Derek Stevens, Las Vegas Casino Leaders Rally Around FAIR Bet Act

Posted on: December 12, 2025, 08:31h. 

Last updated on: December 12, 2025, 09:33h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.
  • Derek Stevens and other Las Vegas leaders want the IRS gambling tax deduction restored
  • The One Big Beautiful Bill will trim the deduction from 100% to 90% next year unless an amendment is passed
  • Nevada’s congressional delegation is leading the push to restore the gambling deduction

Derek Stevens, one of the more admired casino owners in America whose popularity transcends political party lines, is calling on Congress to fix a tax implication of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) that trims deductions on gambling losses beginning next year.

Derek Stevens gambling deduction casino tax
Derek Stevens, owner of Circa, The D, Golden Gate, and the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center, is calling on Congress to restore the gambling deduction to 100%. A provision within the One Big Beautiful Bill reduces the deduction to 90% beginning in 2026. (Image: X)

Stevens, whose Circa has transformed downtown Las Vegas, posted on X that he and MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle, Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg, Wynn Resorts CEO Craig Billings, and American Gaming Association (AGA) President Bill Miller met recently with US Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, to discuss the 90% deductibility of gambling losses mandated in the Republicans’ bill. While a gambler under the current tax code can deduct up to 100% of their losses against their winnings, the IRS will only allow an itemized filer to deduct 90% starting in 2026.

This was an inadvertent element of the One Big Beautiful Bill. Government has a lot of difficult things to deal with, but this should not be one of them,” Stevens said.

Stevens pleaded with his X followers to call on their congresspeople to support the bipartisan bills filed by Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) and Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) that would restore the gambling deduction allowance to 100%.

‘Critical’ Action

Stevens said forcing gamblers to pay taxes on phantom income would greatly impact the hospitality and tourism industries and those sectors’ employees. It would also threaten “most of America who’s made a bet in the last year.”

Smith has been accused of preventing Titus’ FAIR Bet Act from being put up for a committee vote and moving to the House floor. Stevens says the congressman told the casino group to urge their constituents to call their US senator and House representative, asking them to support the FAIR Bet Act and Cortez Masto and Cruz’s FULL House Act, both of which would restore the gambling deduction to 100%.

Titus, on Thursday, called on Smith to expedite a hearing for her FAIR Bet Act, which is cosponsored by 21 House representatives, including 13 Democrats and eight Republicans.

While the change may appear minor, it will have significant and harmful consequences. It unfairly burdens professional gamblers and casual players alike and will inevitably drive players toward offshore and unregulated markets where consumer protections are nonexistent, thereby undermining responsible gaming efforts nationwide,” Titus wrote Smith.

Along with the nearly two-dozen US representatives, FAIR Bet is supported by the AGA, MGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars, Wynn, the Nevada Resort Association, and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. 

Tax Restoration Could Be Retroactive 

With the holidays and the end of the year approaching, the odds of the gambling deduction being restored to 100% before 2026 lengthen. However, if Congress passes FAIR Bet or Full House next year, the law could be amended to make the deduction retroactive to Jan. 1, 2026, to maintain the full wagering deduction.