Rep. Titus Attempting to Include FAIR BET Act in Defense Bill

• Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) has introduced an amendment to add the FAIR BET Act to the National Defense Authorization Act
• Titus introduced the FAIR BET Act as a standalone bill in early July
• The legislation will allow professional gamblers and sports bettors to deduct 100% of losses from taxes

Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) is attempting to attach her FAIR BET Act legislation to a massive defense bill, which would all but assure its passage into law.

Titus recently introduced the Fair Accounting for Income Realized from Betting Earnings Taxation Act (FAIR BET Act) as an amendment to the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). If approved by the House Rules Committee next month, the FAIR BET Act would likely be approved along with the defense bill and be signed into law.

Her legislation restores the provision that allows professional gamblers and sports bettors to deduct 100% of their losses from their taxes.

Restoring Gambling Losses Provision

Titus introduced the FAIR BET Act as a standalone bill in early July after President Donald Trump’s (R) One Big Beautiful Act (OBBA) was signed into law on July 3. Included in the massive piece of legislation was a change to the Internal Revenue Code that only allows professional gamblers to deduct 90% of their losses in a year, down from 100%.

Under the OBBA, if a professional gambler wins $1,000,000 in a single year, but also loses $1,000,000, they will only be able to deduct $900,000 in losses from their taxes. This means they will have to pay taxes on the $100,000 they cannot deduct, as if they had won the money.

Titus’s bill will restore the provision that allows professional gamblers and sports bettors to deduct 100% of their losses from their taxes.

Adding bills to larger pieces of legislation is a common way for politicians to ensure their own laws are passed.

Pushing Gamblers Away From U.S.

The bill is now up to 10 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisles. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX), Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV), Rep. Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ), Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV), Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV), Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-CA), Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL), and Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) have all come out in support of the legislation.

Detractors of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act have said the changes to the gambling tax code will push professional gamblers to the black markets, decreasing business to licensed operators and companies in the country.