President Trump signed his “One Big Beautiful Bill” into law in early July during the 2025 World Series of Poker. While our biggest event was going on and winners were putting on new bracelets, a storm was brewing. To those who were aware of it, the bill is anything but beautiful, and players are furious about a new tax provision buried inside.
“As I walk around the poker tables, I definitely hear it from the players. They’re concerned,” said WSOP CEO Ty Stewart.
Let's see why this bill matters, and why it should concern the poker community.
Why Poker Players Are Upset About the One Big Beautiful Bill
According to the 940-page document, poker players have good reason to be upset. The law caps gambling loss deductions at 90 percent. For over 50 years, players who broke even or lost money in a year owed nothing, while winners paid taxes on net profits.
Now, someone who wins $100,000 and loses $100,000 would still owe taxes on $10,000. For high-stakes professionals who often handle millions in swings, the hit could be devastating. Going through a downswing? The IRS will still want some cash when tax time rolls around.
“This is just a completely illogical bill. You’re taxing people who lose money,” said poker star Daniel Negreanu. “We don’t mind paying taxes, but like, on actual money. Nobody thinks it’s fair to pay taxes when you lose.”
Daniel's opinion isn't much of a stretch. Canada, Germany, Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom do not require bettors to pay tax on losses. In Canada's case, professional gamblers can deduct losses against gambling income.
In Nevada, arguably the gambling capital of America, Congresswoman Dina Titus, said her office has received more outrage about the gambling provisions than about changes to Medicaid or food stamps. “It hurts players of all kinds, professional or recreational,” she said.
Russel Fox, who runs a tax firm in Nevada, rightly pointed out that "the math may stop working" for those who gamble to make a living.
"At first, I didn't believe it. And then I read it. It's bad for just about everybody in the industry.
If you are playing very high buy-in tournaments and your margin is effectively low because you're playing against the world's best players, what's the point in playing those tournaments when the government's going to dock you 10 percent?"
In general, republicans don't see the bill as a negative thing for America. On the House floor, House Speaker Mike Johnson, proclaimed the One Big Beautiful Bill would make the U.S. "stronger, safer and more prosperous than ever before."
As for poker, unprosperous players can expect to be even more unprosperous when filing taxes in 2026.
Hear What Poker's Top Players Have to Say
Casual players might not be as tuned in or sensitive to the One Big Beautiful Bill yet, but professionals are acutely aware of impending changes.
- Scott Seiver
When asked by NPR about the One Big Beautiful Bill, Scott Seiver called the gambling tax provision “devastating to most, if not all, of American poker." He went on to say, "There's something beautiful and I consider very distinctly American about the concept of … you are your own business and at a poker table everyone is equal. There's something really American about those values of the meritocracy that I feel Capitol Hill wants to believe in, that I would love for them to defend." - Doug Polk
In one of his classic poker world update videos, Doug began by saying, "Poker as we know it is under attack in America. We have not seen anything this significantly negative for the gambling industry in what must be 20 years. A late addition to the One Big Beautiful Bill would effectively ruin professional gambling for the vast majority of professional gamblers and even for recreational gamblers who have a big score and want to itemize. - Phil Hellmuth
Taking a break from promoting water companies and crypto, Phil wrote that, "Both Democrats and Republicans HATE “Pokers Death Tax,” and are actively working to fix it." He's also said that Ted Cruz apologized to him in a private text, tweeting that the Senator "is a poker player and 100% didn’t know about this “pokers death tax” or put another way, the “Surprise anti-poker world inclusion” to this big bill!" - Daniel Negreanu
"We have contacts to, you know, powerful people in Washington. Sometimes these bills pass and people don't even know what's in them. And in this case, I don't think they really thought this one through." - Maria Konnikova
“This is absolutely horrific if you’re a professional poker player, or even someone like me, who straddles the journalism and poker worlds. It’s basically a huge in-built fee on choosing to engage in any form of gambling. Imagine I have $100,000 in winnings in a year from poker and I played $200,000-worth of tournaments, for a net win of $0. In past years, I’d have zero poker income—no taxes, because I didn’t actually make a cent. Under this bill, my losses are capped at 90%. So, I can only report $90,000 in losses—and I have to pay taxes on a phantom $10,000 that I don’t actually have!" - Phil Galfond
"This is really bad. Whether you're a poker player, a fantasy sports player, a sports bettor—any kind of gambler—professional or recreational (but especially professional), and even if you are an operator in one of these areas, it's quite scary."
If Left Unchanged, What Will the Bill Do to American Poker?
In terms of taxes: The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates it will raise $1.1 billion over 10 years, a small amount compared to the bill’s projected $3.4 trillion increase to the federal deficit. Obviously, taking tax where it was previously not collected will be quite a large earner for the IRS.
In terms of the poker and gambling landscape: Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., has warned the provision could push events offshore and drive betting into illegal markets. Just as She and other lawmakers, including Titus and Rep. Mark Amodei, are backing measures to restore full deductions. “When you start talking about lottery and horse racing, there’s a majority of states that now have gaming. It’s not Nevada and New Jersey anymore,” Amodei said.
If left unchanged, the One Big Beautiful Bill could push American poker players out of the country, to greener tax grass elsewhere. It's not difficult to imagine a much quieter World Series of Poker in 2026 either. In games like the WSOP, it used to be about taking your shot, win or lose. Even in defeat, entrants walk away with an experience under their belt. This year, even the losers could owe 10% on top, souring that age-old shot-take at greatness. Surely, that will turn some away and could cause a significant drop in attendance.
There's Hope the One Big Beautiful Bill Will Be Amended
There is hope, and a significant push, for an amendment to the One Big Beautiful Bill.
As Ted Cruz said, “Nobody is defending this as a sensible tax policy. I think it was a mistake, and I’m hopeful we’ll correct it.” He is co-sponsoring a bill to restore full deductions. Several other lawmakers are pushing in the same direction, without success at this point.
So at the very least, there's hope for the American poker scene. The Big Beautiful Bill's changes would harm several gambling industries, so there's staunch support of rolling back the changes to the way things were. Losing money in gambling should not bring extra penalties, especially in a country where games like poker are a national pastime. It seems highly illogical to build up such an illustrious gambling scene, from horse racing to video poker and far beyond, then throw extra tax at those who walk away with losses.
We'll definitely be watching this story closely and will update you when things develop further (hopefully, in the right direction).
