Democratic Rep. Dina Titus (Nev.) said on Wednesday that the GOP megabill backed by President Trump will have an adverse impact on gamblers due to its tax provisions.
The big, beautiful bill text would strike previous deductibles by 10 percent, according to the senate passed version.
The 90 percent deduction cap would require someone who wins $100,000 and loses $100,000 to pay $10,000 in taxes, despite their profit loss.
“It pushes people into the black market if they don’t do regulated gaming because they have a tax disadvantage, and the black market doesn’t pay taxes, isn’t regulated, doesn’t help with problem gaming, so it’s bad for the industry as well as for the player,” Titus said during a Wednesday appearance on NewsNation’s “The Hill.”
The Nevada lawmaker said the House approved GOP legislation was “bad enough for my constituents.”
She said the newly added language “adds insult to injury” in a bill that would strike health care provisions, Pell grants and renewable energy measures.
“There’s still a bias against gaming. And we found it and thought, well, this is not good for people who enjoy coming to Las Vegas to gamble. We’re not talking about only professional poker players,” Titus said.
“We’re talking about, you know, the average people who want to play a game of poker or pull a slot machine handle.”
Titus said all would be impacted.
Professional poker player Phil Galfond echoed her concerns.
“This is really bad. Whether you’re a poker player, [Daily fantasy sports] player, a sports better, any kind of gambler – professional or recreational – but especially professional. And even if you are an operator in one of these areas. It’s quite scary,” Galfond said in a Tuesday video on X.
“Completely untenable. You can’t be a professional gambler in the U.S. if this goes through. And that will have a ripple effect on industries that depend on professionals,” he added.
Professional player Doug Polk urged Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) to strike the clause from the bill.
“Chip, I am in your district. There is a provision in the Senate version that will kill professional gambling. This will negatively impact THOUSANDS of Texans,” Polk wrote in a Tuesday post on X.
“Please look at this and help remove this senseless provision.”
Titus said she’s going to try to get it taken out and added that if it doesn’t go back to the House Rules Committee for review, she’ll introduce a separate bill to address the revision.