The military faces a gambling addiction crisis. We’ve lived it – on both sides.

By Dave Yeager and Rich Taylor

One of us developed a gambling addiction while serving on active duty. The other now leads responsible gambling efforts for a major betting company. We’re also both veterans—one Soldier, one Marine. And while our experiences with gambling couldn’t be more different, we’ve come together with a shared concern: the military’s quiet struggle with problem gambling, and the lack of government funding for research and data collection — plus national attention to the growing issue and consequences.

In 2001, a month and a half after 9/11, Dave was stationed in South Korea and found a way to unwind on base: a row of slot machines. It started as entertainment. Then it became an escape. And eventually, it took a serious emotional and financial toll. At the time, there wasn’t language for what was happening. Limited resources. No roadmap. Like many servicemembers who fall into gambling addiction, he internalized the problem and suffered in silence.

Overseas military bases still host slot machines and card rooms that generate more than $100 million a year. These facilities aren’t regulated by state gaming commissions and don’t include the kinds of responsible gambling tools required in most U.S. states. For many servicemembers, they’re a first exposure to gambling and, sometimes, the beginning of a long, painful relationship with it.

The minimal statistics we do have are staggering. Servicemembers are twice as likely as civilians to experience gambling problems. In fact, the rate of suicide among veterans who seek treatment for gambling addiction is startlingly high. Roughly 40 percent have attempted it. And yet, public understanding of gambling disorder still lags behind. It’s too often seen as a personal weakness or moral failure instead of what it truly is: a behavioral health condition, rooted in brain science, with serious consequences for individuals, families, and military readiness.

In 2019, Congress took a step forward by mandating annual screenings for gambling addiction in the military. But those screenings now run up against a deeper problem: there’s almost no federal research on gambling addiction in military populations. No guidance on best practices. No dedicated funding to help the Department of Defense or local VA clinics to build effective prevention or treatment programs.

This leaves commanders guessing. It leaves clinicians unarmed. And it leaves families—who often bear the emotional and financial fallout—without support.

Earlier this summer, 24 state affiliates of the National Council on Problem Gambling, along with FanDuel, BetMGM, and MGM Resorts, signed onto a letter urging Congress to make gambling addiction an eligible research topic in the upcoming Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP). That request has already earned backing from Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Ben Ray Luján (N.M.), and Angela Alsobrooks (Md.).

It wouldn’t require new funding. Just a recognition that this issue deserves to be studied—like PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and other behavioral health challenges that impact the military community.

This kind of support may seem unusual to some: a veteran advocate and a betting executive joining forces. But we believe in meeting this issue with both personal accountability and systemic responsibility. Industry has a role to play in promoting responsible gambling and supporting evidence-based research. Advocates and public health leaders need the tools to help people recover. And Congress has the opportunity to lead by making sure we’re not flying blind.

This isn’t about blame. It’s about doing better for those who serve, and those who’ve already served. We’ve seen what happens when the warning signs are missed. We’ve lived it. It’s time we started understanding it.