Proposed Bill To Ban Slots On Military Bases Based On Fear

Through the years the US military has spent more than $120m on slot machines.

Rep. Davis has sponsored a bill, Warrant Officer Aaron Walsh Stop DOD Sponsored Gambling Act, that will eliminate slot machines from military bases overseas. The bill is named after an Army helicopter pilot that committed suicide after going AWOL and losing $20,000 to slot machines.

This is a drastic move by a congressman to undertake. Clearly, this soldier was problematic in his gambling, but this is not the norm for most people.

Soldiers and sailors that are stationed overseas have the option of gambling on bases where it is allowed and the military provides this as an option both to increase revenue that is used for military recreational activities, and to keep the military men and women from frequenting casinos in those countries. In fact, this type of gambling is sanctioned by the Pentagon itself.

Each base slot machine costs an average of $15,000, the military has an estimated 8,000 machines located on bases throughout the world. Through the years that means the US military has spent more than $120 million on the machines.

In a statement from Davis, he says ""If American men and women are willing to serve our country overseas we should not be dependent on them to pay for recreational activities they deserve, the risks are simply too high and too many to ask that of our soldiers."

Aaron Walsh, the soldier who killed himself, is the stated reason for this bill. In an interview on CNN, his wife Carrie said that he became a gambling addict and in 2005 he lost $20,000 to slots. While he was AWOL, he was found playing slot machines on a base in South Korea.

Last year, after resigning from the Army, he shot and killed himself in Maine in a state park. Truly, this is a sad story. However, banning gambling from bases is not the answer.

It is fair to say that Rep. Davis is not a fan of gambling. Earlier this year he tried unsuccessfully to add an amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill  to fund an anaylsis of gambling-related problems within the military.

We might also mention that he is a practicing member of the First Baptist Church, in Byrdstown. 

The military overseas casino operations bring an estimated $100-150 million a year that funds recreational activity for soldiers worldwide. Without the slots on bases, this money would be lost to foreign casino operators and there would be no return to the soldiers. Those that may be at risk of addiction, will still be at risk.

We urge all citizens to contact Rep. Davis and tell him how off the mark this proposed bill is. Soldiers and Sailors that want to gamble, will. It is more important to identify those at risk and offer them counselling or restrict their activity to avoid such circumstances.