US Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) have introduced the Withdrawing Arduous Gaming Excise Rates (WAGER) Act, bipartisan legislation to protect legal sportsbooks and gaming businesses and help states like Nevada and Tribal communities reinvest their gaming revenues into their local economies.
Specifically, the bipartisan WAGER Act would exempt legal sports betting from outdated “handle” and “head” taxes.
“In Nevada, legal sports betting is thriving industry that adds to the world-class experience of watching our championship-level professional sports teams,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “It’s past time to exempt legal sports betting from outdated taxes that are actually incentivizing illegal sportsbooks. This is bipartisan, commonsense legislation that will help boost local economies across the United States.”
“Mississippi’s casinos and resorts play a key role in tourism, jobs, and community investment along our Gulf Coast. For too long, this outdated federal tax on sports betting has held this industry back, all while giving illegal offshore operators, and now new out-of-state run prediction markets, an unfair edge against our more traditional casinos in Mississippi and elsewhere. I’ve long pushed to eliminate this tax so we can modernize the system, strengthen our local economies and tax base, and ensure gaming revenues support Mississippi interests,” Senator Hyde-Smith said.
Established in 1951 to suppress illegal gambling, the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) imposes a federal excise “handle” tax of 0.25% on all legal sports bets, as well as a $50 annual “head” tax per employee for legal sports betting businesses. This outdated tax punishes legal operations while incentivizing illegal sportsbooks, as they can operate more cheaply and often offer better odds. Nevada paid nearly $22 million in handle taxes in 2022, nearly double the state’s total from 2019. Specifically, the WAGER Act exempts legal sports betting from this harmful tax while maintaining laws to continue to crack down on illegal activities. Similar companion bipartisan legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representatives Dina Titus (D-Nev.-01) and Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.-14).
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US Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) have introduced the Withdrawing Arduous Gaming Excise Rates (WAGER) Act, bipartisan legislation to protect legal sportsbooks and gaming businesses and help states like Nevada and Tribal communities reinvest their gaming revenues into their local economies. Specifically, the bipartisan WAGER Act would exempt legal sports betting…
The post US Senators introduce the WAGER Act to combat handle and head taxes appeared first on G3 Newswire.