Pentagon finds no harm in base slot machines

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Defense Department has concluded that the thousands of slot machines on overseas U.S. military bases pose no significant harm to the morale or finances of American troops.

The Pentagon spent more than six months studying slot machines for a report ordered by Congress.

Investigators acknowledged "isolated instances where slot machine use has had a negative impact on specific individuals."

But the report said military personnel stationed at overseas bases that offer slot machines actually experience fewer instances of financial problems than do those stationed in the United States. The report offers no theory as to why that is the case.

The report said the department will take new steps to make sure access to the machines is restricted only to people 18 and over who are eligible to participate in military recreation programs.

U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, who wrote legislation requiring the study, said he accepts the conclusion but believes troubling questions remain.

"I am concerned that this study shows that more than half of junior enlisted troops report they experience financial problems each year," said Bartlett, R-Md., chairman of the House Armed Services panel on morale, welfare and recreation.

"Slot machines may not be the cause," he said, "but too many of our service people, especially the youngest and most junior, are in financial distress."

The Pentagon report, delivered to lawmakers Friday, says slot machines are a means of recreation for service members and their adult family members, and provide an important source of revenue for building and operating youth centers, clubs, golf courses, bowling centers, cabins, marinas and car washes.

Military personnel and civilian employees poured roughly $1.2 billion into the machines in 1999. More than 92 percent of the money wagered is returned to players as winnings. The remainder — some $127 million in 1999 — is kept by the military as revenue for its morale, welfare and recreation activities.

A 1998 health survey by the Defense Department found 2.2 percent of military personnel had experienced at least three gambling-related problems in their lifetime, classified as "probable pathological gambling."

About 1.5 percent of American adults are pathological gamblers, according to a 1999 survey done for the National Gambling Impact Study Commission.

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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