Titus urges committee to advance FAIR BET Act restoring gambling deductions

Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada) has urged the House Ways and Means Committee to advance the Fair Accounting for Income Realized from Betting Earnings Taxation (FAIR BET) Act, legislation that would restore the 100% federal tax deduction for gambling losses.

Titus is seeking committee action to reverse a recent change that reduced the allowable deduction to 90%, a move she argues unfairly taxes gamblers on income they did not actually earn.

Titus calls on the House Ways and Means Committee

In a letter shared publicly on X, Titus called on House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith and Ranking Member Richard Neal to reconsider the legislation and bring it to the floor.

Today I am urging @WaysMeansCmte Chairman @RepJasonSmith to place the FAIR BET Act on the committee calendar. Now is the time to fix the unfair 90% tax deduction for gambling losses that negatively impacts professional and casual players. See my full letter to the Chairman below. pic.twitter.com/JJUozMnPTu

— Dina Titus (@repdinatitus) December 11, 2025

“Now is the time to fix the unfair 90% tax deduction for gambling losses that negatively impacts professional and casual players,” Titus wrote.

Continued backing for the FAIR BET Act

Titus has consistently supported the FAIR BET Act, introducing the bill in response to the GOP-backed megabill that reduced the gambling loss deduction. She has warned the change could have a detrimental impact on both gamblers and the wider gaming industry by increasing effective betting taxes.

As part of her legislative strategy, Titus also attempted to add the FAIR BET Act as an amendment to the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The fight to restore the 100% gambling loss tax deduction continues.

I’ve introduced the #FAIRBETAct as an amendment to the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

I strongly encourage the Republicans to make this amendment in order when it goes before the House Rules…

— Dina Titus (@repdinatitus) August 27, 2025

“There’s still a bias against gaming,” Titus said at the time. “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.”

That effort ultimately failed after the GOP-controlled Rules Committee declined to allow the amendment.

“Unfortunately, the GOP-controlled Rules Committee did not accept the FAIR BET Act as an amendment to the NDAA,” Titus said. “This was an easy fix that should have been adopted. Nonetheless, I will continue to build support to restore the 100% gambling loss deduction.”

The letter keeps the FAIR BET fight alive

In her latest letter to House leadership, Titus reiterated concerns that the current law disproportionately harms gamblers and undermines regulatory safeguards.

“It unfairly burdens professional gamblers and casual players alike and will inevitably drive players toward offshore and unregulated markets where consumer protections are nonexistent, thereby undermining responsible gaming efforts nationwide,” Titus wrote.

She also emphasized that the FAIR BET Act would simply restore long-standing tax norms familiar to both American gamblers and major gaming operators.

“For decades, the tax code permitted taxpayers to deduct up to 100 percent of their gambling losses from their winnings…a clear and fair standard that accurately reflected net income,” Titus added.

Featured image: Dina Titus Official

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