Cortez Masto Introduces Bill to Eliminate Sports Wagering Tax

A decade-long bipartisan push to repeal a small federal excise tax on sports wagers — an effort that has long been supported by the gaming industry — got another push Wednesday.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) introduced legislation that would exempt legal sportsbook operators from paying the tax established in 1951 by the IRS and often referred to as the handle tax. The tax covers 0.25 percent of any legal sports wager, with sportsbooks also paying a $50 annual head tax for every sportsbook employee. The tax is applied to wagers, not the revenue, unlike other excise taxes. 

In a statement, Cortez Masto said the legislation “would ensure our sports gaming industry can provide essential tax relief to consumers and our sports gaming industry, creating more jobs and keeping our tax money in the state while cracking down on illegal activities.”

The gaming industry has supported efforts to repeal the tax. American Gaming Association CEO Bill Miller said legal sportsbook operators face a competitive disadvantage because it “rewards illegal offshore bookmakers that pay no federal or state taxes, offer no responsible gaming tools, and have no systems in place to prevent underage customers from using their platforms.”

Though Nevada was the only state with legal sportsbooks in place when the tax was implemented, sports betting is now legal in 38 states and Washington, D.C., with active legislation or ballot initiatives to legalize the activity in two additional states.

According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, legal sports betting in Nevada for the six months of 2024 has generated $239 million in revenue based on $3.8 billion in wagers. In 2023, the state’s sportsbooks took in more than $8.3 billion in wagers while collecting $481.3 million in revenue.

Nevada paid nearly $22 million in handle taxes in 2022, nearly double the state’s total from 2019.

Nationwide, the American Gaming Association said sports betting through May has generated more than $5.7 billion in revenue based on $63.2 billion in wagers. 

The Senate legislation comes after similar repeals have been sought by Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), who on Wednesday called it “an outdated tax that serves no purpose other than to discourage the growth of legitimate sports books in Nevada and elsewhere.”

When she first introduced the legislation in 2014, Titus asked the Internal Revenue Service how the money was being used but she never got an answer. 

Titus and Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) — co-chairs of the Congressional Gaming Caucus — intoduced siilar legislation to repeal the handle tax last year.

“Now that we have legislation to repeal the handle tax in both houses, I am hopeful that we can finally end this unfair tax which penalizes legal gaming operators and punishes sportsbooks for creating jobs,” Titus said Wednesday. “Even the IRS couldn’t fully explain where the revenue from this tax goes.”