Last year, Southern NSW clubs and hotels made more than $53 million in profits from gambling in just six months but the real cost of gambling to the region's communities is likely much higher.

Because these days, it is not just the pokies pocketing winnings - it is also the devices in everyone's pockets and temptation has never been higher.

Kade Rixon knows how easy it is to get into trouble when your addiction is constantly by your side.

"I started out at the pubs, I'd sneak into the pubs after work but by the end it was all pretty much online," he said.

"It's an easier way to hide and not be spotted."

The Melrose Football Club coach previously told The Border Mail his gambling addiction led him into a helpless, dark mindset and more than $20,000 of debt.

"You can't do anything, you feel helpless, you feel pathetic because any time I got paid it was gone in a day or two...It was just a constant cycle, you build up a debt and it gets to a point where you think you're that far gone and there's no coming back," he said.

The apps were easy to lose money on, there was always something to bet on.

"It's unbelievable, I was speaking on a podcast the other day about how easy it is to put money into your account and bet," Rixon said.

"I realised the whole time I was betting in never took money out of my account, I just put more in.

"You have to verify it and it takes a couple of day [to get the money] but when you have an addiction a couple of day is too long so you end up cancelling it to bet again."

The 2,225 electronic gaming machines in Albury, Greater Hume, Federation and Lockhart hotels and clubs made a net profit of $53 million in the second half of 2018.

Albury clubs and hotels, alone, recorded a net profit of $35 million.

The reports covered June 2018 to November 2018 for clubs and July 2018 to December 2018 for hotels.

But the rise of online casinos and sports betting apps means it's near impossible to measure how much money is flowing from Southern NSW communities to betting companies.

Although Australians lose less money betting on sport ($1.06 billion a year) and racing ($3.3 billion) than they do on poker machines or casino games ($17 billion combined), online wagering has become the fastest-growing form of gambling nationally, surging in popularity by more than 15 per cent a year.

And given the ease and accessibility of betting from your phone, it's not hard to see why apps are becoming people's go-to gambling medium.

The trend toward online gambling has worried lawmakers around the country some of whom believe a lack of sufficient protections exist online compared to land-based venues like pubs and casinos to prevent users developing problematic gambling habits.

On Friday, the Victorian government announced they were toughening online gambling rules in line with the previously agreed but not acted on National Consumer Protection Framework.

A Liquor and Gaming NSW spokesman said the NSW government were considering options to introduce similar measures through legislation.

Previously they imposed a blanket ban on advertisements of 'inducements to gamble or open a betting account.'

No longer can someone looking to avoid gambling, like Rixon, simply steer clear of the racetrack, pokie dens or casinos.

Nowadays the opportunity, and temptation, to gamble is everywhere.

The political pundits predicting winners.

The odds at the races.

The adverts before games.

Even now, after 892 odd days or two and a half years without a bet, Rixon feels a bit of a twang when he sees betting ads and odds.

The accessibility of apps makes it easier to hide a problem, and harder to avoid temptation.

"On a personal level even when I'm watching footy or something on the weekend or Friday night, an ad will come up and make me think 's**t, that's not a bad price'," he said.

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Unlike anti-gambling bodies Rixon doesn't think a complete ban of advertising during sport is the answer.

But it does hurt.

"I guess for a small minority of people who do have an addiction, it's something we don't want to see," he said.

"But at the same time I understand AFL and big companies probably make a fair bit of money from that and understand why they do it.

"I'm comfortable enough now not to get tempted but definitely in my worst stages it stun

Currently, there are already restrictions in place around gambling commercial during live free-to-air sports coverage, with ads not allowed within five minutes of play, but there are exceptions and signage is still permitted on the ground.

Unlike anti-gambling bodies Rixon doesn't think a complete ban of advertising of betting apps is the answer.

But it does hurt.

"I guess for a small minority of people who do have an addiction, it's something we don't want to see," he said.

"I'm comfortable enough now not to get tempted but definitely in my worst stages it stung."

But it is not just adults who are getting the message, research by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation found one in five children could identify three or more sports betting brands.

While one in ten young people had gambled online.

Rixon, like one in five adults with a gambling problem, started gambling before he was 18.

Since he shared his struggles with gambling addition Rixon has been surprised about the number of people, especially young people and their families, who contacted him to share stories or ask him for advice.

"I was surprised about the younger ones," he said.

"A few families contacted me with children who were 20, 21 asking for advice.

"It was surprising for me because I thought I had an addiction at 21 but I never said anything."

Rixon thinks young people are more prepared to get help these day.

Victoria's new regulations are aiming to provide more protection to online punters and prevents agencies providing so-called "free bets" to customers on the condition that the winnings cannot be withdrawn and must be used to continue betting.

Under the stricter rules, which take force on Sunday, online bookmakers such as Sportsbet, TAB, BetEasy and Ladbrokes cannot offer punters credit, vouchers or other rewards for encouraging others to open betting accounts.

The tighter restrictions also include a ban on direct marketing promotions such as via text messaging unless customers opt in to receive them, and new rules requiring operators to provide "easy-to-use tools" for punters to set their own gambling limits or close their accounts.

Australia's online-only bookmakers dispute the argument that risks are greater online but have agreed to a series of concessions as part of the national push towards tighter controls.

Through their industry group, Responsible Wagering Australia, they have collaborated with governments to develop online gaming reforms including the incoming measures in Victoria and a soon-to-be-established "national self-exclusion scheme" for people trying to quit gambling.

"Responsible Wagering Australia and its members have been amongst the biggest supporters of stronger protections for online wagering consumers and congratulate the Victorian government for leading the way," said Stephen Conroy, the group's chief executive.

Victoria's Minister for Gaming and Liquor Regulation Marlene Kairouz said the Australian-first implementation of the National Consumer Protection Framework would empower customers.

"It offers greater protection to people who gamble online and gives them practical steps to better manage their gambling," she said.

Across the state-line, a NSW Liquor and Gaming spokesman said all Australian jurisdictions had committed to implementing the framework - which state and federal gaming ministers agreed on about two years ago.

But the spokesman did not say when it would be would be implemented in NSW.

"NSW already has the nation's toughest restrictions on gambling inducements," he said.

- with The Age