Nevada Rep. Dina Titus is strategically pushing forward her Fair Accounting for Income Realized from Betting Earnings Taxation Act, commonly known as the FAIR BET Act. She intends to attach it to the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a key piece of legislation that must pass annually. This maneuver, revealed on August 27, is designed to increase the chances that her proposal will be enacted into law.

The FAIR BET Act seeks to reverse a disputed provision introduced under former President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The provision lowered the gambling loss deduction from 100% to 90%, which is set to take effect in January 2026. This change has met significant resistance from both the gaming industry and individual gamblers, who argue that it unfairly taxes money that they never actually won.

Representative Titus, who co-leads the Congressional Gaming Caucus, initially introduced this succinct bill in July. However, it stalled in the House Ways and Means Committee. To overcome this hurdle, she is leveraging a common legislative tactic by attaching the amendment to the NDAA. Around two decades ago, a similar strategy helped pass the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act amid a port security bill.

The initiative enjoys strong support from major gaming industry leaders and state officials. Prominent executives from companies such as MGM Resorts, Caesars, and Wynn Resorts have expressed concern to lawmakers about the financial impact this deduction limit could have on both players and casinos. The American Gaming Association has also condemned the recent tax rule, stressing that it unfairly penalizes a legal and regulated industry.

The FAIR BET Act is gaining momentum across party lines. So far, ten members in the House have endorsed it as co-sponsors. In addition, a Republican counterpart titled the WAGER Act was introduced in July by Representative Andy Barr of Kentucky. In the Senate, Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto has proposed a similar measure known as the FULL HOUSE Act.

Supporters emphasize the importance of this amendment for states like Nevada, where gambling significantly contributes to the economy. However, some critics argue that inserting tax policy changes into a defense authorization bill represents an overreach by lawmakers.

The amendment is currently under review by the House Rules Committee, with a vote expected within the next several weeks.

The Arizona Department of Gaming has launched its first-ever statewide Public Education Campaign focused on protecting consumers, promoting public awareness, and reducing the harms associated with unregulated gambling. This is a significant milestone in the Department’s ongoing efforts to protect consumers and ensure a safe and responsible gaming environment.

Arizona offers a variety of legal, regulated gaming options throughout the state, including tribal casinos, event wagering, fantasy sports, and parimutuel wagering. For 30 years, ADG has safeguarded the integrity of Arizona’s gaming industry through rigorous oversight, licensing, and enforcement in accordance with the Tribal-State Gaming Compacts. This new campaign expands on that mission by educating Arizonans on how to avoid illegal gambling and access support services when needed.

The campaign is designed to inform and empower the public by emphasizing the risks of engaging with unlicensed operators and providing them with tools to identify legal, regulated options. It aims to reduce consumer vulnerability, prevent exploitation, and help individuals make informed decisions if they choose to participate in gaming activities.

The campaign kicks off with a series of Public Service Announcements (PSAs), developed in collaboration with the Arizona Media Association, which will be aired across TV, radio, print, and digital platforms. Available in both English and Spanish, the PSAs will:

• Educate the public on how to identify legal, regulated gaming operators in Arizona

• Emphasize consumer protection and the safeguards provided by regulated gaming environments

• Highlight the role regulated gaming plays in supporting Arizona communities and essential services

• Promote the 1-800-NEXT STEP helpline, which connects individuals to confidential, 24/7 support for problem gambling.

To complement the PSAs, ADG has launched the Check Your Bet webpage, which serves as a centralized resource to verify regulated gaming and access consumer protection tools. The webpage includes:

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• A searchable list and interactive map of authorized Tribal Casinos in Arizona

• A searchable list and interactive map of licensed Event Wagering and Fantasy Sports Operators and their retail locations

• Information on Advanced Deposit Wagering Providers (ADWPs), Off-Track Betting (OTB) locations, and permitted horse racing tracks in Arizona

• How to access the Division of Problem Gambling’s Helpline, a confidential Problem Gambling Self-Screening Quiz, and additional supportive resources

• How to request Self-Exclusion, a voluntary program to prohibit oneself from Tribal Casinos and Event Wagering and Fantasy Sports Contests

• Guidance on submitting tips about suspected illegal gambling to the Department and filing consumer complaints with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.

