The Nevada congresswoman whose district includes the Las Vegas Strip is asking Republican House leadership to restore the full gambling-loss deduction during the last weeks of their session that begins on Monday.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Dina Titus has sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, both from Louisiana, asking them to include FAIR BET language in any “must-pass” legislation. “Enactment of this bipartisan provision would correct an unfair change in the tax code and provide needed certainty to taxpayers, businesses, and regulated gaming markets across the country,” Titus wrote.
A provision added to the Senate-amended version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by Congress last year reduced the gambling-loss deduction from 100% to 90%. In effect, the change requires gamblers to pay taxes on money they didn’t earn.
For example, if a gambler were to report $100,000 in winnings and $100,000 in losses, they would still owe taxes on $10,000 in winnings. Under the previous policy, no taxes would be owed.
In July 2025, Titus introduced the FAIR BET Act to reverse the policy change. The legislation passed out of the House Ways and Means Committee by a vote of 38-5 in September and is awaiting action by House leadership to bring it to a floor vote.
“As Congress returns from recess and turns to end-of-year legislation, I respectfully urge Leadership to expeditiously bring a gambling loss deduction fix to the House floor and include it in a must-pass legislative vehicle,” Titus wrote.
Titus said the 90% deduction “unfairly burdens professional gamblers and casual players alike and will inevitably drive players toward offshore and unregulated markets where consumer protections are nonexistent, thereby undermining responsible-gaming efforts nationwide. This will further reduce tax revenue and stifle investment by the industry here at home, costing jobs and impacting ancillary businesses.”
If the provision is not added to any legislation before the House adjourns next month, Titus could reintroduce it in January when Democrats are set to take control of Congress after electoral victories in the midterm elections.
