After Republicans pushed through Donald Trump’s tax scam that effectively puts a new tax on 10% of gambling losses, Congresswoman Dina Titus introduced bipartisan legislation to reverse that provision in the Republican spending bill. U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto also worked to pass a fix, but Republicans blocked the bipartisan measure.

This new tax on gambling stands to deal a serious blow to Nevada’s gaming industry and tourism economy. This comes as a new report revealed that Trump is already wreaking havoc on Nevada’s economy, as international air travel to Las Vegas is down 8.7% compared to May 2024. 

In the midst of Nevada’s economic downturn, including having the worst unemployment rate of any state in the country, Joe Lombardo said that Nevadans should be “excited” about this bill that would further harm Nevada’s tourism industry. 

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KLAS: Republican objection blocks Cortez Masto plan to close gambling tax loophole

Key points:

• A proposal from Democratic Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto to close a loophole requiring gamblers who lose money to pay taxes on their losses failed an initial test Thursday after Republican objection.

• As written, the new tax code will allow bettors to deduct 90% of their losses on their annual taxes. The previous law called for a 100% deduction. The new tax code goes into effect in January.

• Speaking on the U.S. Senate Floor, Cortez Masto described the change as forcing gamblers to pay taxes on their losses.

• “They would literally be paying taxes on money they don’t have,” Cortez Masto said. “This makes no sense.”

• Cortez Masto attempted to pass the bill through unanimous consent, an action that allows it to move forward if no senator objects. However, Republican Indiana Sen. Todd Young objected in an attempt to add an amendment to Cortez Masto’s proposal affecting religious exemptions.

• “It is a shame that we cannot pass this commonsense [act] because Republicans want to weigh it down with unrelated measures that they voted to support,” Cortez Masto said in a statement. “This is a Republican piece of legislation that is actually causing people to pay taxes on money they lost. It makes no sense. And that’s all this is, is to try to fix it… so I’m disappointed, but I am not done.”

• Nevada Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen also spoke in favor of the bill on the Senate Floor.

KSNV: Nevada congresswoman pledges to fix tax bill’s change to gambling deductions

Key points:

• A Nevada congresswoman says she’s working to fix the reconciliation bill’s changes to the tax code when it comes to gambling losses, which have drawn the ire of several professional players.

• U.S. Rep. Dina Titus said the budget proposal contains a provision that harms professional gamblers by limiting loss deductions.
• “I’m working on a legislative fix that fairly treats gaming losses in the tax code,” Titus wrote to X.

• The U.S. Senate passed a version of what President Donald Trump dubbed the “Big, Beautiful Bill” that would limit deductions related to gambling winnings to 90% of losses.

• Under that change, if a player were to report winnings of $100,000 and losses of $100,000, the player would still owe taxes on $10,000.

• Several professional poker players have slammed the provisions, including Beyond the Game founder Phil Galfond and FiveThirtyEight founder Nate Silver.

• Russell Fox, a tax professional with a Las Vegas-based firm and another poker pro, wrote in a blog post that the bill is “ugly towards gambling.”

Las Vegas Sun: Nevada’s Titus fights back on gambling hit in Trump tax bill

Key points:

• U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., is set to introduce legislation to kill a controversial provision in President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” overhauling how taxes are calculated for gamblers.

• The change, a late addition to the Senate version the House of Representatives concurred with Thursday, reduces the amount gamblers can deduct from their winnings to 90% of their losses, said Titus, who co-chairs the Congressional Gaming Caucus. It’s a major shift that means if a player breaks even over a year while betting $40,000, they’d still have to pay taxes on $4,000, she said.

• While Trump is set to sign the legislation today, overlapping with the July 4 holiday, the tax change would take effect at the start of 2026.

• “This anti-gambling provision in the BS Republican budget screws over folks who live (in) and visit my district, the casino capital of the world,” Titus said in a statement. “This is just another attack on gaming and tourism and on districts like mine that rely on these industries.”

• The policy punishes people properly reporting gambling on taxes and gives them incentives to use offshore “outlets” and prediction markets, she said. Unlike “legitimate gambling sources,” they don’t pay state taxes, the representative noted, adding that gaming tax revenues in Nevada also would take a hit, she said, if the tax change results in fewer people gambling.