Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Could Kill Professional Gambling

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act which narrowly adopted the Senate on Tuesday contains an amendment modifying the rules of the game tax, which makes it more difficult for winners to collect profits.

A section of the 940 pages version of the Senate of the bill limits the amount that players are able to deduce from their earnings to 90% of the losses.

This means that if a player earns $ 100,000 during a tax year while losing $ 100,000, he would be required to pay $ 10,000 in tax despite the break, rather than zero tax paid under current regulations.

Why it matters

If the amendment is making its way in the version of the bill of the bill and is signed, this would reduce the capacity of the players to achieve a profit. He could also push professional players to unregulated operators outside the United States, according to the American professional poker player Phil Galfond.

This could have an impact downstream on the entire industry, which brought in nearly $ 115 billion in revenues last year, according to the American Gaming Association.

What to know

The bill on budget reconciliation – a radical legislative package which incorporates many national priorities from President Donald Trump – adopted the Senate by 51 votes at 50 Tuesday after weeks of negotiations.

He now returns to the Chamber, which adopted his own version of the bill in May. The version of the bill in the bill does not currently contain provisions concerning professional game.

If the bill is adopted in its current Senate form, the losses and gaming expenditure will only be 90% frank from 2026, and only up to the level of total gains. Currently, players can deduct the losses of Paris, provided that this does not exceed their gains for the taxation year.

Galfond said that the amendment could lead to tax gains on “ghosts” gains, which will have a particularly prejudicial impact on players with high issues.

“Let’s say that in all the sessions we played throughout the year, we won $ 5.2 million and we lost $ 5 million for a net of $ 200,000,” he said in a video published on X, formerly Twitter.

“Now we would pay as if we earn $ 5.2 million, less than $ 5 million, or $ 4.5 million for a fake net of $ 700,000 … So you would earn $ 200,000 during the year and pay a tax as if you earn $ 700,000.”

Galfond has added that the amendment could push professional players to offshore and unregulated game operators, while guaranteeing that amateurs – who are more likely to lose – more and more dominate the American market.

What people say

Poker player Doug Polk Written in an article on the representative of Texas, Chip Roy: “Chip, I am in your district. There is a provision in the version of the Senate which will kill professional games.

He added in a separate article: “It was slipped into the bill and if it spends tens of thousands of people will instantly lose their career. We must now come together as a poker community.”

Galore said in his video published on X: “It’s really bad. You are a poker player, [Daily fantasy sports] Player, a better sport, any type of player – professional or recreational – but above all professional. And even if you are an operator in one of these areas. It’s quite frightening. “”

He added: “Completely untenable. You cannot be a professional player in the United States if it happens. And that will have a training effect on industries that depend on professionals.”

What happens next?

The Republicans of the Chamber are now responsible for approving the changes of the Senate to the bill before President Trump could sign it. If the bill adopted and received the signing of Trump, the amendment would take effect in 2026.

Trump has repeatedly expressed his hope that Congress could adopt the bill by July 4, but he recognized Tuesday that this deadline would be “very difficult” to respect.