The South Australian Minister for Gambling, Bernard Finnegan, has warned that with online gambling becoming increasingly available as smart phone applications increase young men are becoming vulnerable to problem gambling. A new information campaign is targeting 18 to 34 year old males to combat the problems.

Finnegan commented: "Often this [18 to 34] age group is unaware of their gambling problem or don't know at what stage their gambling can become a problem,"

Jennifer Rankine, the Families and Communities Minister said the advertising campaign goal was to target an audience at risk of problem gambling.

"It highlights the fact that in many cases, what gamblers stand to win is actually things they have already lost through compulsive gambling, such as relationships and employment," she added.

"The adverts encourage these young men to visit a new website, Win Back Your Life.com.au, where they can answer a series of questions about gambling that will provide more information about where to get help if needed.

"Dealing with problem gambling at the early stages can prevent the problem from getting worse to the point where the gambler loses everything," the minister claimed.

Government around the world are increasingly looking at the effects of online gambling and ways of limit operators that fail to take the issues seriously. In the future this is likely to lead to increased regulations and licensing.