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NBC News
30 minutes ago
- NBC News
Bettors are worried Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' could cause professional gambling in the U.S. to fold
A relatively underappreciated constituency is raising the alarm about President Donald Trump's ' big, beautiful bill ' — gamblers. Tucked into the nearly 900-page legislation is a change to how gambling losses are taxed that some professional and amateur bettors say could crush the industry. The provision, only a few paragraphs, would limit what gamblers can deduct from their yearly taxes to 90% of their losses starting in 2026. Currently, bettors can deduct the entirety of their losses, up until their winnings. What a number of gambling aficionados pointed out on social media was that by limiting the tax deduction to 90% of losses, gamblers could actually owe taxes in years where they netted a loss on their bets. 'This new amendment to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would end professional gambling in the US and hurt casual gamblers, too,' Phil Galfond, a professional poker player, posted to X, including a video summarizing his argument. 'You could pay more in tax than you won. Contact your representative quickly.' Trump is set to sign the bill into law on Friday. The provision first generated buzz online after the Senate passed the legislation on Tuesday. One example given on X laid out that, under this new setup, if a gambler won $200,000 in a year but lost $210,000, they would actually be able to deduct only $189,000 worth of losses. Meaning they'd have $11,000 in taxable income even though they netted $10,000 in losses during the year. 'A pro who earns $200k/year might have $3m in winnings and $2.8m in losses,' Galfond said in a subsequent tweet. 'This means earning $200k and being taxed as if they earned $480k. This applies to both recreational and professional gamblers.' Gambling revenues have reached record highs in recent years as legalized gambling has proliferated across the U.S. Thirty-eight states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, now have some form of legalized sports betting, which has exploded following a 2018 Supreme Court ruling that broke up Nevada's monopoly on the practice. In 2024, commercial gaming revenue reached a record high of nearly $72 billion, according to the American Gaming Association, which represents the U.S. gambling industry. Rep. Dina Titus, a Democrat who represents Las Vegas, tweeted Wednesday that she was already seeking to amend the change. 'Buried within the BS Republican Budget bill is a provision that harms poker players and those who gamble by limiting loss deductions,' Titus wrote. 'I'm working on a legislative fix that fairly treats gaming losses in the tax code.' One gaming industry source who spoke with NBC News said the impact of the tax change is still to be determined, though this person said the change would mostly impact professional gamblers rather than recreational players. In a May 6 letter to the chairs and ranking members of the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways & Means Committee, William C. Miller, president and CEO of the American Gaming Industry, included maintaining the current deduction for wagering losses as one of three industry-specific tax priorities for the reconciliation package Republicans have advanced. Other priorities named in the letter, which was obtained by NBC News, included increasing the slot tax reporting threshold from $1,200 to $5,000 and repealing the sports betting excise tax on legal sports wagers. The AGA also named a number of broader tax priorities, including calling for no tax on tips and maintaining the current corporate tax rate and SALT deductions. In the letter, Miller described keeping the current gambling loss deduction as 'critical,' adding that it should be expanded to allow for taxpayers who do not itemize their returns to report their net wins and losses as part of their adjusted gross income. 'Maintaining this deduction at its existing levels was absolutely a priority for the legal, regulated gaming industry,' the gaming industry source said. 'So it's fair to say that with this specific provision, we're disappointed, and we'll be monitoring its impact and seeking to work with congressional leaders to fix this before the overall legislation takes effect at the end of this year.' A spokesperson for Senate Finance Committee Republicans did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the White House. FanDuel and DraftKings, two of the biggest players in the sports betting market, declined to comment. 'Tax code is already punitive to poker players (you get taxed on winning years but can't write off losing years unless you file as a pro; it's easy to have a down year even as a good player) and Senate-passed version of OBBBA would make it considerably worse,' Nate Silver, the prominent political data analyst, tweeted. As gambling, particularly legalized sports betting, has proliferated in recent years, though, researchers have found a negative impact on bettors' finances, including reduced savings and lower investments in generally safer assets like stocks. Meanwhile, internet searches for gambling addiction and calls to state gambling helplines have increased, particularly with younger men.
The Independent
31 minutes ago
- The Independent
Chants of ‘USA' ring out in House as Trump's ‘Big, Beautiful Bill' passes
Chants of "USA" were heard as the House of Representatives passed Donald Trump 's " Big, Beautiful Bill" on Thursday (3 July). The legislation features sweeping cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance programs. It passed by 218 in favor to 214 against. Every Democrat and two Republicans, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie and Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, voted against the bill. The president has set a loose deadline of July 4 to sign the bill, though the exact timing of the ceremony has yet to be decided. Mr Trump's bill extends the 2017 tax cuts he signed in his first presidency and includes money to hire 10,000 new agents for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and 3,000 Border Patrol agents.
Daily Mail
38 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Melania joins Donald Trump in welcoming Gaza hostage Edan Alexander to the White House
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump welcomed Edan Alexander, the last living American hostage in Gaza, who was released in May, to the White House on Thursday. Alexander told Trump he was treated better in captivity after Trump won the presidential election, per a video posted on social media by Trump aide Margo Martin. The president thanked him and welcomed him to the Oval Office. He noted Melania Trump, in particular, was worried about Alexander. 'The first lady, it was very important to her,' Trump said. The president also said he was concerned that Alexander had been killed in an air strike on a Hamas tunnel where he was being held, Axios reported. Alexander, 21, is an American-Israeli from New Jersey. He was among 251 people taken hostage by Hamas in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that sparked Israel's war with Hamas. Alexander moved to Israel in 2022 after finishing high school and enlisted in the military. He was 19 when militants stormed his base in Israel and dragged him into the Gaza Strip. He was released on May 12 by the militant group Hamas after 584 days in captivity. Alexander had been in Israel since he was freed until he traveled last month home to New Jersey, where his family still lives. Alexander told President Trump there are other hostages still in Gaza who need to be released and the president agreed with him. The meeting comes ahead of Trump's scheduled sit-down on Monday with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump is pushing Netanyahu and Hamas to come to an agreement to end the war in Gaza. The president asked Iran-backed Hamas militants on Tuesday to agree to what he called a 'final proposal' for a 60-day ceasefire with Israel in Gaza that will be delivered by mediating officials from Qatar and Egypt. In a social media post, Trump said his representatives had a 'long and productive' meeting with Israeli officials about Gaza. Trump said Israel has agreed to the conditions to finalize a 60-day ceasefire, 'during which time we will work with all parties to end the War.' He said representatives for Qatar and Egypt will deliver 'this final proposal' to Hamas. 'I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,' he wrote. Along with the first lady, several other senior officials were in the meeting with Alexander, Axios reported, including Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Alexander's homecoming to Tenafly, New Jersey, was met with celebration, as hundreds stood in the rain to see him. Trump in early March met at the White House with a group of eight former hostages who had been released by Hamas: Iair Horn, Omer Shem Tov, Eli Sharabi, Keith Siegel, Aviva Siegel, Naama Levy, Doron Steinbrecher and Noa Argamani.
