Why Problem Gambling is a Rising Concern for Veterans

Veterans Day is Monday, November 11, 2024. This day is designated for all to remember, appreciate, and remind us what anyone who has joined the service has sacrificed for our country and its freedoms. Being a veteran comes with many faces and many levels of trauma. As past research has shown this population to be at high-risk for developing a gambling problem, it is important to increase awareness about disordered gambling among veterans, military families, and service providers. Having experienced higher levels of trauma and lived a regimented lifestyle has opened this population up to both escape and action gambling.

For some veterans, gambling helps them “escape” from their PTSD or other mental health symptoms, their physical pain, and the difficulty of assimilating back into civilian life after service. Many returning vets report when they gamble, they don’t feel the pain of their injury either emotionally or physically. This is because the brain’s reward pleasure center is ignited and allows dopamine flow, which gives the body and mind pleasure. Because of this, the gambler doesn’t feel the pain anymore, and it causes the body to crave the gamble to escape the pain. This will cause the drive to continue gambling to intensify until progressively becoming addicted to the feeling.

Then there are some who while engaged in the “action” of war find action gambling is a way to feel the high levels of adrenaline like they had while serving and fighting. Again, here the brain will fire off adrenaline not only in the brain but also in the stomach area of the body. This is what gives the feeling of “butterflies” in the stomach. Some disordered gamblers have reported that the only thing they can find that comes close to the feeling of high stress, say from bullets flying by them, is the feel of action gambling. An action gambler is someone who likes to types of gambling that involve more agency and give the feeling of control, such as poker or betting on live sports. It is said these gamblers are self-confident, extroverted, and always seeking an adrenaline rush. All of these characteristics reflect what is needed on the battlefield.

A Call-to-Action for Military and Veterans Service Providers

Recent research reveals that as many as 56,000 active duty members of the Armed Forces meet the criteria for gambling disorder, and studies have shown that veterans have elevated rates of gambling problems, at least twice the rate of the general adult population. Demographically speaking, active military personnel are heavily young and male. This is significant, because it’s the same demographic profile that has shown the most concerning surges in problem gambling, through both 888-ADMIT-IT HelpLine contact data and related research, since the widespread legalization of online sports betting in Florida. Adding to the thousands of slot machines on overseas U.S. military installations,¹ now those stationed domestically or training in Florida have easy access to online sports betting during down times. Problem gambling prevention programs are desperately needed now to curtail a new wave of veterans struggling with gambling disorder in the coming years. Learn more about FCCG’s resources for military service providers, military personnel, veterans, and military families.

If this resonates with you, about yourself or someone you know, reach out and text or call the 888-ADMIT-IT Problem Gambling HelpLine for Florida, where you can get confidential information and support to fight this disorder, including Population Specific Resources designed for military members and veterans.

[1] U.S. Government Accountability Office, “DOD and the Coast Guard Need to Screen for Gambling Disorder Addiction and Update Guidance,” Jan. 30, 2017, https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-114.