“We are proud to celebrate 30 years of providing world-class gaming regulation and consumer protection. This campaign is about empowering Arizonans who choose to participate in gaming with the knowledge to make informed, responsible decisions. As illegal and unregulated options on the market increase, the Check Your Bet webpage serves as a key resource for the public to verify licensed operators and access support. By directing viewers from our PSAs to this tool, we’re helping ensure people not only play safely, but also know where to turn if they or a loved one are struggling with problem gambling,” said Jackie Johnson, Director of the Arizona Department of Gaming.

Since its founding in 1995, the Department has worked tirelessly to ensure that Arizona’s gaming industry operates with transparency, integrity, and responsibility. The campaign will run through the end of March 2026 and reflects ADG’s commitment to a safe, transparent, and well-regulated gaming landscape in Arizona.

The Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG) has released 2024 CFG USA State Supplement #2: All States, the final report in its landmark CFG USA 2024 Series, warning that the rapid expansion of legal online gambling is fueling more gambling and higher consumer losses – all without displacing crime from the total marketplace.

The analysis, produced by technical marketplace intelligence platform Yield Sec, offers the most comprehensive national and state-by-state breakdown ever produced across the US online sports betting, casino, and poker marketplaces. It shows that states with more legal operators record the highest Gross Gambling Revenue (GGR) per capita as a percentage of income – but, illegal operators continue to dominate, with 74% of total GGR across US online gambling being stolen by crime during 2024.

In 2024, the total US online gambling marketplace was worth $90.1 billion, of which $67.1 billion (74%) was illegal. The illegal sector grew by 64% year-on-year, outpacing the legal sector’s 36% growth.

There are three states with legalized online sports betting where the market is below the average of 0.31% GGR per capita as a percentage of income for states with no legalization, being Oregon, Maine, and Arkansas. These states have operator numbers of Oregon 1, Maine 2, and Arkansas 3, for an average of 2, below the national average of 9.

There are three states with both legalized online sports betting and casino gaming where the market is below the average of 0.77% of GGR per capita as a percentage of income for states with legalization of online sports betting only, being Delaware, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. These states have operator numbers of Delaware 4, Rhode Island 2, and Connecticut 3 for an average of 3, below the national average of 14.

There is a pronounced correlation between having a small number of legal operators and lower GGR per capita as a percentage of income.

The proponents of legalization assert that having more legal operators is better for competition and implies that this will help reduce the size of the illegal sector. The evidence, contained in CFG reporting from years of monitoring and the most comprehensive study ever conducted upon the US online gambling marketplace at both the national and state levels, contradicts this assertion.

Derek Webb, Founder and Funder of CFG, said: “The onus is on the proponents of legalization to provide an explanation as to how they managed to get it so wrong – at the least, they should apologize to the legislators they influenced based on their misleading representations. There should now be a moratorium on state expansion until effective action reduces illegal revenues and enables effective control of online gambling marketplaces.”

Ismail Vali, founder and CEO of Yield Sec, added: “Decades of illegal online gambling in the USA were meant to end with legalization and regulation. The hope was simple: legal, licensed options in each state would ‘channelize’ the marketplace and eliminate illegal gambling. This has not happened.

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“Seven years after state legalization began in 2018, the US online gambling marketplace remains a fortress of crime, and the zero-sum game hope that legalization and regulation would, on their own, remove crime, has failed. Illegal gambling isn’t one problem – it’s many. You can only control it through process – MPEO: Monitor, Police, Enforce, Optimize. Crime has now stolen hundreds of billions of dollars from American commerce and communities over more than three decades – it’s time to make this end.”