WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 (UPI) — The Pentagon has failed to implement methods to prevent and treat gambling disorders among service members, even as diagnoses have risen, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.
“Gambling is widely available to military members, who may be more likely than the general population to have gambling problems due to being younger and more risk-taking.” said the report, which was released this week.
The GAO found that although Department of Defense guidance was updated in January, outlining steps military services should take to prevent and treat gambling disorders, the guidance did not designate who was to implement those measures.
As a result, critical services like medical treatment, assessments and annual training were left without clear accountability the GAO said.
In 2024, 185 active duty services members were diagnosed with gambling-related disorders, but the number could be higher, according to the report.
“What that does not include is any individual who did not seek treatment from a medical provider and possibly any that might have sought help but did not meet the diagnostic threshold,” said Kristy Williams, a defense, capabilities and management director at the GAO.
The independent agency issued nine recommendations to the Pentagon to improve care of service members with gambling issues.
The Defense Health Agency, the GAO said, must take lead to implement prevention, diagnosis and treatment for gambling disorder, adding that each military branch needs to update its policies.
Slot machines are highly popular on overseas bases, with revenues used to fund morale, welfare and recreation programs that include child care, fitness and libraries, the GAO said.
Revenues from what are called the Army Recreation Machine Program, the Air Force Venture Entertainment Program and Naval Station Diego Garcia generated $91 million in revenue just last year, according to the report.
While the military operates slot machines on overseas bases, it does not restrict access to service members with a gambling problem or post signage at the slot machines to offer resources for gambling problems, the GAO said.
In the 2024 study, 4.7% of military personnel answered yes to “Have you ever lied about gambling or felt you needed to bet more,” the GAO’s Williams said.
The report also noted that of the 15,039 respondents who have gambled in the last 12 months before the study was conducted, 2.7% of them admitted to having feelings of irritability and restlessness when trying to stop gambling.
Of the respondents who gambled, 56% said they had depression, 50% had anxiety and 8% had substance abuse disorders.
The GAO said financial counselors told service members that gambling could impact their security clearances.
“There is a definition of gambling disorder, and it really focuses on a persistent and recurrent problem with gambling behavior that would lead to some kind of clinically significant impairment,” Williams said.
“You have to exhibit four or more traits in a one-year period to get that diagnosis. It might be things like, are you lying to conceal the extent of your involvement with gambling, do you need to gamble with increasing amounts of money, do you need to gamble with increasing amounts of money to achieve a desired excitement?”
In preparing its report, the GAO met with military members at Naval Base San Diego, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C., Fort Liberty in Fayetteville, N.C., and Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas.
According to a 2021 study the GAO cited in its latest report, it suggested that service members may be at a high risk for gambling disorders due to many being young and the stressors tied to military life.
In a 2017 report, the GAO found that individual readiness for service members was at risk due to being preoccupied with gambling, which can heighten financial hardship and risk of suicide.
In its response to the new report, the Department of Defense outlined medical treatments and annual training service members should undergo to prevent and treat gambling disorders. The department said it plans to release an internal findings report on service members’ gambling disorders by June.
The GAO conducted the study at the request of Congress, with the results sent to the chair and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., respectively, and to the chair and ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and Rep. Adam Smith D-Wash., respectively.