• Loading stock data...
Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Includes Huge Tax Hike for Pro Gamblers

One professional gambler told FOS how the legislation could turn a year with a $1 million profit into one with a $2 million loss after taxes.

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Professional gamblers have been sounding the alarm about an element of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that passed in the Senate earlier this week, saying it would effectively raise their taxes, potentially by an enormous amount. 

The specific language that has thrown gamblers, particularly in the poker community on social media, into a sense of panic was that deductions “shall be equal to 90% of the amount of such losses during such taxable year, and (B) shall be allowed only to the extent of the gains from such transactions during such taxable year.”

Currently, gamblers can deduct 100% of their losses. The margins have the potential to make a big difference.

“My interpretation of how this will change for gamblers is they are trying to take a provision out of what they did for businesses with net operating losses where they limited the NOL that you could use up to 80% of your income so you’re always going to pay tax when you make income,” Joshua Horowitz, CPA and Team Leader of the professional sports division of Withum, told Front Office Sports.

“With gamblers, they are limiting your losses to 90%, which may cause people to owe tax even in years that they have net losses.” 

One professional gambler, who spoke to FOS on the condition of anonymity, spelled out some of the math.

“If this goes through as it is written, I would basically just have to stop,” he said. “If I win $100 million and lose $99 million, that would be a great year, to have $1 million in profit! But with this bill, I would have to pay taxes on about $10 million in ‘gains’, which would turn my year into a $2 million loss.”  

Maria Konnikova, who plays poker and writes books about it, also believes the bill would hurt her earnings.

“This is absolutely horrific if you’re a professional poker player—or even someone like me, who straddles the journalism and poker worlds. It’s basically a huge in-built fee on choosing to engage in any form of gambling (poker isn’t gambling—it’s a game of skill—but I won’t get into that here! for the bill’s purposes, we’re lumping all gambling-adjacent activities together),” she told FOS.

“Imagine I have $100,000 in winnings in a year from poker and I played $200,000-worth of tournaments, for a net win of $0. In past years, I’d have zero poker income—no taxes, because I didn’t actually make a cent. Under this bill, my losses are capped at 90%. So, I can only report $90,000 in losses—and I have to pay taxes on a phantom $10,000 that I don’t actually have! I’m being charged a penalty for choosing to play to begin with. This is absolutely bonkers. For someone like me, it means I effectively have to use my earnings as a writer to subsidize playing poker. Instead of an income stream, poker becomes a liability. If the purpose of this bill is to kill poker and stop people from playing, mission accomplished. The provision hurts you whether you have a winning year or a losing year—and the poker ecosystem is unlikely to survive the change.”

It was not clear who lobbied for this provision to be included in the bill, or why. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the new gambling tax provision would raise $1.1 billion over eight years. 

Spokespeople for FanDuel, DraftKings, and the American Gaming Association declined to comment, and White House spokespeople did not respond to a request for comment.

The bill will be voted on in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. 

Dina Titus, a Democratic Congresswoman from Nevada, wrote on X, “Buried within the BS Republican Budget bill is a provision that harms poker players and those who gamble by limiting loss deductions. I’m working on a legislative fix that fairly treats gaming losses in the tax code.” 

FiveThirtyEight founder Nate Silver, who competes in poker tournaments, sounded the alarm in a Tuesday post on X.

“Tax code is already punitive to poker players (you get taxed on winning years but can’t write off losing years unless you file as a pro; it’s easy to have a down year even as a good player) and Senate-passed version of OBBBA would make it considerably worse,” Silver wrote.

Chris Moneymaker, who was credited as a major factor in setting off the poker boom after he won the World Series of Poker in 2003, quipped, “Anyone hiring 50 yr old male with zero work history for last 25 years. #wouldyoulikefrieswiththat?”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Jul 20, 2025; Portrush, IRL; Scottie Scheffler celebrates with the Claret Jug after winning the 153rd Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Portrush.

Scheffler Pushes The Open to Largest Audience Since 2022 at St Andrews

McIlroy’s Masters victory in April remains the highest-rated major of 2025.

Power Conference Commissioners Remain Split on CFP Expansion

The ACC’s Jim Phillips and Big Ten’s Tony Petitti expressed opposing views Tuesday.
Mar 14, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Drake Powell (9) shoots as Duke Blue Devils center Patrick Ngongba II (21) defends in the second half at Spectrum Center

ACC Will Start Fining Schools for Court and Field Storming

Schools will incur escalating fines from $50,000 to $200,000.
Jim Phillips

ACC’s Phillips: League ‘Nicely Situated’ After Settling Lawsuits

The commissioner called the league steady after the FSU and Clemson settlements.

Featured Today

Ryan Field Construction
exclusive

First Look Inside Northwestern’s $862 Million New Ryan Field

Five big things FOS learned on our exclusive stadium tour.
Jul 21, 2024; Ayrshire, SCT; Xander Schauffele celebrates with Claret Jug after winning the Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Troon.
July 17, 2025

The Boozy History and Traditions of The Open’s Claret Jug

The Open awards the world’s most famous wine decanter.
2025 PDC World Darts Championship Final - Luke Littler vs Michael Van Gerwen
July 16, 2025

A Teen Darts Prodigy Is Becoming Bigger Than the Game Itself

Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler is cashing in on his devastatingly accurate shot.
May 31, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Sydney McLaughin-Levrone (USA) reacts before the women's 100m hurdles during the Grand Slam Track Philadelphia at Franklin Field
exclusive
July 13, 2025

Track’s New Money Is Running Into Old Problems

The sport’s big-money era has hit some speed bumps in 2025.
Gianni Infantino
July 8, 2025

FIFA Tightens Trump Ties With Trump Tower Office

Trump and Infantino’s bromance is still kicking.
Pam Bondi recognizes family and friends in attendance as she delivers opening remarks during a Senate Judiciary committee hearing on her nomination to be Attorney General of the United States on Jan. 15, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
July 9, 2025

DOJ Sues California Over Transgender Athlete Participation

The lawsuit claims the state is in violation of Title IX.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
exclusive
July 8, 2025

Bipartisan Effort Mounts to Repeal Gambling Tax Hike in Trump Bill

The president signed the bill into law last week.
Donald Trump
July 5, 2025

Trump Bill Has $1.6 Billion for Olympics, World Cup Security

Host cities have lobbied for federal funding to help with security costs.
Mike Crapo
July 3, 2025

Trump Bill’s Tax Hike on Gamblers Was Authored by Sen. Mike Crapo

Crapo’s office did not respond to several messages seeking comment.
Angel City FC
June 16, 2025

Sports World Reacts to ICE Protests: ‘Immigrant City Football Club’

Angel City wore and distributed “Immigrant City Football Club” shirts Saturday.