Dana White urges Trump to restore full gambling-loss deduction

UFC president Dana White sent a May 11 letter to President Donald Trump asking the administration to reverse a provision of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that limits federal gambling-loss deductions to 90 percent.

In the letter White wrote that the law “makes it irrational to bet in the United States because you could end up owing taxes even when you lose or having a tax bill that exceeds your winnings for the year.” He added that discouraging legal betting harms “the ecosystem we’ve spent years building in partnership with state regulators and licensed operators.”

Several members of Congress who have introduced repeal legislation welcomed White’s intervention. Rep. Dina Titus thanked White, writing that lawmakers “cannot postpone this issue any longer.” Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto urged the president to act, calling the cap a “nonsense tax on gambling losses.” Rep. Steven Horsford highlighted his FULL HOUSE Act as a legislative solution, and Rep. Andy Barr is sponsoring the WAGER Act. Titus’s FAIR BET Act, Horsford’s FULL HOUSE Act and Barr’s WAGER Act currently are before the House Ways and Means Committee.

The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to hold a hearing on sports-related tax issues in late spring or early summer, where members may review the pending bills alongside other tax provisions affecting sports betting.

The American Gaming Association stated that restoring the 100 percent deduction remains a top priority and that it is engaging with Congress and the administration to support a legislative fix. The group said the cap harms bettors and businesses tied to the regulated gaming industry.

Political developments and White’s letter produced noticeable moves in prediction markets. On Kalshi, the contract for repeal before 2027 rose to about 39 percent, a gain of roughly 24 percentage points from earlier levels; a separate Kalshi contract for repeal before Sept. 1, 2026 climbed to about 29 percent before settling near 30 percent and 22 percent. On Polymarket, the probability of repeal before 2027 briefly jumped from about 21 percent to 59 percent, then settled around 36 percent.

The issue stems from an OBBBA change to how gamblers offset winnings with losses for federal tax purposes. Under the previous rule, taxpayers could deduct 100 percent of gambling losses against winnings in the same tax year. The OBBBA capped that deduction at 90 percent. Under the new framework, a gambler reporting $100,000 in winnings and $100,000 in losses could deduct only $90,000 of losses and would have $10,000 treated as taxable income.

Critics say the cap can produce situations where bettors owe federal tax despite finishing the year at a net loss. They also note that high-volume and professional gamblers would be most affected and that the cap could encourage some bettors to use offshore or unregulated operators rather than state-regulated markets. Lawmakers and industry groups are pursuing legislative and administrative options to restore the full deduction.