The casual sports bettor probably has no clue about the handle tax, a 0.25 percent excise tax paid on wagers. Two House members have released a bill to eliminate the excise tax.
Rep. Dina Titus from Nevada and Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, from Pennsylvania, introduced the bill March 17 to eliminate the tax.
The excise tax along with a $50-a-person head tax on all workers employed by the sportsbook affects employment.
“With the explosive growth of sports betting across the country, it’s time to finally repeal the handle tax which penalizes legal gaming operators and punishes sportsbooks for creating jobs,” Titus said in a statement.
Her office says gaming establishments in Nevada paid nearly $22 million in handle taxes in 2022, almost double the 2019 figure.
Titus and Reschenthaler co-chair the Congressional Gaming Caucus. “As Co-Chair of the bipartisan Gaming Caucus, I’m pushing this legislation to keep legal gaming markets thriving nationwide.”
The two filed this bill in 2020 and 2021 with little effect. Titus also sponsored similar legislation in 2014 and 2015.
Nearly $235 million of that tax was paid in 2022 alone. Handle reached $93.8 billion. This figure should grow in 2023.
Titus told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2014 that the agency is clueless where the money ends up.
As long as it does exist, Reschenthaler wants to see the proceeds used to compete with offshore operators.
“Unfortunately, outdated tax codes and burdensome regulations penalize legal operators and incentivize illegal activity,” he told Legal Sports Report. “The Discriminatory Gaming Tax Repeal Act will ensure the gaming industry can support good-paying jobs and promote economic growth in southwestern Pennsylvania and across the nation.”
