Exclusive: Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Hits Gamblers in the Wallet — Offshore Sites the Big Winners

Donald Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill may end up being especially bodacious for offshore gambling sites because of a change to United States tax laws included in the nearly 900-page piece of legislation.

A Not-So-Beautiful Surprise for Gamblers

Under the change, gamblers can deduct only 90 percent of their losses, down from 100 percent. The means that a gambler who broke even over the course of a tax year would still have to pay federal income tax on 10 percent of the money wagered.

In other words, if Joe Six-Pack wagered $10,000 on NFL games and won $10,000 worth of those bets, $1000 would become taxable income. 

Offshore Operators Cash In

Add a zero or two to and random gambler’s expenditure, and what you have it a big, not-so-beautiful check that will need to be sent to the U.S. government’s Internal Revenue Service, the federal tax collection agency – unless the money is wagered offshore, where a gambling gray area means U.S. tax laws do not necessarily apply.

"This was an absolute shocker to the gaming industry,” said industry insider Scott Cooley of CoolMedia PR. 

“No one saw something so egregious coming, and it sounds like the GOP Senate had no idea what they were even voting for, which makes it all the more pathetic.”

“The big winner in this saga...the offshore operators. They've been in business for three decades now, and this legislative measure will only prolong that tenure," Cooley said.

Titus Goes to Bat for Bettors

The federal tax law change is being fought by Nevada congresswoman Dana Titus, who has introduced what she considers a piece of remedial legislation.

“On Monday I’m introducing the FAIR BET Act, the Fair Accounting for Income Realized from Betting Earnings Taxation Act, to permanently restore the 100% loss deduction from gambling winnings. I welcome all other members to join this commonsense fix,” Titus posted on X regarding a change that took the multi-billion U.S. online gambling community by complete surprise.

More than seven years after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized sports gambling by overturning the law known as PASPA (Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act), which limited sports gambling almost exclusively to Nevada, President Trump signed the Big, Beautiful Bill into law on July 4 after it narrowly passed (217-215) in the House of Representatives and (52-48) in the U.S. Senate.

Gamblers in the United States formerly could deduct 100 percent of their gambling losses on their income tax returns, effectively offsetting their taxable income if they broke even or incurred a net loss. That deduction is now restricted to 90 percent, and for high-stakes and high-volume gamblers the impact is significant.

Adding two zeroes to our Joe Six-Pack example above, if gambling hobbyist Ty Coon had $1 million in losses against $1million in winnings, the 37 percent tax bracket would now take effect, and $100,000 of that money now becomes taxable. Out comes the checkbook, and $37,000 goes to the IRS. 

Crypto, Peer-to-Peer, and the Future of Betting

"The overall betting community won't really understand this industry setback initially, but it will eventually have a major impact to the U.S. sportsbooks, and ultimately the local economies with which they operate in,” said Robert Cooper, Political Oddsmaker at SportsBetting.ag.

“The books better be lining up every legal resource they have to take out the P2P exchanges because that seems to be the angle here with Trump's pro-crypto agenda."

Who ends up the winner here? That’s a 50-50 proposition as of now, especially for the offshores as they suddenly become MAGA backers to buttress their bottom lines. 

But Titus is going to make a name for herself among those in the wagering community is she brings back the old normal for the big sportsbooks and online casinos while also keeping Americans from going back to doing what they did prior to PASPA being overturned – wagering in other countries.

“We’re getting the word out that Congress needs to pass the FAIR BET Act as soon as possible,” Titus posted on X, tagging the Huffington Post, CNN, the Las Vegas Sun, and the Las Vegas Review Journal. 

And should the FAIR BET Act become law, there is a slightly higher possibility that Titus will seek a higher office. 

Do not forget that somebody other than Trump will be running for president in 2028 from the Republican Party, and name recognition never hurts – especially among those who like a little action on the online felt and/or the smartphone sports wagering apps.