Australian legislator urges ban on iPhone poker applications

Sydney – The Australian government should outlaw iPhone applications that allow children to play simulated poker machine games, opposition Member of Parliament Nick Xenophon said Sunday.

The applications, which can be downloaded for free, mimic the operation of the slot machines that are so beloved of gambling addicts in Australia.

‘We already have a big enough gambling problem in this country and there’s no doubt this will fuel gambling addiction,’ Xenophon told Australia’s AAP news agency. ‘Kids can become poker-machine experts years before they’re legally allowed to set eyes on a real machine.’

One game allows users to have their own photographs as jackpot symbols. They can also set the payout rate to low, medium or ‘dream.’

‘This is a training application for kids to lose real money when they turn 18,’ Xenophon said. ‘It’s not only promoting poker machines, it’s conditioning people to use them.’