US Military Members Spent $500K on Gambling, Related Expenses Using Government Charge Cards

According to a news report, US military personnel charged over $500K in questionable expenses at casinos and nightclubs, along with online gaming and drinks, using government-issued travel cards during the 2023 fiscal year. 

Task & Purpose, a military news platform, recently shared the costs, referencing a report from a Defense Department audit conducted by the Inspector General’s office. 

The report titled “Audit of the DoD Government Travel Charge Card Program: The Visa IntelliLink Compliance Management System” concentrated on possible fraud and improper expenditures, as per Task & Purpose. 

MGM National Harbor Cash Outs 

The audit revealed that a service member engaged in gambling for five months utilizing the card. That individual primarily obtained cash at the MGM National Harbor Hotel & Casino in Maryland. The service member incurred a total of $10,633 (including ATM fees) from 21 withdrawals at National Harbor and additional withdrawals at another gaming property in Maryland. 

Certain attempts to withdraw were blocked, while the others succeeded. 

In general, a lot of the incorrect charges across the country occurred during federal holidays, Super Bowl weekend, as well as on St. Patrick’s Day and Cinco de Mayo. 

Google had the highest incidence of inappropriate charges when utilizing government travel cards. From 2020 to 2024, military personnel spent roughly $150,000 on apps from Google Play. 

Previous Fees for Strip Clubs 

In comparison, a 2015 audit conducted by the Defense Department’s Inspector General revealed nearly $1M in gambling expenditures by service members, along with roughly $100K spent at strip clubs, as reported by Task & Purpose. 

The federal government has issued around 2.3 million travel cards to the military. In the 2023 fiscal year, cardholders made approximately $6.4 billion in 24 million transactions. The majority of these were valid and permitted. The travel cards are intended for essential travel costs during official duties, including accommodations, meals, car rentals, and more. They may also use the cards to obtain cash. They cannot be utilized for individual spending. 

They are formally known as Government Travel Charge Cards (GTCC). 

Authorized Travel Costs 

As stated on a Defense Department website, the GTCC program "offers travelers a secure, efficient, convenient, and commercially accessible way to cover official travel costs." Travelers are not required to utilize personal finances for expenses related to missions, can oversee their GTCC account via the internet, and the reimbursement process is simplified through the DoD’s

“The GTCC also offers insurance coverage for rental cars, lost luggage, and personal injury, and provides cardholders with better payment terms, convenient, and commercially available method to pay for official travel expenses.”