The annual Super Bowl bacchanalia approaches, but American gamblers and casinos operators have already witnessed the misplay of the season with the congressional fumble of the commonsense FAIR BET Act.

Officially known as the Fair Accounting for Income Realized from Betting Earnings Taxation, the bill was introduced in July by Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) in an attempt to reverse a recent federal gambling tax policy change that reduced the amount of losses bettors could deduct from their taxes from 100 percent to 90 percent. Titus has rightly called the policy change a “tax increase on Americans who gamble.”

Titus’ bill amounted to a swift fix of a damaging mistake contained in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act that threatens to hobble gamblers across the country with an unfair tax on winnings.

FAIR BET quickly picked up 23 co-sponsors and bipartisan support that included Nevada House members Reps. Steven Horsford (D), Susie Lee (D) and Mark Amodei (R). Clearly weighing the politics of the Trump era, the American Gaming Association (AGA) and many influential members of the industry were initially much slower to express strong opinions about the damaging impact the change would have on casino customers.

The vast American gambling community, however, has been lighting up social media for months expressing outrage over the approach of the unfair tax. Under the current provision, gamblers could break even for the year and still owe taxes on their winnings.

Titus pushed through the fall and the AGA and casino CEOs found their voices, but she was surprised as anyone that a bill that impacts so many states was snubbed by Republican-chaired committees. FAIR BET failed to be inserted as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.

In the new year, just about everyone is trying to recover this bouncing political football.

A House version of Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s (D-NV) FULL HOUSE Act was introduced this week by Horsford and Ohio Rep. Max Miller (R). Officially the Facilitating Useful Loss Limitations to Help Our Unique Service Economy Act, it’s a mouthful that attempts to correct a law that Horsford says is “fundamentally unfair.” He adds in a statement, “This policy would drive tourism across our state elsewhere.” This bill also enjoys bipartisan support in both houses.

After Cortez Masto’s attempt to reverse the gambling provision failed, she told The Associated Press, “My understanding is many Republicans, many Democrats did not even know it was part of that process.”

With so much support, you’d think it would be game over. But not so fast.

By my count, there are three bills in the House and one in the Senate. All have bipartisan support. Titus’ bill is the simplest and contains just a few words, a veritable fortune cookie by congressional standards, but whatever bill gains steam, it will have to do so under Trump’s cloud of chaos in 2026.

“Everybody wants a piece of it now that it’s very popular, and gaming is on board and wants to fix it,” Titus says. “There are show horses and there are work horses. There are those who do the heavy lifting and those who come for the photo op. And you can figure out who’s who.

“I’ve said all along, I don’t care what vehicle we use, we just need to get it fixed.”

The gambling world is watching. Sports betting and casino industry websites continue to follow developments closely. They recognized the obvious hustle unfolding in Washington is more chaos, and chaos is bad for business. An NBC News story echoed the sentiment under a headline, “Bettors are worried Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ could cause professional gambling in the U.S. to fold.”

Overstated? Perhaps. But what amounts to a 10 percent tax on a break-even bankroll would bury plenty of gamblers — and not just the minnows or the poker players, as some gaming industry numbskull first suggested. It’s bad for them and worse for the state’s largest and most politically influential industry.

There’s still time left on the 2026 congressional clock, but the delay makes the Democrats look like they have a communications problem and the lone Republican like he needs to learn to raise his voice on behalf of his constituents. Say it ain’t so.

Now, about Amodei. He was chided for admitting he didn’t know of the existence of the change in the gambling tax code, but in fairness the amendment wasn’t in the House bill. It came from the Senate side. It was introduced by Idaho Republican Sen. Mike Crapo and was, at best, an ill-conceived attempt to raise revenue tucked inside a behemoth piece of legislation that is projected to cost the country more than $3.4 trillion.

At this point, maybe it’s time to set politics aside and remember the words popularly attributed to Vince Lombardi. When it comes to defeating this stinker of a tax, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”

John L. Smith is an author and longtime columnist. He was born in Henderson and his family’s Nevada roots go back to 1881. His stories have appeared in New Lines, Time, Reader’s Digest, Rolling Stone, The Daily Beast, Reuters and Desert Companion, among others.

Privacy Manager