Sens. Cruz, Cortez Masto Lead Bipartisan FULL HOUSE Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) introduced the Facilitating Useful Loss Limitations to Help Our Unique Service Economy (FULL HOUSE) Act. This bipartisan bill restores professional gamblers ability to deduct 100% of their gambling losses, ensuring they are not unfairly taxed on phantom income.

Sen. Cruz said, “The FULL HOUSE Act would restore the previous law and ensure professional gamblers are taxed on what they actually earn, not phantom income. This is a matter of basic fairness and integrity. I’m grateful for the bipartisan support of my colleagues, Senators Catherine Cortez Masto, Jacky Rosen, and Bill Hagerty, and I urge my fellow Senators to support this fix.”

Sen. Cortez Masto said, “Taxing people on money they don’t have will stifle the tourism industry in states like Nevada, push poker tournaments offshore, and drive betting into underground, unregulated markets. There is bipartisan support to fix this mistake, and it is time for my colleagues in both parties and chambers of Congress to get it done.”

Sen. Rosen said, “Our bipartisan bill fixes a harmful provision included in the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ that taxes casino players who lose money. It’s not just bad math, it’s bad policy. If we don’t fix this misguided provision, people would be discouraged from visiting casinos and Nevada’s tourism economy would take a hit. I’m glad to see bipartisan agreement to fix this mistake.”

Read the full text of the bill here.

BACKGROUND

The “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) reduced the amount of gambling losses an itemizing taxpayer could deduct—from 100% of gambling winnings to just 90%. This legislation would restore fairness for professional gamblers.