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State of Play’s TL;DR
- Rep. Dina Titus is urging House lawmakers to restore the full federal deduction for gambling losses.
- She is arguing that the current 90% rule can tax players on money they never won.
US Rep. Dina Titus is urging the House Ways and Means Committee to restore the full federal deduction for gambling losses. The current 90% rule can create taxable gambling income even when a player did not actually come out ahead.
Titus is pressing lawmakers to act on her FAIR BET Act, which would reverse the current federal treatment of gambling losses. The issue has national relevance for players who report gambling winnings and losses on their taxes, especially anyone with large swings over the course of a year.
Titus says current law unfair to gamblers
The deduction for gambling losses was reduced from 100% to 90% under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which took effect on Jan. 1.
Titus argues that change can produce an unfair result. The example cited in the report is a bettor who wins $100,000 and loses $100,000. Under the current rule, that person could still be left with $10,000 in taxable gambling income.
“I urge my colleagues to include a fix to restore the 100% tax deduction for gambling losses. I will not stop fighting until we finally see this over the finish line.”
Titus has spent more than a year trying to build support for the change.
Bipartisan support exists, but no bill has reached a floor vote
The FAIR BET Act is described as having strong bipartisan support, but it has not received a floor vote. A similar Senate proposal, the FULL HOUSE Act introduced by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, also has not reached a floor vote.
Senate GOP leaders blocked efforts to restore the 100% deduction on procedural grounds, arguing that tax legislation should begin in the House. In the House, Ways and Means Committee, Chairman Jason Smith reportedly supports returning to the full deduction but favored the WAGER Act introduced by Rep. Andy Barr in July 2025.
So far, the House Ways and Means Committee has not addressed the FAIR BET Act.
What bettors should watch next
For now, the key question is whether the House Ways and Means Committee will take up Titus’ bill or another measure to restore the 100% deduction. Until that happens, the current 90% federal loss deduction remains in place.
Titus backed the Fair Markets and Sports Integrity Act, a separate bill that would restrict prediction markets from offering sports-related contracts. But the main unresolved issue for gamblers is whether Congress will revisit the tax treatment of losses at all.
Based on reporting by Deyan Dimitrov for Gambling News.
