GAMBLER Act Would Direct Sports Betting Tax to ICE

Posted on: June 14, 2025, 03:07h. 

Last updated on: June 14, 2025, 03:07h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.
  • Ohio Republican proposes directing federal sports betting tax funds to ICE
  • Bill was introduced Friday, following several days of protests in major cities against the immigration enforcement agency

Rep. Mike Rulli (R-OH) on Friday introduced the Giving Alien Migrants Back through Lawful Excise Redistribution (GAMBLER) Act, which if signed into law, would direct funds derived from the federal tax on sports wagering to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

GAMBLER Act
Rep. Mike Rulli (R-OH). He introduced the GAMBLER Act to direct funds from the federal sports betting tax to ICE. (Image: Roll Call)

The Ohio Republican introduced the bill on Friday, following days of protests in some of the largest US cities against ICE and ahead of a slew of “No Kings” protests scheduled for Saturday across the country. Rulli appeared motivated by the goings on in Los Angeles where protests, some of which were orderly, escalated to the point that President Trump called in Marines from the nearby Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, also known as 29 Palms.

Working-class Americans are paying the price while blue states and sanctuary cities harbor millions of illegal aliens who wave foreign flags in our streets, vandalize property, and drain resources meant for our own citizens,” said the congressman in a statement. “Our neighborhoods are being overrun, our laws ignored, and our voices silenced by an out-of-touch elite that refuses to act. In any other country—or any other time in history—this would be called exactly what it is: an invasion. And the American people are done being ignored.”

The press release indicates the GAMBLER Act has already garnered support from NumbersUSA, an immigration reform organization.

More GAMBLER Act Details

The federal excise on sports betting went into effect as part of the Revenue Act of 1951, which was implemented to curtail illegal wagering controlled by organized crime. The original rate was 10% and was slashed to 2% in 1974 and cut again to 0.25% — the current level — in 1982.

Rulli’s GAMBLER Act proposes amending the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 in order to form a Border Enforcement Trust Fund within the Treasury Department. That fund would control the $300 million the sports wagering excise generates annually for the federal government rather than directing that money to the Treasury’s general fund. The Border Enforcement Trust would then direct that capital to ICE.

There’s no denying $300 million is a large amount of money, but in US government terms, it’s small. It represents a fraction of the proposed 2025 budget of $11 billion for ICE and by some estimates, that budget could quadruple by 2028. Rulli says his legislation emphasizes accountability and shoring up border security.

“This is about fairness, accountability, and restoring the rule of law,” he added. “The GAMBLER Act is a common-sense solution that gives ICE the tools it needs—without raising taxes—to take back control of our borders and protect the American people.”

GAMBLER Act Faces Competition

The GAMBLER Act faces competition in the House because there is bipartisan support for legislation that would erase the federal sports betting tax. That bill, which has been proposed multiple times, was introduced earlier this year by Nevada Rep. Dina Titus (D) and Pennsylvania’s Republican Rep. Guy Reschenthaler.

It’s the fourth time those two representatives have floated legislation to repeal the handle tax. Both are members of the Congressional Gaming Caucus, which hasn’t yet made a public statement on the GAMBLER Act.

Rulli isn’t part of the gaming caucus nor is any other member of the Ohio congressional delegation.