Never mind an R18+ rating for computer games; the Australian Federal government has discovered it is missing out on a bonanza from mobile game stores that have not paid for classification altogether. Could this be a revenue windfall or the death of mobile gaming in Australia?

The Australian Labor Party raised the issue of mobile phone games to be discussed at Standing Committee of Attorneys-General but which has now been delayed due to the coming Federal election.

The Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 requires computer games, along with other media, to be rated by the Office of Film and Literature Classification.

This act does not exclude games which are distributed and/or played on mobile phones. Yet it has emerged that the fees for classification - which range from $470 to $2,040 for computer games - has been effectively bypassed by the sellers of mobile games.

The most notable such seller is Apple who, through its App Store, provides absolutely thousands upon thousands of distinct gaming titles to owners of iPods, iPhones and iPads.

The compliance fees applicable sum up to millions of dollars and the Government isn't happy.

The office of Minister of Home Affairs, Brendan O'Connor, said he was 'concerned' about the classification of such mobile games and that he had 'put the wheels in motion' to address the problem.

While it would be unjust to expect a segment of the gaming market to be subject to classifications and another be exempt, the ramifications are significant.

While the likes of Electronic Arts or Activision can afford a classification fee for blockbuster hits like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft it's a different story when it comes to mobile gaming where titles typically sell for just a couple of dollars or less.

If Apple was required to pay a fee for each title to be classified this would undoubtedly be passed on to the consumer and the developer.

This would be the death of free games to begin with and would likely price smaller developers out of the market making the Australian App Store a mobile games black hole. The effects on the burgeoning Android games market would be similarly devastating.

In Europe, the PEGI - Pan European Game Information - rating system is mostly voluntary (it is only legislatively required in a few countries) and is self-regulating. Despite this, it has been successfully recognised and in most cases is replacing traditional classifications systems.

The United Kingdom Department of Culture, Media and Sport has previously announced PEGI would be the sole classification system for videogames and software in the UK.

Nevertheless, O'Connor recognises the Government faces practical challenges in receiving and classifying thousands of applications but has asked the Federal Attorney-General's department to provide options which do not require legislative changes.

This means the Government is not looking to provide options that would exempt providers from submitting games for classification, even if employing their own ratings, or from lodging a fee.