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There’s growing pushback to a new law that could kill sports betting

A bipartisan push is mounting to reverse a new tax law provision that limits gambling loss deductions — and could gut sports betting in the US. Pros and casuals alike say the law makes betting untenable, pushing more bets offshore.

Lawmakers and gamblers push back against new US tax law threatening sports betting
Image: Susan Haigh/AP

A bipartisan push led by House reps from Texas and Nevada is emerging to reverse a provision in the megabill recently signed into law by President Trump that could kill sports gambling in America. Bets on it changing, anyone?

What’s at issue: A provision in the bill that limits the amount of deductible losses a person can have from gambling.

  • Before the bill was passed, a person could deduct 100% of their gambling losses up to the amount of their winnings.
  • Now, a person can only deduct 90% of their losses.

A real-life example: A casual bettor who tosses money on Knicks games breaks even over the course of the year, winning $1,000 and losing $1,000.

This bettor would now only be able to deduct $900 of their losses, instead of the full amount, resulting in a tax on $100 currently sitting in a sportsbook’s hands. Or in other words: the White House always wins.

Gamblers are sounding the alarm. “Certain kinds of gambling are going to probably be untenable under this law because they’re high-volume, low margin,” Russell Fox, a tax professional who specializes in gambling taxes, told CNN. “Sports betting is going to be hit. The professionals making a living in that are going to have issues.”

And if the high rollers pull back and more bets move offshore…It could become a huge problem for a sports betting industry that raked in $13.7 billion in revenue last year.