WASHINGTON (KOLO & AP) — Nevada lawmakers are ramping up efforts to restore a tax deduction they say is essential to protecting the state’s gaming industry—after Senate Republicans blocked an attempt to undo a provision buried in President Trump’s massive new budget law.

The change, set to take effect in 2026, limits gamblers to deducting only 90% of their losses against their winnings. Under current law, gamblers who itemize can deduct 100% of losses, dollar for dollar, up to the amount of their winnings.

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) tried to reverse the change on the Senate floor Thursday, requesting unanimous consent for a bill that would restore the full deduction. But Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) objected, stalling the measure and intensifying criticism from Cortez Masto and other Democrats.

“This makes no sense and it will do irreparable harm to our country’s gaming industry—especially in Nevada,” Cortez Masto said, warning the provision could drive events like the World Series of Poker offshore and into illegal markets.

Though her effort failed, Cortez Masto reintroduced the measure in committee, where it has bipartisan support. Nevada Rep. Dina Titus (D) introduced a House version called the Fair Bet Act, also co-sponsored by Republican Rep. Mark Amodei.

“The Senate got us into this mess,” Titus said in a statement. “Now it’s time for both chambers to unite behind my bipartisan Fair Bet Act to ensure that average and high-stakes gamblers do not pay taxes on money they never won.”

A Hidden Provision with Big Consequences

The provision in question was part of the 900-page “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law by President Trump last week. It includes sweeping tax cuts and spending changes, many of which lawmakers admit they’re only now beginning to fully understand.

“This new amendment would end professional gambling in the U.S. and hurt casual gamblers too,” pro poker player Phil Galfond warned on social media ahead of the bill’s passage.

Some lawmakers—including Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee—say they weren’t aware the gambling provision was in the bill until just days before the vote.

“Now I see Republican senators walking all over the Capitol saying they didn’t even know anything about this policy,” Wyden said. “When you rush a process like this and cram in policies you haven’t thought through, you risk serious consequences.”

The change could disproportionately impact professional gamblers and high-stakes players who itemize. For example, under the new law, someone who wins and loses $100,000 in the same year would still owe taxes on $10,000—despite breaking even.

Budget Tradeoffs and Political Gridlock

Republicans say the gambling deduction change was necessary to comply with reconciliation rules, allowing them to pass the legislation without Democratic support. It’s expected to raise $1.1 billion in tax revenue over eight years, according to the Congressional Budget Office, though the bill overall will add nearly $3.3 trillion to the deficit.

Sen. Young said he supports the change but would only consider undoing it if Democrats agreed to other provisions in return. “I strongly support the underlying bill, but will have to object unless you can agree to my request,” he said on the Senate floor.

Despite the setback, Cortez Masto says she’s not giving up. “I’m disappointed, but I’m not done,” she said. “We’ll continue to work to try to get S2230 passed. It’s just common sense.”

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LAS VEGAS, Nev. (KOLO) – A Nevada woman has been sentenced to more than four years in prison for a $3.7 million fine art insurance policy scam.

The DOJ says that 59-year-old Tonja Van Roy of Las Vegas defrauded a lender out of millions by submitting bogus applications for fine art insurance for commercial clients but instead used the money for herself.

Van Roy will also be required to pay $1.8 million in restitution and pled guilty to one count of wire fraud on Jan. 6.

Van Roy operated a Northridge, California based insurance company specializing in art collections called Pegasus Insurance. From January 2021 to December 2023, Van Roy created and submitted dozens of fraudulent finance agreements to AFCO Credit Corp, an Illinois-based provider of insurance premium finance. According to the DOJ, Van Roy did this to finance insurance policies she claimed to have sold to art galleries.

The DOJ says Van Roy made up the insurance policy numbers and forged electronic signatures for fictitious insureds. She then used the money to fund her lifestyle, which included payments on dozens of credit cards.

When the loans came due, Van Roy submitted additional fraudulent finance agreements to AFCO and used the proceeds from the new loans to make it appear as though the old loans were paid.

“[Van Roy] embarked on a sophisticated, multiyear scheme to borrow fraudulently over $3.7 million dollars using her insider’s knowledge of the insurance industry,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “[She] has more than 25 years of experience working as an insurance agent, during which time she sold countless insurance policies and worked for many different insurance agencies before founding her own; she had an expert’s understanding of the industry, which allowed her to manipulate her victims and avoid detection for years.”

Copyright 2025 KOLO. All rights reserved.