LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It's just a few lines, inserted deep into the Republican-sponsored tax and spending bill passed narrowly by the House on Thursday.
But the impact here in Nevada could be big.
Under Section 70114 of the so-called Big, Beautiful Bill, tax deductions resulting from "losses from wagering transactions" will be reduced to 90%, and are only allowed to the extent of gains from gambling wins.
VIDEO | Steve Sebelius talks to participant in World Series Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris hotel-casinos
In English: You could win $100,000 in a given year, and lose $100,000 in that same year, breaking even. But you'd only be able to deduct $90,000 of your $100,000 loss on your taxes, meaning you'd have to pay taxes on the remaining $10,000, money that you never actually saw.
The change won't affect casual gamblers, or anyone else who doesn't itemize their taxes and take deductions. But it could affect people who spend a lot in casinos, fantasy sports or sportsbooks.
And it's a serious concern among poker players, both professional and amateur, who are in town to compete in the World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris hotel-casinos on the Strip.
"It can really, really impact that bottom line," says Jonas Lopas, who came from Orange County, Calif., to participate in the World Series of Poker. "The buzz around the World Series is like, what is this going to look like in 2026? How many people are going to still keep coming and playing in these tournaments if they know they have a big tax liability, win or lose?"
Lopas isn't a professional poker player, but he has written off gambling losses on his taxes before, so the change will affect him. And he's hardly the only one concerned about the issue.
Pro poker player Phil Galfond declared on X that the amendment would "...end professional gambling in the U.S." He later walked that back, but still said, "...many pros will no longer be able to make it."
Small but necessary correction: The examples and math I shared were accurate, but after running through several scenarios, the words "would end professional gambling in the US" were too strong.For poker, many pros will no longer be able to make it. But the big winners will…
— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) July 2, 2025
And Galfond wasn't alone. News of the tax prompted the website InGame.com to predict "the 'Big Beautiful Bill" is Set to Destroy U.S. Gambling."
Author Jeff Edelstein said in that piece that even slight wins would cause big tax bills: If a person won $101,00 but lost $100,000, they'd be up $1,000, but the smaller deduction would cause them to have a tax bill of $2,640.
"That's not a tax on income. That's a tax on volume," Edelstein wrote.
He predicted that overall betting volume would drop, sportsbooks would widen spreads and increase fees, prize pools in fantasy sports would shrink and states that rely on tax revenue from gambling would see collections fall.
Meanwhile, Newsweek predicted "Trump's Big Beautiful Bill Could Kill Professional Gambling," and FrontOfficeSports.com said the bill "Includes Huge Tax Hike for Pro Gamblers."
Channel 13 reached out to the American Gaming Association, the Nevada Gaming Control Board and the office of Gov. Joe Lombardo, but did not receive a response from anyone on Thursday.
But U.S. Rep. Dina Titus told us in an interview shortly after the bill was approved that a post of hers on X got more than 1 million views, more than any other post she's written on the website.
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.
— Dina Titus (@repdinatitus) July 2, 2025
Titus said she wanted to offer an amendment to the bill, but House managers refused to accept any, so she said she would bring a bill to repeal the provision next week. It's not clear how her repeal bill would fare in a Republican-controlled House, however.
Titus also said she believed the Joint Tax Committee estimates of $1.1 billion in federal revenue over eight years were overstated, and said Republicans were looking for any additional money to blunt the impact of the bill's tax cuts.
In addition, she said the provision would drive people to offshore gambling or to lie about their winnings in order to avoid additional taxation.
And poker players like Lopas say it's hard enough earning money playing poker without worrying about losing out on a tax bill.
'So the math ends up to where it really, really screws you if you play a lot of tournaments, any kind of gambling," he said. "The story of playing poker or any game is the house always wins, well, now it's not only the house always wins, but Uncle Sam wins a little extra, too. So it's a scary time for poker players."
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