Slot machines on military bases could be banned under an amendment a congressman wants to add to the House’s annual must-pass defense policy bill.
Rep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., has filed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, that would prohibit the military from operating slot machines on bases. The Pentagon has said slots help fund other recreational activities, but advocates worry they contribute to gambling addiction.
Tonko’s amendment is one of more than 1,300 proposed amendments that lawmakers have filed so far in hopes of getting a vote when the NDAA is debated on the House floor next week. Typically, just a few hundred amendments are granted votes, and it’s unclear what proposals the gatekeeper for floor votes, the House Rules Committee, will allow to move forward this year.
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“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,” Tonko said in a statement to Military.com. “Our brave servicemen and women sacrifice everything to protect our nation and its freedoms. We must do all we can to support them 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.”
Slot machines on military…
