Woolworths says it’s being bullied and vilified by pokie reform campaigners who targeted the supermarket giant’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday.

Chairman David Strong said the diversified conglomerate, which operates 249 hotels with poker machines, had contributed around $250,000 towards a campaign against the federal government’s proposed mandatory pre-commitment rules for poker machines.

But he said Woolworths supported pokie reforms that were well researched and provided genuine solutions to help problem gamblers.

“We are entitled to push back on something we don’t think has been tested,” Mr Strong told shareholders at the company’s AGM in Sydney.

He told anti-pokies campaigner Senator Nick Xenophon that he was trying to vilify his company, while ignoring other operators of poker machines such as Coles.

“You’re not doing the same to any other business which is involved in gambling,” Mr Strong said.

“Please don’t pick on us unfairly and bully us.”

Hotels and poker machines were only a small part of Woolworths business, he said.

Under a deal struck with key independent Andrew Wilkie, the Labor government wants poker machine players to be required to preset a limit on how much they gamble on high-stakes poker machines.

Woolworths operates 294 hotels through its investment in the ALH Group, of which 249 have gaming facilities.

Mr Strong said mandatory pre-commitment was likely to affect recreational players, by erecting barriers to participation while at the same time there was no evidence that it would be effective in actually reducing the incidence of problem gambling.

ALH accounts for approximately four per cent of Australia’s pub- or club-based gaming venues, and about six per cent of the country’s gaming machines.

ALH supported voluntary pre-commitment, which would help players stick to their limit by nominating spending or time limits on gaming machines, he said.

“We already undertake several problem-gambling initiatives ourselves and are committed to providing responsible gambling in our venues,” Mr Strong said.

Pokie reform campaigners, including activist group GetUp presented a petition of more than 70,000 signatures to the board before the meeting.

Mr Xenophon said Woolworths was Australia’s biggest owner of pokie machines, which was at odds with their statements about doing the right thing in the community.

“The irony is today that there are people around the country who won’t be able to buy groceries from a Woolworth’s supermarket because they have lost their money on a Woolworth’s poker machine,” he said.

Mr Xenophon declined to say whether he was planning to target other owners of poker machines.