Nevada Rep. Dina Titus is intensifying efforts to reverse a controversial tax change impacting gamblers throughout the US. On Wednesday, August 27, the co-chair of the Congressional Gaming Caucus introduced that she has filed her Honest Accounting for Earnings Realized from Betting Earnings Taxation Act (FAIR BET Act) as an modification to the 2026 Nationwide Protection Authorization Act (NDAA), a legislative technique that considerably boosts the proposal’s probabilities of passage.
Technique to Safe Passage
The FAIR BET Act, initially launched to the Home Committee on Methods and Means on July 7, 2025, seeks to undo a key provision of the One Large Stunning Invoice Act (OBBBA), which handed on July 4. The OBBBA diminished the allowable deduction for playing losses from 100% to 90%, beginning January 1, 2026. This alteration sparked backlash from each the gaming business and lawmakers, because it means gamers who incur internet losses might nonetheless owe taxes on cash they by no means truly earned.
H.R. 4304, the one-line invoice launched by Titus, proposes to amend the OBBBA “by putting ‘90 p.c’ and inserting ‘100%.’” By attaching the proposal to the NDAA — extensively considered a “must-pass” piece of laws — Titus is pursuing a legislative shortcut that would safe the deduction’s restoration with out requiring the standalone invoice to navigate the complete Congressional course of.
“The invoice largely pertains to protection issues, however does include different legislative priorities that members submit,” Titus’ workplace mentioned in a press release. “We have no idea when the invoice will likely be heard by the Guidelines Committee or voted on by the complete home, however anticipate it to be within the coming weeks.”
As reported by InGame, Titus additionally emphasised the urgency of the measure on social media platform X, writing, “I strongly encourage the Republicans to make this modification so as when it goes earlier than the Home Guidelines Committee upon our return to Congress subsequent month.”
Broad Help for the FAIR BET Act
The FAIR BET Act has gained bipartisan help since its introduction, with ten co-sponsors already signed on. Throughout a July subject listening to in Las Vegas hosted by the Methods and Means Committee, GOP Chair Rep. Jason Smith acknowledged that each events have been actively working to “deal with” the difficulty earlier than the revised deduction takes impact at the beginning of subsequent 12 months. Smith, together with different Republican lawmakers, has publicly criticized the availability and, in some circumstances, admitted that they have been unaware the change had been included within the authentic laws.
The business has additionally rallied behind the invoice. On the Las Vegas listening to, Titus famous help from the Nevada Resorts Affiliation, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, and quite a few tribal entities. The American Gaming Affiliation (AGA) echoed these issues in a letter to the committee, arguing that the tax change “creates an unfair precedent by taxing phantom earnings and uniquely penalizing a authorized, closely regulated exercise.”
Executives from the biggest operators in Las Vegas have additionally been lobbying lawmakers. MGM Resorts Worldwide CEO Invoice Hornbuckle confirmed that he, together with Caesars Leisure CEOTom Reeg and Wynn Resorts CEOCraig Billings, has met with Congressional leaders to debate the implications of the OBBBA provision. Hornbuckle described the conferences as vital for speaking the monetary pressure the tax change might place on each the gaming business and particular person gamers, highlighting the urgency of restoring the complete deduction.
The FAIR BET Act is just not the one proposal searching for to reverse the OBBBA’s loss deduction change. In late July, Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr, a Republican, filed the Winnings and Good points Expense Restoration Act (WAGER Act), whereas Nevada SenatorCatherine Cortez Masto launched the Facilitating Unbiased Loss Limitations to Assist Our Distinctive Service Financial system Act (FULL HOUSE Act) earlier within the month. These parallel initiatives underscore the broad recognition of the issue and the bipartisan momentum to rectify it earlier than the modifications are carried out.
By leveraging the NDAA’s must-pass standing, Titus hopes to safe swift approval of her modification when Congress reconvenes in September. Till then, the FAIR BET Act stays pending earlier than the Methods and Means Committee, with stakeholders throughout the gaming business watching carefully because the legislative course of unfolds.
