Nevada Rep. Titus Pushes Tax Committee to Restore Full Gambling Loss Deduction

U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) isn’t backing down from her fight to fully restore the federal gambling loss deduction, continuing her push for the House Ways and Means Committee to advance her FAIR BET Act.

Titus’s FAIR BET (Fair Accounting for Income Realized from Betting Earnings Taxation) Act would restore the long-standing IRS tax provision that had for decades allowed gamblers to deduct 100% of their gambling losses against their winnings for federal tax purposes.

The Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill, (OBBBA) signed by President Donald J. Trump on July 4, 2025, reduced the gambling write-off to 90%.

The tax change means a gambler who wins $100,000 during the year but also loses $100,000 would still need to pay federal taxes on $10,000 in phantom income. Titus has been championing the fight in Washington, DC, to restore the deduction to 100%.

“We just need to get this done. I will not stop fighting until we finally see this over the finish line,” said the House representative from Las Vegas.

The Ways and Means Committee is set to consider two bills related to digital currencies and the buying, selling, and trading of crypto-based assets.

Bipartisan Support

Restoring the gambling deduction has garnered bipartisan support, with 11 Republicans joining Titus and 14 other Democrats in sponsoring the FAIR Bet Act.

In the Senate, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) filed a similar bill, the FULL HOUSE Act, or Facilitating Useful Loss Limitations to Help Our Unique Service Economy. FULL HOUSE also gained Republican support, with one of the party’s most powerful lawmakers, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, cosponsoring the bill with Masto.

Cruz said restoring the gambling deduction was “a matter of basic fairness,” ensuring that “gamblers are taxed on what they actually earn.”

But more than a year after the FAIR Bet and FULL House acts were introduced to Congress, neither bill has been put up for a floor vote. Senate Republican leaders blocked FULL House, largely on procedural concerns because tax bills are to originate in the House.

Why Have Republicans Blocked Restoration?

The Senate Finance Committee slid the gambling deduction into the One Big Beautiful Bill on the belief that many high-stakes gamblers are evading federal taxes by using the 100% gambling deduction.

By reducing the limit to 90%, they argued it would guarantee that they pay at least a minimum tax to the federal government.

Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-MO) says he supports the 100% restoration, but prefers Rep. Andy Barr’s (R-KY) WAGER (Winnings and Gains Expense Restoration) Act, which would also restore the deduction to 100%.

However, Smith hasn’t placed the WAGER Act on the committee’s calendar more than a year after it was introduced in July 2025.

With Congress facing a limited legislative calendar and several pressing issues, including defense, appropriations, and crypto bills, gambling tax relief has taken a back seat.