Poker Writer
U.S. Rep. Dina Titus hosted a town hall at Las Vegas City Hall on Monday evening to discuss her ongoing effort to repeal the One Big Beautiful Bill’s changes to gambling taxes. She told participants about the impact the changes would have on the gambling community and industry.
Rep. Titus calls her repeal bill the FAIR BET Act (Fair Accounting for Income Realized from Betting Earnings Taxation). During the meeting, she emphasized that the issue is one of fairness. She also warned that the change could drive players to the black market to keep winnings and losses hidden.
The changes in question were a last-minute addition to the federal budget bill. Titus, who has led the charge against the new policy from the start, promoted the town hall through her official X account. She invited people to tune in and watch as community leaders and industry experts sat down for the assembly.
Video: Rep. Titus’ Gambling Tax Law Town Hall
Happening Now: Rep. Dina Titus is hosting a Town Hall on the FAIR BET Act to restore the 100% deduction for gambling losses, joined by community leaders. and industry experts. Live from Las Vegas City Hall. #FAIRBETAct #LasVegas https://t.co/rqbcoxhKfP
— Dina Titus (@repdinatitus) August 12, 2025
She began the meeting by discussing the bill and setting the landscape for the impact of the Big Beautiful Bill on betting after its official passage.
You always have to look through legislation for things that impact gaming… there’s always a little bit of a prejudice against gaming that we have to be on the lookout for. So when the bill came back, we had to go line by line, and sure enough, there was one in there.
The expert panel was then introduced. Adam Robinson, representing Americans Bettors’ Voice, laid out the negative impact of the bill’s gambling provision:
A lot of livelihoods depend on fair taxation of gaming. This new 90% cap on the gambling loss deduction is fundamentally a fairness issue. It taxes people on money they never earned, phantom income. That’s not how this country is supposed to run.
Rounding out the panel of experts:
- Becky Harris, Gaming Policy Expert at UNLV
- Russell Fox, Clayton Financial and Tax. Expert on gaming taxes
- Virginia Valentine, Nevada Resorts Association
Each provided brief statements then fielded some questions from the audience members. Many expressed concern about the chances that the FAIR BET Act passes. Interested parties can find the odds on that at prediction markets.
In a response to one question clarifying the new tax rule, Fox summed up the 10% tax deduction with one simple word: stupid. He explained that it puts bettors in a higher tax bracket than their actual income justifies and predicted it will inevitably wreck the whale sports betting market for those who place large bets. Those types of bets, in turn, often keep sportsbooks alive.
The Inevitable Turn To Unregulated Markets
One topic that came up concerned gamblers turning to offshore unregulated operators in large numbers if the FAIR BET Act does not pass.
Robinson expanded upon this in a reply to the topic:
U.S. players want to play in the domestic regulated market, period. They want to play. But what policy makers should understand is that consumers have a lot of choices right now and if you are like us at American Bettors’ Voice and support a robust, regulated and fair U.S. market… this gambling loss deduction issue is a giant brick on the scale to send players where they feel they are being treated more fairly.
They would love to play domestically if we let them do it in a fair manner. That is all they are asking for is to treat them with the same care as you would with any other consumer. If you want to win the market as an American regulated, you have to give the players an environment that rewards playing in a regulated market and this unfortunately does the exact opposite.
With a vested interest in seeing a Nevada economy based heavily on regulated gambling thrive, Rep. Titus will continue trying to give gamblers what she has called “a fair shake.”
Image credit: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons (license)
