Nevada Lawmakers See Path to Reversing Gambling Deduction Tax Changes

^{The Nevada State Capitol in Carson City, where lawmakers are working to change to the gambling loss tax deductions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. (Photo: Bridget Bennett / Associated Press)}

A bipartisan group of Nevada lawmakers say that they see the potential to reverse the changes to gambling tax policy included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which limits deductions to only 90% of all gambling losses beginning in 2026.

According to a report in The Nevada Independent, lawmakers say they may be able to restore the 100% deduction of losses from winnings before the end of January. 

New Rules Could Hamstring Professional Gamblers, Hurt Casual Players

The upcoming change has led to concerns that it could make it nearly impossible for professional gamblers to continue to make a living. In addition, the new policy would also impact countless casual gamblers, and make it so that those who broke even or even lost a small amount of money on the year might still owe taxes on their “winnings.” 

Under the existing 100% deduction, a player who won $10,000 during a year but also lost $10,000 in other gambling activities would ultimately owe no taxes, as their losses would completely cancel out their earnings. Beginning in 2026, that player would only be allowed to deduct $9,000 in losses, meaning they would owe tax on $1,000 of their gambling winnings despite not making money that year.

Once it was revealed that this change was being included in the OBBBA, both gamblers and the gaming industry sounded the alarm. Despite the backlash, the new tax policy was including in the final bill when it was signed by President Donald Trump in July 2025.

Bills in House, Senate Aim to Reverse Tax Changes

Representative Dina Titus (D-Nevada) quickly moved to introduce legislation to restore the 100 percent deduction for gambling losses. And while that legislation wasn’t taken up in 2025, there are signs that it could have more success in early 2026.

For one, Titus has an ally across the aisle in the House of Representatives. Representative Mark Amodei (R-Nevada) says that he’s been talking to House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Missouri), who had told gaming CEOs in Las Vegas that he hoped to reverse the change by the end of 2025. And while that hasn’t happened, Amodei says that he expects movement early in 2026.

“We have been assured that when we wrap up this stuff in ’26 appropriations, that fix will be in there,” Amodei told The Nevada Independent. 

Meanwhile, Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) have introduced similar bipartisan legislation known as the FULL HOUSE bill.

President Trump has even said that he would “have to think about that” when asked about eliminated federal taxes on gambling winnings in December, a move that would make bills about deduction losses moot. But whatever is done to restore confidence in gambling tax policy among players, industry officials say it needs to happen soon.

“This is not good for the country, and it’s not good for the industry,” Circa Casino Resorts CEO Derek Stevens told The Nevada Independent. “We know this is an inadvertent issue that is simply going to hurt everyone in the United States. It needs to get fixed and corrected soon.”