LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Ever since President Donald Trump put his custom Sharpie pen to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 4, Nevada's federal lawmakers have been working to undo an obscure provision buried deep in its text.
The massive tax bill contained a small change that limits gamblers who deduct losses from their taxes to writing off just 90% of their losses against their winnings.
The upshot: A person could lose break-even for the year, but still owe taxes on money that they never saw.
Both Democrats and Republicans agree that the provision is unfair and should be repealed, but so far, no repeal effort has come to the floor.
"It absolutely is an issue with anybody who gambles," said Congresswoman Dina Titus, D-Nev., who first brought attention to the provision in a post on X that was seen more than 1 million times.
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
"Even if it's not going to impact you so much directly, if you're a gambler and you see that you're going to have to pay taxes on money that doesn't exist, like ghost, phantom money, that's just not fair," Titus said in an interview Wednesday. "And people get that. They understand that that's not how taxes are supposed to work."
And even though the provision was included in the Republican budget, support for repealing the one-line provision is bipartisan. Of the 21 co-sponsors of Titus's so-called FAIR Bet Act, nine are Republicans.
And that list includes Nevada Rep. Mark Amodei, Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., who chairs the powerful Ways & Means Committee and the chair of the House Gaming Caucus, Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Penn.
Repeal, Titus said, "...is good for the customer, good for the industry, and good for the community, because of the tax revenue that would be lost if people decided, 'well, I'm just not going to report this [if] I have to pay for money that doesn't exist, or I'm not going to come to Las Vegas because I can just bet online overseas."
That begs the question: If Republicans are for it, and Democrats are for it, why hasn't it been repealed? Republicans are reluctant to re-litigate the One Big Beautiful Bill, but a separate repeal measure could be brought to the floor and quickly passed, or perhaps attached to another bill.
But so far, that hasn't happened.
There is some good news: Although Titus had been pushing to get the repeal done by the end of the year, even if that doesn't happen, there's still time to get relief for locals and visitors who write off their gambling losses.
That's because the bill was written to go into effect in 2026, with the new deduction rule showing up on taxes filed in 2027. If a repeal bill is passed before December of next year, the new tax law won't go into effect.
That would please everybody from casino owners with established sportsbooks to the American Gaming Association, the industry's Washington trade group.
And interest remains high: A more recent post on X by Titus was seen as much as her first message on the topic in July.
Earlier this year the BS Budget Bill reduced the tax deduction for gambling losses to 90%. In response, I introduced the FAIR BET Act to restore the commonsense 100% tax deduction to protect professional and recreational gamblers. I was the first in Congress to introduce this…
— Dina Titus (@repdinatitus) December 1, 2025
Other members of Nevada's delegation said they were pushing hard for repeal, too.
“Republicans in Washington are already taking a sledgehammer to southern Nevada’s economy; their law limiting deductions for gambling losses to 90% against wins only further threatens our gaming economy," said Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., in a statement. "Without a 100% deduction, gamblers will owe taxes even when they break even or lose money. This will only push them away from Las Vegas, taking more money away from local casinos, hotels, and small businesses who are already struggling thanks to the Trump tourism slump. That’s why I'm working to pass a legislative fix to restore the 100% deduction for gambling losses.”
And U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said momentum for repeal is growing.
“Bipartisan support is growing for this commonsense fix to the provision in the Republican budget bill that limits the wagering loss deduction," Cortez Masto said in a statement. "In addition to Senators Ted Cruz [R-Texas], Jacky Rosen [D-Nev.], and Bill Hagerty, [R-Tenn.], Senators Bill Cassidy [R-La.] and Cindy Hyde-Smith [R-Miss.] recently joined as cosponsors of my legislation. I’m continuing to work with our House delegation to explore all angles to get this bill passed.”
