European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 19, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Gambling in the military big profits problems m m i j f by 1 i i i a if a a iii1 i i i \?.?�?� s f t a t $ v vacant Slot machines can be hard to find in military clubs. A amps Dave Didio cashing in on the troops Wpm sgt. Zake Wright knows Well the risks of military is tomes. Continued from Page 13 bleary. The compulsive Gambler is  but not rare. Quot i know its out there in every Community a a Mather said. Quot families Are being affected by it in Europe i tend to think its much More  Lorenz said that helping compulsive gamblers in the military is especially difficult because most of them will not come Forward for help. Quot an Active duty person rarely admits to having a problem. It can harm a career or mean losing a Security clearance Quot she said. By the time the compulsive Gambler is ready to seek help its often too late to Salvage his or her career. The hidden Gambler has become very Public Quot a hangover can be blamed on sickness or a Lack of sleep but bad checks written to cover gambling debts can be the kiss of death for service members a a said Paul Stichick clinical director of the army Community counselling Center in Erlanger Germany. Quot commanders often Don t take the time to find out Why they wrote the bad checks and if they did there a no place to get help except the psychiatric department Quot Stichick said Quot commanders done to want someone in their command who consistently writes bad checks so its usually an immediate separation  Quot the real loser Quot Stichick said Quot is tha military Quot Quot the military can lose a Good  airman because they have a problem that the military does t properly recognize Quot he said. Quot it s particularly disturbing Here because there Are machines everywhere Quot Stichick said. Quot not just slots but Spiel German machines too Quot the reason those machines Are everywhere is simple Money. The army and air Force banned slots in 1972 after a series of corruption scandals. They were brought Back to overseas bases a decade later to help finance the foundering military club system. Today More than half of military Slot machine revenues a $60.6 million out of $108 million a Are generated in Europe. The total does not include millions of dollars in Revenue each year from the Bingo and Monte Carlo nights that military clubs promote. Exact figures Are unavailable for these forms of gambling. The air Force in Europe reported Bingo revenues of $2.6 million in 1989 and profits of $260,000. The air Force said it could not provide an accounting of Casino night revenues the air Force permits Only no Cash prizes for Casino style events. The army in Europe refused to disclose its revenues from Bingo and Casino style events. However the army allows Cash winnings in both cases. Bingo prizes sometimes reach $30,000 and gamblers say they know of people who have won and lost thousands of dollars at Casino night events. The $110 million in gambling proceeds is vital to the military morale welfare and recreation system. In the army in 1989, gambling revenues were exceeded Only by profits from the Exchange service. In the air Force and Navy it is the no. 1 income source for mar just How important Are Slot machine revenues the  bowl the Bowling Center at the Cambrai Fritsch Cavern in Darmstadt Germany is by All appearances a typical site for army Slot machines. It has 18 Bowling lanes and 14 Slot machines. In 1989, patrons paid $197,400 to bowl on those 18 lanes. In contrast they left $287,710 in the 14 slots. Within a few feet of those Slot machines patrons can buy cigarettes and alcoholic beverages. Should a service member develop an addiction to nicotine or alcohol help is relatively easy to find the military provides education programs special group and individual therapy services and Public information campaigns but for compulsive gamblers treatment is hit and miss at Best. There is no organized program or overview Paul Stichick says the military loses Many Good soldiers because commanders fail to recognize gambling problems. Of the situation Quot pathological gambling is being treated like alcohol abuse was 20 years ago Quot said or. Ralph Ettinger a clinical psychologist at the army Hospital in Heidelberg. There Are few places for help and they Are hard to find. When sgt. Wright was seeking help for his gambling addiction Ettinger was conducting gambling therapy classes in the building where Wright worked but the Soldier did t know it and Wasny to told. A amps Jinn Derheim a Beers Anonymous groups have been established a military communities in Germany but the is tend to be Small and difficult to sustain k of adequate treatment services is not a problem bar to the military. Civilian mental health experts cite dior comings in the United states. Professional pent centers often Are expensive said Lorenz the Lor of the National Center for pathological lying and in Many cases not covered by insurance in the United states there Are at least 700 Biers Anonymous chapters As Well As some private Les. Anger said the military social services system ply is addressing the Issue. Chaplains army Unity service workers and others Are becoming aware of the problem and Are acting As referral ties to get the Gambler into treatment he said p Lar efforts have not expanded much beyond the poofs level. Washington the official position is that there is no fling problem. Memo to the assistant Secretary of defense for h a lairs in november 1988, the department of the concluded that compulsive gambling Quot is not spread nor statistically  i report prepared by Judy Ann Miller then a in assistant Secretary for personnel stated that lie with gambling problems were being identified to lament was available a recommended against the establishment of a a rant program for gamblers and none was created r conclusions were drawn in part on what the described As a  25,000 psychiatric Sions to military hospitals Over a two year period. I Hases involved pathological gambling Png to her report. Bijj Culous Quot said Lorenz. Quot there Are that Many at  Lorenz said she treats patients at the fort Meade Hospital which is near her Baltimore Center Ettinger concurs. Quot you Don to to general hospitalize people for compulsive gambling. You hospitalize them for depression attempted suicide. You hospitalize them Tor their symptoms that Are a consequence of compulsive gambling. Quot in my opinion that was a poor study Quot Ettinger said. Lorenz said it was her lobbying efforts