A handful of Las Vegas casino executives and the industry’s top lobbyist in Washington DC recently met with a senior congressman in a last-ditch effort to undo a provision in the president’s signature legislation that will hurt gamblers when it takes effect next year.
Derek Stevens of Circa, Golden Gate and The D; Bill Hornbuckle of MGM Resorts; Tom Reeg of Caesars Entertainment; Craig Billings of Wynn Resorts; and Bill Miller, president of the American Gaming Association, met Monday with U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R–Missouri, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, to push to restore the 100 percent deduction for gambling losses, which was reduced to 90 percent under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The change officially comes into effect on January 1 and will apply to 2026 tax returns.
Gaming industry officials and tax professionals argue that the change unfairly targets professional and high-stakes players, who will now have to pay taxes on unrealized earnings. Poker players, high-limit slot players and sports players will be hit hardest, according to industry experts.
Stevens, who co-owns and operates three casinos in downtown Las Vegas, said the bill’s effects are already being felt.
“It’s scary to think that we’re already being affected by groups not booking because they’re afraid to deal with this issue,” he said Thursday, noting that several big-money sports bettors are shying away from future bets on 2026 events like the Super Bowl and March Madness as a result. “This is clearly going to affect tourism here and across the country, and that’s why I’m trying to make a push.”
Chris Cylke, senior vice president of government relations for the AGA, said in a statement Thursday that the trade association “continues to work with Congress and the (president’s) administration to restore 100 percent deductibility, a longstanding policy that ensures fair and consistent tax treatment.”
A spokesperson for MGM Resorts International said, “We strongly support a resolution of this matter. It is a fair issue that affects not only our employees and guests, but the entire state of Nevada.” The Las Vegas-based company operates nine Strip casinos and is the largest employer in the state.
U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., introduced the FAIR BET Act in response to the OBBBA’s changes to gambling loss deductions. Titus’ bill, which has broad bipartisan support and 21 co-sponsors, would restore 100 percent deductions.
“Although the change may seem minor, it will have significant and harmful consequences,” Titus wrote in a letter to Smith, urging the Missouri congressman to consider the FAIR BET Act during the next Ways and Means Committee meeting before Congress goes on recess. “It unfairly burdens professional players and casual players alike and will inevitably drive players towards offshore and unregulated markets where consumer protections do not exist, thereby undermining responsible gambling across the country.”
The change in compensation for gambling loss deductions was finalized in the OBBBA as part of the reconciliation process in the US Senate during budget negotiations in July. So far, no elected official in the country has taken responsibility for the change or defended its inclusion in OBBBA.
U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jackie Rosen have also tried to restore the tax credit legislatively. The pair of Nevada Democrats and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, sponsored the FULL HOUSE Act in the upper chamber, to no avail.
Stevens said it was his understanding that the change was “unintentional,” but it is a problem that needs immediate correction.
“No one wants this. No American wants this at all,” he said. “This is going to affect every slot machine that wins a jackpot. This is just bad everywhere, and it’s not good for anyone.”
President Donald Trump signed the OBBBA into law this summer. The bill, which will increase the federal deficit by more than $3.4 trillion over the next decade, reduces federal tax liabilities for workers with tips and overtime pay, in addition to ensuring tax cuts for most Americans.
A national news reporter recently asked Trump, who once owned three casinos in Atlantic City, about eliminating federal taxes on gambling winnings, a suggestion that seemed to amuse the president.
“No tax on gambling? I don’t know about that,” Trump said Tuesday aboard Air Force One. “I’ll have to think about it.”
Contact David Danzis at ddanzis@ theplayerlounge.com or 702-383-0378. Follow @AC2Vegas_Danzis on X.
