federal independent MP Andrew Wilkie says.

The outspoken critic of Australia's gambling industry made a speech in Parliament on Wednesday attacking the Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group (ALH), citing evidence from whistleblowers who work in the hundreds of poker machine venues belonging to the business.

Chief among the allegations is that venues keep databases of customers — which are shared among the network — that detail people's gambling and drinking habits.

"Woolworths spies on its poker machine customers without their knowledge, keeps a secret database of personal information, and uses that information to encourage increased gambling,'' Mr Wilkie told Parliament.

"This practice undoubtedly increases revenue, but it's also immoral, possibly illegal, and directly fosters increased gambling addiction.

"I know this because of two brave whistleblowers who've previously worked for Woolworths."

Staff recording 'ins and outs' of people's lives

The whistleblowers, who were interviewed by Mr Wilkie's staff, said they felt uneasy about what they were required to do and it was unethical.

"You know the ins and outs of their life. You're writing down what they do … the teams they barrack for," one whistleblower told the staff.

Andrew Wilkie has been a long-time campaigner against poker machines. ( AAP: Mick Tsikas )

"It used to be an unwritten thing, you'd talk to patrons in a genuine sense, but now those genuine interactions aren't what they used to be.

"We're actually writing it down so that we can get people to stay for as long as possible, to put as much money into the machines as possible."

ALH said it was robustly regulated by state authorities and its compliance with the law was "not negotiable".

It said the line between legitimate customer service and loyalty initiatives must be respected.

"If there are instances where that line has been crossed ALH is committed to taking the necessary steps to rectify any breach and address any non-compliant behaviour," the company said in a statement.

It said it engaged the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) of Canada last year to conduct a "full audit of all our responsible gambling programs and operations across all our venues".

"ALH will expand the scope of the RGC Canada audit to include the matters raised today."

Woolworths chairman Gordon Cairns said the company was "very concerned" by the allegations.

"We and ALH take our responsibilities in gaming and the service of alcohol very seriously," he said in a statement.

"At Woolworths, our priorities and values must always match those of our customers and communities we operate in and this includes taking important steps to ensure we, through ALH, are a responsible gaming operator.

"In late 2017 ALH engaged Canada's Responsible Gambling Council, an independent non-profit organisation dedicated to problem-gambling prevention, to conduct an independent review of ALH's gaming operations.

"ALH will expand RGC's review to include the allegations raised by the former ALH employees and Mr Andrew Wilkie. We would encourage them, Mr Wilkie and any others with relevant information to be part of the independent review."

It is not the first time Mr Wilkie has attacked the gambling sector in Parliament.

Last year he tabled evidence from three former Crown Casino workers alleging the casino tampered with pokies and flouted anti-money laundering laws.

Those claims prompted an inquiry from Victoria's gambling regulatory, which is still underway.

Crown Casino emphatically rejected all the allegations and took out newspaper ads rejecting the claims.

Mr Wilkie's claims come just days before the Tasmanian election, where the removal of poker machines from pubs and clubs has been a major issue.

He said he would consider looking at new laws to stop the practice, and has called on ALH to destroy the information held about customers.