Australian-listed game technology provider Aristocrat Leisure has insisted that their slot machines are “in no way” deceptive, especially after it passed strict regulatory standards.
The embattled pokies manufacturer took the witness stand on Thursday, according to The Sydney Morning Herald, and shot down the allegations of former problem gambler Shonica Guy that the design of their pokies machine had misled and deceived players.
In her suit, Guy claimed that Aristocrat’s “Dolphin Treasure” game was designed to fool them into thinking they have won when they have not. There are 38 Dolphin Treasure machines in Crown Casino in Melbourne.
But representative told the court that it is impossible for Guy to be misled by the machines, especially when there is a “plethora” of explanatory information about the game in brochures and online.
What Guy should have done, according to the firm, is to just read these readily-available brochures.
“If you are confused and want to seek answers,” Peter Jopling QC, for Aristocrat, said. “We say they are very easily available.”
Jopling further pointed out that “there is a wealth of information … in pretty plain, vanilla language.”
The Aristocrat representative also stressed that the regulators have thoroughly scrutinized the features of Dolphin Treasure. To say that these machines have secret features is totally absurd, according to Joplin.
“How could it be said that we were acting in an unconscionable way when all these things have been considered … and taken into account by government and then produced legislation that we’ve complied by?” Jopling asked. “People like Ms Guy have made these complaints to regulatory authorities, to parliamentary inquiries, to the ACCC and the response from government has led to the regulations we have and the information that’s available.”
Aristocrat, together with James Packer’s Crown Resorts casino and hotel group, is locked in a landmark case for the next three weeks. Guy’s claim is based on the Dolphin Treasure machines having symbols that are unevenly distributed across its five reels. The final reel contains fewer winning symbols in order to make it harder for punters to win.
On Wednesday, Crown Resorts went on the offensive at the start of the hearing, poking holes in the arguments that Guy raised.
Crown lawyers argued that Guy’s arguments lack common sense, especially since these machines all along have had an uneven spread of symbols on their reels.