about what she feels is the military a failure to address compulsive gambling that helped prompt the department of defense to compile its 1988 report. Quot the report we got Back was pure fabrication Quot she said of Miller s three Page analysis. "1 read the report and filed it in  Miller now an administrator with the department of the air Force declined to discuss her report with the stars and stripes gambling revenues in Europe �?T87 to�?T89 total Revenue from gambling in millions a number of troops in thousands 1987 1988 1989 a amps Sharon Kilday unfortunately there is virtually no precise statistical evidence available on the prevalence of compulsive gambling among americans overseas. Army and air Force spokesmen in Europe told the stars and stripes that records Are not kept on the subject. The spokesmen said that mental health officials do not track cases involving gambling and military commanders and prosecutors do not keep records on discharges or criminal cases in which gambling May have been a Factor. Miller in her report recommending against a gambling therapy program cited a nationwide study indicating a maximum of 0.77 percent of american adults Are compulsive gamblers. That study was compiled in 1976. Studies in the mid and late 1980s have shown much higher rates from 2 percent in Minnesota to 4,2 percent in new York. Lorenz and other experts believe that 3 percent is a More accurate estimate. That figure would indicate that about 18,000 service members civilians and dependents in Europe suffer from pathological gambling problems based on an adult population of 600,000. L experts who talked to the stars and stripes however believe that compulsive gambling among americans overseas is More extensive than in the United states primarily because of the sense of cultural isolation the availability of sanctioned gambling and the relative Young age of the soldiers Quot the nature of the military May contribute to addictive behaviour especially in Korea Quot Lorenz said Quot because the family is not there. A Lack of family support is Strong in maintaining an  Many service members and their families have never been exposed to formal gambling before their military experience. Ettinger said Many of his patients had never gambled until they saw military Slot machines. Quot they have gotten off the plane in Frankfurt. They went to the hotel or no club that night and that is the first time they have gambled in their lives. They hit the Jackpot and since then they be lost  others who gambled sparingly before joining the military often pick up the Pace when they get to Europe said or. Lori Rugle coordinator of the gambling treatment program at the Cleveland veterans affairs medical Center in Brecksville Ohio. Quot maybe it has something to do with keeping the excitement going or As a Way to snub their nose at the system Quot Rugle said. The Brecksville veterans Hospital treats about 70 to 100 retirees veterans and Active duty people annually. Rugle said Only about a dozen Active duty personnel Are referred for treatment each year about half from overseas installations. She attributes that to a Lack of awareness in the military Community about the program. Ettinger says his patients in Heidelberg Are not necessarily angry at the military for having gambling machines but Are upset because they feel the military does not recognize that the machines cause problems. Quot my patients strongly believe there is a need for a program t think there still is some disparity Between where the army is and what my patients feel is  the military however sees no such disparity. Cot. James k. Wiles director of the morale welfare and recreation program for the air Force in Europe compares Slot machines to video games Quot you re really not putting much More Money into it than some kid standing there in a game room putting quarters in a machine which gives you nothing Quot Wiles said. V Quot the payoff is intentionally High to preclude any perception or criticism that they re gambling because that is not what they re intended for. They re intended for fun and  Wiles assertions aside military Slot machines return significantly less to the player than stateside slots 90 percent in the air Force compared with 97 percent to 98 percent in major casinos. Air Force Slot machines Wiles contends Are designed to discourage gambling problems because they accept Only Small change Quot its supposed to be amusement Quot he said Tell that to air Force staff sgt. Eddie Langston formerly of inc Riik a Turkey. He was sentenced in january to a year in confinement and a bad conduct discharge for writing More than $10,000 in bad checks. A Deputy staff judge advocate said the 17-year air Force Veteran had been playing russian Roulette with his career. He lost. Langston 37, told the stars and stripes that Slot machines had never been a problem for him in England or Germany. But he fell victim to the boredom of Barracks living in Turkey. Wiles who oversees air Force Slot machines in Europe said that until the stars and stripes brought the Langston Case to his attention he had never heard of a Case in which Slot machines had caused an airman Legal problems. People not machines make decisions that cause problems he said. Quot the staff sergeant would probably have done something else if not gambling a Wiles said. Perhaps but his is not an isolated Case. At the time of Langstone a sentencing air Force tech. Sgt. James Widner a munitions Security specialist at Raf Lakenheath in the United kingdom was being court Martiale for a series of bad checks stemming from a two month $4,000 Slot machine Binge. Quot i used Slot machines As a Crutch when i stood in front of a Slot machine i d forget All my problems Quot the 14-year air Force Veteran told the six member jury of officers. Lorenz who testifies at courts martial As an expert on compulsive gamblers says the military Justice system is ill equipped to Deal with such cases. She says if a Soldier writes bad checks to cover his gambling debts he probably will be prosecuted and sent to prison without the word gambling Ever being mentioned. Again she says that is because the military views compulsive gambling As a Quot disorder of impulse control Quot rather than a mental disease or defect. Quot punishment is the least effective Way to help people with their gambling problem Quot Lorenz said. Quot the military would be much further ahead if they would spend continued on Page 17 Page 14 a a a the stars and stripes monday november 19,1990 monday november 19,1990 the stars and stripes a a a p�9� 15