FAIR BET Act Shot Down by House Committee
An effort to overturn controversial changes in tax rules concerning gambling suffered a major setback after the House Rules Committee decided not to advance the FAIR BET Act.
The bill, which has the full title of The Fair Accounting for Income Realized From Betting Earnings Taxation Act, was introduced and spearheaded by Dina Titus, the representative for Nevada’s 1st congressional district, which includes Las Vegas.
FAIR BET Act Passed on to Ways and Means Committee
After being proposed as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2026, the bill was blocked, leaving the tax changes ready to commence at the start of the 2026 tax year unless other means can be found in Congress. The bill will now be passed to the House Ways and Means Committee for consideration in future budget discussions.
The FAIR BET Act was introduced as a direct reaction to changes on gambling tax reductions that were introduced as part of 2025’s One Big Beautiful Bill. If those changes take place, gamblers will only be able to deduct 90% of their gaming losses when filing taxes.
As a result, players could end up owing tax on money they never earned, threatening the livelihoods of many professional gamblers in America. Titus raised those points in support of the amendment, and also stated that it would discourage players from withdrawing from legal markets to bet with offshore, unlicensed operators.
However, the amendment was shot down by the House Rules Committee due to concerns about the effects on the fiscal balance from allowing a full restoration of tax deductions.
Second Bill Blocked by House
While the House Rules Committee is controlled by Republicans, the move to overturn the tax changes has found some bipartisan support. A second bill was also put forward which would also reverse the changes, by Nevada Democrat Steven Horsford and Ohio Republican Max Miller. The FULL House Act, however, was also blocked and consigned to consideration for the House Ways and Means Committee.
“Since the Senate inserted a provision in the Big, BS Budget Bill to lower the gambling loss deduction to 90%, I have been leading the bipartisan, bicameral effort to correct this unfair tax policy so that gamers do not have to pay taxes on phantom income”, said Titus, posting on X, after both bills were blocked.
“Now I am again urging [Jason Smith, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee] to finally do what’s right and include a fix in the next [Ways and Means Committee] markup that protects many livelihoods.”
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