No one wins when children play with gambling apps Natalia Funes and Emmi Payten, both 13, playing with their iPad and iPhone at home. CASINO-style social media gambling apps are grooming children under 13 with inflated odds that experts fear is nurturing the next generation of problem gamblers and skewing their expectations when it comes to real money. The situation is so dire Clubs Australia will form its own panel to tackle social media gambling after a government review found simulated poker, blackjack and poker machine games on Facebook and via downloadable apps were popular and "highly accessed" by young children. "The public policy argument for prohibiting access to such gaming simulations is that it potentially normalises gambling amongst children and may lead them to become problem gamblers in the future," the government's review of the Interactive Gambling Act found. A further issue associated with many gambling simulations is how the odds are often geared to benefit the player, which may provide a false impression of the ease of winning. Concerns have been raised that many casino-style games offered through these services may use their popularity to garner the next generation of gamblers by developing in children an interest in gambling activities which will encourage them to later take up games for real currency. Simulated gambling apps are the fastest growing social media gaming segment with casino-style games such as Slotomania, Zynga Poker and DoubleDown now accounting for 13 per cent of all game users on Facebook. A recent report by Gambling Data in the UK estimates Australians spend $59.8 million a year on social media simulated gambling apps, which may be free initially but later require players to buy additional credits. Although social media casino games mimic traditional gambling they are currently not considered gambling - and are unregulated - chiefly because players can put as much money into a game as they like but can never take it out, such as by cashing-out virtual winnings. Despite the review's findings the government has placed the onus on gaming developers, recommending they closely monitor the impact of their user policies, ensure they comply with Australian laws and avoid targeting children. Emmi Payten, 13, said she had seen the sites and played once. "I didn't like it much but my older brother Tommy plays a bit and some other kids play on them," she said. Her mother Nicole said she was against children being introduced to gambling on the internet. "Even though it's not for money the whole concept of being exposed to gambling in such a way is wrong," Mrs Payten said. Clubs Australia is furious the review failed to establish any safeguards and will form its own expert panel to develop industry best practice standards for providing responsible free-to-play social gaming apps.