The Australian parliament on Monday junked moved to allow gambling applications to become readily available for download using smart phones, particularly iPhone. Lawmaker Nick Xenophon said Australians already have too much exposure to gambling and the risk of over exposure is ever present, especially among children.

According to Xenophon, allowing poker applications via iPhone that allows user, even children, to play for fake gambling money, should not be allowed by the government. He warned that that exposing children to gambling applications at an early age would give them the experience of gambling at an early age.

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

Major casinos in Australia have already endorsed the poker applications on iPhone. The applications can be downloaded for free using smart phones which allows players to gamble on their phone just like they would in a land-based casinos.

But most of the applications can be accessed even by children as it does not provide any mechanism to block young players.

"The use of money, albeit fantasy, drills home a false impression that poker machines can be a source of money or income," said Xenophon. "....This is a training application for kids to lose real money when they turn eighteen."

Although Xenophon acknowledged that it would be impossible to ban such applications in the country. However, he pledged to introduce measures that would make it illegal for iPhone to offer gambling software to children.