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.
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.
