A quiet battle is brewing in the halls of Congress, one that could significantly impact anyone who enjoys a wager. Representative Dina Titus is leading the charge to restore a long-held tax benefit for gamblers, a benefit recently chipped away by a change she deems fundamentally unfair.
The core of the issue lies with gambling losses. For years, gamblers could deduct 100% of their losses from their winnings, effectively being taxed only on their net gain. A recent legislative shift reduced that deduction to 90%, meaning gamblers are now taxed on a portion of money they never actually kept.
Titus argues this isn’t just about high rollers in Las Vegas. It impacts everyone from casual lottery ticket buyers to serious poker players. She believes the change creates an uneven playing field, unfairly taxing individuals on phantom income.
Her proposed solution, the FAIR BET Act, aims to reinstate the 100% deduction. She’s directly appealed to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee, urging them to prioritize the legislation and bring it to a vote.
This isn’t the first time Titus has fought for this cause. She initially introduced the FAIR BET Act as a direct response to the bill that reduced the deduction, warning of potential damage to both gamblers and the gaming industry as a whole.
She previously attempted to attach the FAIR BET Act as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, a move ultimately blocked by the Rules Committee. Despite this setback, Titus remains undeterred, vowing to continue building support for her proposal.
Titus doesn’t frame this as simply a tax issue, but as a matter of protecting responsible gaming. She warns that the current law could push gamblers towards unregulated offshore markets, where consumer protections are virtually nonexistent.
She emphasizes that the 100% deduction wasn’t a loophole, but a long-standing standard that accurately reflected a gambler’s true income – the difference between winnings and losses. Restoring it, she argues, is simply a return to fairness and common sense.
The fight for the FAIR BET Act is far from over, but Titus’s continued advocacy keeps the issue alive, highlighting the potential consequences of a seemingly small change in tax law for a large and diverse group of people.
