Nevada Rep. Dina Titus Introduces Bill to Remove Federal Sports Betting Tax

Posted on: February 19, 2025, 09:02h. 

Last updated on: February 19, 2025, 09:40h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More

Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

• U.S. Reps. Dina Titus and Guy Reschenthaler want to lift the federal sports betting excise tax
• The tax requires legal sportsbooks to send 0.25% of every bet placed to Washington, DC
• Titus says the sports betting excise money is unaccounted for 

Nevada Rep. Dina Titus (D) and Pennsylvania’s Republican Rep. Guy Reschenthaler have once again filed legislation to remove the federal excise tax levied on every sports bet wagered lawfully in the United States.

On Tuesday, Titus and Reschenthaler filed the Discriminatory Gaming Tax Repeal Act of 2025. The statute seeks to abolish the 0.25% federal excise tax placed on all legal sports bets, also known as the handle tax.

The sports betting excise tax was implemented in 1951 to counter illegal gambling. Titus and Reschenthaler believe the tax is no longer relevant.

The Act repeals a tax that does nothing except penalize legal gaming operators for creating thousands of jobs in Nevada and 37 other states around the nation,” Titus said. “Illegal sportsbooks do not pay the 0.25% sports handle tax.”

“The US gaming industry provides over one million jobs, including over 33,000 jobs in Pennsylvania, and generates more than $70 billion for state and local governments throughout the country,” added Congressman Reschenthaler. “Unfortunately, outdated tax codes and burdensome regulations penalize legal operators and incentivize illegal activity.”

Titus and Reschenthaler represent two of the nation’s richest sports betting states. They also co-chair the Congressional Gaming Caucus.

Titus and Reschenthaler introduced legislation to repeal the handle tax in 2019, 2021, and 2023. They’ve also filed measures to increase the IRS slot tax threshold from $1,200 to $5K.

Legal Sportsbooks at Competitive Disadvantage 

The American Gaming Association (AGA) and others supportive of lifting the federal ban on sports betting argued that a legal, regulated sports gambling environment would eradicate underground bookies and illegal offshore betting websites. That hasn’t exactly been the case, as notoriously high state taxes in many jurisdictions, including in Reschenthaler’s Pennsylvania where oddsmakers are forced to share 36% of their net win with the state, have allowed unregulated sportsbooks to continue thriving.

Lifting the federal excise tax would be a small concession. It would mean that when a bettor makes a $100 bet on a licensed platform such as DraftKings, the sportsbook would not be required to set aside 25 cents for the federal government. Those quarters add up, as legal sportsbooks in the US paid more than $150 million in excise tax fees last year.

Could DOGE Find the Money? 

Titus is no fan of President Donald Trump and his primary advisor, the world’s wealthiest man, Elon Musk. Since the former casino tycoon took back the Oval Office, Titus has posted almost daily attacks on X about Trump and Musk.

However, she could find some common ground with the billionaires should Musk and DOGE, or the Department of Government Efficiency, be able to track down where the federal sports betting excise tax money has gone. 

I once asked the IRS where the revenue from the handle tax went in the federal budget and they didn’t even know,” Titus said. “It makes no sense to give the illegal market an edge over legal sports books with a tax the federal government does not even track.”

DOGE is committed to eliminating financial waste and eradicating underperforming and unneeded federal employees. Many Democrats, however, say the Trump administration is cleaning house unchecked and threatening many deserving programs and beneficiaries.