House lawmakers consider bill to reverse gambling provision in the ‘One, Big, Beautiful Bill’

INDIANAPOLIS — A small change in the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act” could soon mean a big deal for high-stakes gamblers, according to tax and sports betting experts.

Starting in 2026, professional gamblers won’t be able to write off all their losses on their taxes. A last-minute provision tacked onto the newly-enacted GOP spending bill decreased the percentage of losses a gambler could deduct from 100% to 90%. That means gamblers could still owe taxes during years they break even or even lose money.

“Let’s say an individual had some really profitable sessions,” Professor Bridget Stomberg with the IU Kelley School of Business said. “They won $100,000, and then they had some really unprofitable gambling sessions and they lost $100,000 — they could only deduct $90,000 of those losses, meaning they would have $10,000 of taxable income.”

According to ESPN Sports Betting Writer Doug Greenberg, the provision could have a significant impact within the poker community — an ecosystem that relies heavily on professional players.

“That’s going to potentially take away some revenue from the casinos,” Greenberg said. “It’s definitely a big concern.”

Last week, House Democrats introduced the FAIR BET Act to try to stop the new rule from going into effect.

“There’s definitely optimism,” Greenberg said. “… They’ve got support on both sides of the aisle.”

Similar legislation failed to pass in the Senate. Indiana Sen. Todd Young told his colleagues he would support it if they agreed to exempt “qualified religious institutions” from a specific endowment tax.

“Notre Dame … would be the largest, if not the only beneficiary of an exemption for religious institutions,” Stomberg said.

But experts have emphasized that, unless you’re a professional gambler, the new rule probably won’t affect you.

“So, you would have had to lose more than $15,000 in gambling wages,” Stomberg said. “For someone who’s a casual gambler and doesn’t have that many losses, as you mentioned, they’re probably not going to itemize their deductions, which is what would be necessary for them to claim the losses in the first place.”