A BBC investigation has uncovered significant gambling addiction issues within the British military. The File on 4 Investigates team spoke with a serving member who described how his gambling got out of control when he joined. Members are often staying in a block on their own with nothing to do but go on the internet. He was betting as much as £30,000 ($39,961) during certain months, up to 15 times his wages.
File on 4 Investigates secured access to new research from Swansea University, which surveyed 433 first-year naval recruits. 174 of them said they had gambled over the past 12 months, and 44% of these individuals exhibited some risk of harm. Just over 6% were categorized as high risk for problem gambling.
many people use gambling as a coping strategy for conditions like stress and PTSD
Professor Simon Dymond remarked that the results were surprising as “they were such young individuals,” with an average age of 21. He said many people use gambling as a coping strategy for conditions like stress and PTSD.
Another reserve member who spoke to the File on 4 Investigates team claimed that the first base he visited had 40-50 slot machines.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has admitted there’s a higher incidence of gambling-related issues among military members compared to the average civilian. It is working with researchers to look into the issue further. This issue isn’t confined to the UK military, as similar trends have been noticed in the US.
