The One Big Beautiful Bill just made betting a lot less beautiful for anyone who plays in serious volume.

Starting in 2026, gambling loss deductions are capped at 90% of your winnings. That sounds like a technicality until you run the numbers.

The Quick Hit

• What changed: Gambling losses can only offset 90% of gambling winnings
• Who's hurt: High-volume bettors, advantage players, professionals
• The math: Win $100K, lose $100K, still owe taxes on $10K
• Vegas response: Major bettors already pulling back on futures

How This Screws You

Here's the old system: if you won $100,000 and lost $100,000 in a year, you owed $0 in gambling taxes. Makes sense, right? You broke even. No profit, no tax.

Here's the new system: win $100,000, lose $100,000, and you can only deduct $90,000 in losses. You owe taxes on $10,000 of "income" that you never actually kept.

That's insane. But that's the law now.

Who Gets Hit Hardest

Professional gamblers: If you report gambling as your profession, you're used to deducting losses as business expenses. That's now capped. Your "net income" on paper will be higher than your actual net income.

High-volume sports bettors: If you bet through the season and end up roughly break-even, you're now paying taxes on 10% of your handle that you didn't keep.

Futures bettors: This is where it gets really ugly. Futures bets on Super Bowl, March Madness, and other long-term events don't settle until months later. Bettors are already pulling back because the tax treatment makes big futures plays less attractive.

Poker players: Those who play significant volume but have high variance are now penalized for the variance. Big winning sessions create tax liability that losing sessions can't fully offset.

The Derek Stevens Quote

Derek Stevens, who owns three downtown Vegas casinos, told reporters the impact is already being felt:

"Several big-money sports bettors are shying away from futures wagers on 2026 events such as the Super Bowl and March Madness."

When casino owners are publicly worried about betting volume, you know the law is having an effect.

The Bipartisan Pushback

There's already legislation in the Senate to fix this. The FULL HOUSE Act — yes, that's the actual name — would restore the ability to deduct 100% of gambling losses.

Sponsors include:

• Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)
• Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV)
• Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX)
• Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN)

When you get bipartisan Nevada senators and Texas Ted Cruz agreeing on gambling legislation, you know the law overreached. Whether it actually passes is another question.

What You Can Do

Track everything: If you're betting in any serious volume, document every wager. The IRS can audit gambling income, and you'll want records to maximize your deductions.

Adjust your strategy: Consider whether high-variance plays still make sense given the tax treatment. Steady, lower-variance betting might be more tax-efficient.

Talk to a CPA: This is not financial advice. If gambling is a significant part of your income, consult someone who actually knows tax law.

The Bottom Line

The IRS just made gambling more expensive for anyone who plays in volume. You're now paying taxes on money you didn't keep, purely because of how losses are calculated.

It's bad policy. It punishes break-even players. And it's going to push some betting activity to unregulated markets where there's no tax reporting at all.

Congrats, Congress. You managed to make the tax code even dumber.

Good luck out there.