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Over 3,000 Slots on US Military Bases to Get Axed if Congressman Tonko’s Move Succeeds

  • Tonko’s move would ban funding the operation of slot machines on overseas military bases
  • While advocates like Tonko flag gambling harms, the Pentagon appreciates the income
  • In 2017 there were over 3,000 slot machines on overseas US military bases in 12 countries
Closeup of US Army uniform
Congressman Paul Tonko has taken on the Pentagon in seeking to ban slot machines on all overseas US military bases. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Thousands of machines

Over 3,000 slot machines on US military bases around the world face getting their plugs pulled thanks to New York Congressman Paul Tonko (D-New York).

The anti-gambling lawmaker submitted an amendment to the proposed 2025 fiscal year’s Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act, H.R. 8070. If passed, the amendment will see gambling machines banned from all US military bases.

Tonko managed to enter his amendment under the NDAA’s 2025 act ahead of a May 31 cutoff date for submissions.

ban “funding from being used to operate slot machines on military bases”

If passed and attached to the Department of Defense’s budget bill, the congressman’s Amendment 624 would, according to a US Committee on Rules hearing information update on H.R. 8070, ban “funding from being used to operate slot machines on military bases.”

The Committee on Rules stated a probable meeting to put Tonko’s amendment forward along with thousands of others, on “the week of June 10th.”

Tonko barrels on

Tonko has represented New York in Washington, D.C. since 2009 and has, in the last few years, gone on a crusade against sports betting. Since 2023, Tonko’s used his public voice and his political clout to push laws against sports betting advertising, claiming it is “causing societal harms.”

The congressman, it appears, has shifted his sights from ad men to military personnel.

lessen the risk of our service members developing a gambling addiction”

“I’ve been leading the charge in Congress to address the rise in problem gambling, and I’m hopeful my NDAA provision would lessen the risk of our service members developing a gambling addiction,” Military.com cites Tonko as saying.

According to the US military-facing daily news and resource website, Tonko paid tribute to the sacrifice military personnel make for their country. He added military personnel should be supported by “confronting problem gambling head-on and ensuring this known addictive product is treated with the seriousness and precaution that we do with other addictions.”

While advocates like Tonko flag gambling harms, the Pentagon’s line is slot machines help to bankroll other recreational activities.

A mighty machine

The US military is a business machine. While it removed all slots from bases on US soil in 1951, it reinstated them in the 1980s after recruits were heading off base to quench their gambling thirst.

According to Military.com, in 2017 there were over 3,000 slot machines on overseas US military bases in 12 countries. Most of the slots are located in Japan, South Korea, and Germany.

While the US government benefits from the revenue, the gambling losses impact the military community. Historically, Republicans have been against the removal of slots from national military bases outside the US. According to the media, party members hold that “a bit of entertainment and enjoyment for those who wish to participate isn’t something that Congress should stand in the way of.”

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