US President Donald Trump has recently passed a bill that has completely overhauled the United States’ budget. After some deliberation the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” has become US law. The democrats are not too pleased with this change. What is interesting is that even Trump’s supporters are somewhat split on it; a phenomenon we rarely see from his camp. The steep cuts to Medicaid don’t sit right with many of the elderly folks who backed Donald Trump during his controversial 2024 election. Cuts to food benefits have angered many of the lower-income supporters. Finally, nobody seems happy about the reduction of taxes for those who need them the least.
The politics of it all has led to many taking pretty strong positions, which ultimately only serves to cause a greater divide between the Republicans and Democrats. However, in the midst of it all a politically-unaffiliated group has arisen to oppose the Big Beautiful Bill. American gamblers of all political alignments have come out against Trump’s new law. They believe that the bill will have detrimental effects on the industry, and may even cause its complete collapse.
How the Bill Impacts Gambling?
The Big Beautiful Bill actually has an entire section about gambling taxation if you can believe it. Gamblers can now deduct winnings equal to 90% of their losses for a tax year. The tax foundation’s director has issued a statement claiming that this change in the law would be permanent and go into effect starting in 2026. But, what exactly does this mean in laymen’s terms? The Big Beautiful Bill would mean that a gambler who broke even might still owe taxes on their winnings. Putting it plainly it means that even if you’ve not won anything while gambling you’d still owe money.
The bill would affect more than just casinos and land-based poker rooms. It would have a severely disastrous effect on online games as well. The American internet gambling industry is one of the most developed in the world, generating an annual revenue in the billions. Trump’s bill could put an end to the success of the industry that only recently got off the ground, and has a lot of potential to grow even bigger in the future. People are understandably mad.
Needless to say, professional poker players are not very happy about the Big Beautiful Bill making it into law. Phil Galfond spoke publicly against the bill. He said that its passing will effectively “end professional gambling” and “hurt casual gamblers” on X.com. Galfond is respected as one of the best poker players of our generation. He is admired for his cash gambling skills as well as his teaching ability. Frequent users of this site might even recognize him as one of the best poker players of all time. His opinion on poker certainly carries a lot of water.
Owing Taxes on Net Losses
We talked about the likelihood that gamblers will owe money on a bet on which they’ve broken even. However, the issue is far greater than that. The bill makes it so gamblers might even owe tax dollars in years when they’ve netted losses on their bets by limiting the deduction of taxes to 90% of losses. Gamblers have crunched the numbers and come up with some pretty troubling implications regarding the Big Beautiful Bill’s amendment to gambling taxation. It turns out that in a year when a gambler has netted a loss of $10000 they may end up owing an additional $11000 to the federal government. Their losses would effectively be doubled.
The amendment does not just target gamblers and casino-goers. Sports fans should be worried too. Betting on sports is technically classified as gambling. That means that the sports gambling market is also going to suffer greatly. This could have pretty dire consequences considering that 38 of the 50 American states offer legal sports betting.
The Big Beautiful Bill could not have come at a worse time for the iGaming market. The gambling industry online and offline has reached a record high recently. States have been looking into legalizing online casinos and poker rooms. Not only do online casinos produce taxable revenue but they also create a job market that pays more on average than similar markets online and offline. Trump’s government is effectively crippling the industry by introducing this new bill at this time. It is no wonder that so many gamblers are pretty staunchly opposed to it.
Gamblers and Gambling in the Future
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Donald Trump may be one of the most controversial presidents in the past two decades. He does little to assuage his critics, in some cases even going so far as to pull truly bizarre moves. Recently he shared an AI-generated video of Barrack Obama being arrested. The move stunned not only his opposition, but even some of his constituency. The stunt may have been controversial, but it pales in comparison to the problems that people have with his Big Beautiful Bill.
What does this new law mean for gamblers then? It might mean that many poker players will think twice before electing a Republican in office in the future, even if they are not of Trump’s caliber. It could also mean that many will write their congress representatives voicing their concerns about the new bill. Some may even find a new hobby. Whatever the case may be, the iGaming market will not be the same.
Please note: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute the promotion of gambling activities. Gambling involves risk and can lead to financial loss. Please gamble responsibly and only wager what you can afford to lose. If you feel your gambling is becoming a problem, seek help from BeGambleAware.org or call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133.