What Sports Bettors and Poker Players Are Saying About Spending Bill That Impacts Their Deductions
Gamblers worried about a $1.1 billion tax hike buried in the Senate GOP’s tax bill that would slash their net winnings and potentially charge income tax when they break even or lose money.
In the Senate’s roughly 900-page version of President Donald Trump’s multitrillion-dollar tax bill, gamblers would only be able to deduct 90% of their losses when calculating their net income. Under current law, a bettor can deduct the entirety of their losses, up until the amount of their gambling winnings.
In a nutshell, under the new legislation, if a player were to report winnings of $100,000 and losses of $100,000, the player would still owe taxes on $10,000.
Democratic congresswoman Dina Titus of the First District of Nevada explained the ramifications.
Buried within the BS Republican Budget bill is a provision that harms poker players and those who gamble by limiting loss deductions. I’m working on a legislative fix that fairly treats gaming losses in the tax code.
Gamblers appeared to be on the same page hating the bill, which passed in the House early Thursday afternoon.
Marty Stevens writes:
USA is the best & worst country. Great in so many ways, so much opportunity, then ironically one of the least free - gamblers wrecked once by a port safety bill, now by a totally arbitrary 90% rule.
Silver lining is anything that kills off poker players is a win for society
Poker Roasters offered this:
Not a fan of this bill. The only beautiful thing that should be taking millions from poker players is Espen Jorstad.
And then there was this from Jake Hansen:
Professional Vegas sports bettors and poker players, congratulations you are going to see significant tax hikes from the Big Beautiful Bill. @LasVegasLocally pic.twitter.com/wmY6wTVVvL
— Jake Hansen (@jake_hansen_) July 3, 2025
Poker pro Doug Polk wrote:
If you care about poker now is the time to get this out to every single corner of the internet.
This has been snuck into the bill and if it passes tens of thousands of people will instantly lose their careers.
We need to rally together now as the poker community.
Z writes:
Couldn’t be more true in Las Vegas. This bill limits gambling loss deductions to 90% of winnings, meaning players owe tax even in losing years. No poker pro supports it. It’ll kill careers, devastate rec players, and slash casino revenue.
Poker pro Matt Glantz offered up a solid assessment of what negative impacts this bill will have in the poker world.
The new federal tax proposal on gamblers in the current Senate bill, often referred to as the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” introduces significant changes to how gambling winnings and losses are taxed:
Limits on Gambling Loss Deductions: The Senate version would permanently limit the deduction of gambling losses to 90% of gambling winnings. This means that both casual and professional gamblers could only deduct up to 90% of their winnings as losses, rather than the full amount as under current law1.
Professional Gamblers: For professionals, the total of losses and business expenses could not exceed 90% of gambling winnings. For example, if a professional gambler had $500,000 in winnings, $440,000 in losses, and $50,000 in business expenses, they would have to pay tax on $50,000 of income, not just the net $10,000 as previously allowed1.
Key effects:
Casual gamblers who break even over the year (equal winnings and losses) would now owe tax on 10% of their winnings.
Professional gamblers would be taxed on a minimum of 10% of their winnings, regardless of actual net profit after losses and business expenses.
Note: These provisions are in the Senate version of the bill and are not present in the House version, so they may change during the legislative process1.
Additionally, there is discussion about raising the federal excise tax on gambling wagers from 0.25% to 5%, which would significantly increase the tax burden on each bet placed, but this is presented as a policy option and not confirmed as part of the current bill2. Conversely, a separate bill has been introduced to repeal the existing 0.25% federal excise tax on sports betting, but this is unrelated to the Senate’s current proposal3.
In summary:
The new Senate bill proposes to limit gambling loss deductions to 90% of winnings, effectively ensuring that at least 10% of gambling winnings are always taxable, a significant change from current law where losses can fully offset winning
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