Advocates and Gaming Companies Want More Research on Gambling Addiction in Military

Former Army Staff Sgt. Dave Yeager is glad he is in recovery for a gambling addiction, given the endless options now available for placing bets through his cellphone.

"I was a brick-and-mortar gambler, [and] I never really got the urge to gamble online -- thank God I didn't, because everybody I've ever talked to who made the transition ... their gambling skyrocketed and the same likely would have happened to me," Yeager told Military.com.

The former military band member and food inspector developed an addiction while serving in South Korea, where slot machines were ubiquitous on base. Despite serving two different successful stints in the Army, his gambling habit ruined his career, family life and bank account.

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Now, Yeager hosts a podcast on gambling addiction for service members and veterans, and he is among the advocates and industry leaders pressing the federal government for more research on problem gambling in the military.

According to Yeager, while a few studies have shown that gambling addiction is an issue for service members and veterans, the research is "still terribly short ... to better understand the impact."

Last month, the gaming companies BetMGM, MGM Resorts and FanDuel joined the National Council on Problem Gambling to write Senate appropriators to impel them to fund gambling behavior research in the Pentagon's fiscal 2026 budget bill.

The NCPG is a group that supports legal gambling but also represents national, state and local organizations that deal with gambling addiction; it also is home to the 1-800-GAMBLER hotline.

In their letter, the companies and NCPG urged lawmakers to require the DoD to include gambling addiction among the illnesses studied in the Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program.

According to the NCPG, an estimated 7.5 million to 10.5 million Americans have a gambling disorder. The 2022 Defense Department Health Related Behaviors Survey showed that 1.6% of active-duty service members reported problem gambling, while 1.7% of reserve members screened positive for a gambling addiction.

Despite the risk, however, there is scant research on prevention, intervention and treatment within the military community, according to Cole Wogoman, NCPG's director of government relations and league partnerships.

"The few studies that exist have shown the risks for gambling addiction are young men, oftentimes separated from family, dealing with stressors, perhaps a steady paycheck, which the military would have. You look at service members, check check check. We believe the government needs to pay more attention," Wogoman said during an interview July 11.

In the letter, sent to Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., the subcommittee's chairman and ranking member, the NCPG and the industry requested that the gap in research be addressed. According to the letter, problem gambling causes an estimated $14 billion a year in the U.S. in health care costs, legal fees, job losses and bankruptcy.

"This behavioral health condition can have life-altering consequences if a service member does not receive treatment, including bankruptcy, divorce, homelessness, substance use disorder or, in the more serious cases, death by suicide with a rate significantly higher than those without a gambling problem," the letter states.

Results of a study published Wednesday by the NCPG found that roughly 8% of Americans in 2024 reported that they frequently experienced problem gambling behavior. This was up from 2018, when 7% reported addictive behavior, but down from 11% in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The number of Americans who reported gambling in the past year remained steady at 71%.

The U.S. military regularly screens for gambling disorders during annual health exams for members, according to the report.

In a 2022 report to Congress from the Pentagon, the Defense Department said that .06% of active-duty troops and .13% of reserve members screened positive for gambling issues after it began asking about gambling behavior in service members' annual health checkups in 2018.

But advocates say the incidence rate is much higher, arguing that problem gambling occurs in military personnel at twice the rate as civilians.

In 2018, the Supreme Court struck down a federal law that largely banned sports betting in the U.S., leading to growth of an online industry that includes gaming, sports betting and wagers on fantasy teams.

In a study published this year in JAMA Internal Medicine, University of California San Diego researchers found a dramatic rise in sports betting and requests for help for gambling addiction following that decision.

Wogoman said he would like to see similar research on the prevalence and severity of gambling and sports betting in the U.S. military.

"Since 2018 ... we're getting that question [of what is gambling addiction] less and less. People either know someone who has been impacted by gambling addiction or maybe they themselves have seen it firsthand," Wogoman said.

Addictive gambling is considered a behavioral health disorder similar to alcohol, drug and tobacco addiction. According to the NCPG, rates of lifetime homelessness are six times higher among veterans with problematic gambling behavior, and 40% of those seeking treatment for gambling addiction have attempted suicide.

At the same time, many Americans underestimate the seriousness of gambling disorders.

According to the NCPG report, while almost three in four persons surveyed agree that "addiction to gambling is a lot like addiction to drugs or alcohol," only 39% rate its consequences as "very severe" compared with 55% for alcoholism and 62% for drug addiction.

The Department of Veterans Affairs operates two residential gambling addiction treatment centers, in Cleveland at the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center and at the VA Residential Recovery and Renewal Center in Las Vegas.

The Defense Department, on the other hand, rarely focuses on the behavioral health aspect of the disorder, according to Yeager. Instead, leaders are encouraged to monitor service members and refer them to counseling primarily focused on the financial and disciplinary problems associated with the disorder.

"In the absence of [a referral to behavioral health], I'd advise that they seek out an anonymous 12-step program or substance abuse treatment," Yeager said.

While it seems hypocritical that industry leaders like FanDuel and MGM would be calling for more research on problem gambling, they have paired with NCPG to address what they believe could be a national security issue.

"Problem gambling disproportionately impacts our military communities and has life-altering impacts on service members who do not receive treatment," said Cory Fox, vice president of public policy and sustainability at FanDuel. "We're proud to stand with an industry coalition to ask that we support our service members and their families by adding gambling addiction as an eligible research topic in the Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program."

The House version of the defense appropriations bill for fiscal 2026 does not include any provisions that address gambling in the ranks, and neither do the Senate or House versions of the National Defense Authorization Act, the bill that sets policy for the services.

Neither McConnell nor Coons' offices responded to a request for comment by publication.

The last time a military-related gambling provision was proposed for the defense policy bill was last year, when Rep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., filed an amendment that would have banned slot machines from overseas military bases.

More than 3,000 slot machines are located on installations in Germany, Japan, South Korea and elsewhere, generating $100 million a year for recreational facilities and programs, but critics say their presence increases the risk for gambling addiction among troops.

The measure did not make it into the law.

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