Andrew Long

👎UN-AMERICAN: In 2026, a tax on phantom income is set to go into place due to a provision in the 870 page "One Big Beautiful Bill" that went largely unnoticed by legislators in July. A gambler could break even or lose money on the year and potentially *still* owe taxes Scenario: Wins: $100,000 Losses: $100,000 Deductible Losses (90% deduction limit): $90,000 Taxable Income: $10,000 A person who makes $0 gambling should not have to pay taxes since they have no income! The ability to deduct your gambling losses up to the extent of your winnings is common sense and needs to be fixed! We are running out of time to fix this prospectively. Congress must act and fix this. Just 22/432* members of the House have sponsored/consponsored the FAIR BET Act. 5/100 U.S. Senators have sponsored/cosponsored the FULL HOUSE Act, which effectively would do the same thing. While the most likely way this issue gets fixed is by stuffing the language from this bill into a larger piece of legislation that is set to pass, it is still worth trying to pass a standalone bill and gain more legislative support on this issue. We must continue to raise awareness about this issue so Congress understands this matters and merits committee/floor time, as the opposition to this common sense fix is nearly non-existant. Why does this even matter? 1. Taxing unearned income is unfair and frankly un-American. 2. There is still a lack of awareness on this issue. Tons of recreational gamblers who break even aren't going to file taxes correctly, and an audit would unfairly cause a huge financial burden to people who will be unlikely to afford the cost. 3. If not fixed, this provision is likely to drive more bettors to use offshore sportsbooks or just not report their income. Others will quit gambling as a result of this provision. Travel to Nevada will decline due to this provision. The 90% limitation on gambling loss deductions will ultimately lead to less tax revenue at both the state and federal level via income tax and the federal excise tax on legal sportsbook operators. Most in the industry agree this bill will not raise the intended $1.1 billion over 8 years and could very well result in reduced gambling related tax revenue. What to do: - Contact your elected representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and ask them to support the FAIR BET Act if in the House or the FULL HOUSE Act if in the Senate - Ask Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, why he has not upheld his commitment to get this fixed by year-end and ask him what plans he has to get something done - Spread the word, engage with posts on this topic. As long as there is limited opposition to this, public pressure can drive legislative fixes