US troops dump $100 million per year into Pentagon-owned slot machines

Because hundreds of billions of dollars in an official budget apparently isn’t enough, the Defense Department has been raking in roughly $100 million a year from service members using official U.S. military slot machines overseas. 

According to a report from NPR, there are more than 3,000 U.S. military-run slot machines at American installations overseas. And while people cannot legally enter most casinos in the U.S. until they’re 21, service members as young as 18 can use the Pentagon’s slot machines, Task and Purpose reports.

The machines are managed by each military branch’s Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) groups. MWR groups tend to focus on service members’ home lives, family resilience, and general wellness. The Army MWR website, for example, provides resources for everything from child and youth services and soldiers’ financial challenges, to substance abuse and recreational activities like camping and sports. 

And according to one Pentagon spokeswoman who spoke to NPR, the slot machines contribute “significantly to the non-appropriated fund and many other recreation and entertainment overseas programs.” Never mind the massive budget the Defense Department receives, which reached $773 billion total in the most recent request submitted in May.

Of that request, $1.8 million is meant for the department’s MWR programs, which the Pentagon’s budget overview says improve service members and their families' quality of life. A total of $9.2 million was requested for various family support programs, including child care and youth programs, family services, Defense Department schools, and MWR programs. 

“As the Department continues to reshape its forces for current and future missions,” the overview says, “it is committed to sustaining a balanced portfolio of family assistance programs that are fiscally sustainable and continue to promote service member and family readiness.” 

Some veterans said the slot machines on-base reduced the chance for service members to get into trouble off-base in their free time. One Navy veteran said he spent “hours in front of the slot machines,” and rarely lost or won more than $50. 

“I don’t see where that is really going to create an issue,” the veteran, Ed Grabowski, told NPR. “I could drop $50 in a pinball machine.”