Yesterday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued proposed regulations and an official Notice updating the tax information reporting rules for players’ slot winnings (as well as keno and bingo). Notably, the IRS is considering future additional regulations that could aim to reduce the respective reporting thresholds from $1,200 to $600 on gaming winnings. This potential policy change could create additional burdensome and unnecessary reporting requirements for our industry.
IRS Proposal’s Impact on Gaming
The IRS's proposed regulations currently do not alter commercial casinos’ reporting thresholds from the existing levels for winnings from keno, bingo and slot machine play (other than electronically tracked slot machine play). However, the IRS may consider future additional regulations that could reduce the reporting thresholds. The IRS will be accepting public comments over the next 90 days regarding current threshold levels, and considering whether amounts should be uniform for bingo, keno and slot machine play. The AGA Tax Working Group, comprised of senior tax representatives from AGA member companies, will submit comments to the IRS on behalf of the industry.
View the AGA’s summary and the official IRS documents on this issue.
The AGA’s Next Steps
We stand ready to facilitate industry consensus and to advocate for rule makings that benefit and protect the casino gaming industry’s interests. It is policy proposals such as this one that the AGA will address under our “Next Generation Gaming” platform that seeks to streamline regulations, remove barriers to innovation and allow regulators to be more nimble as the gaming landscape continues to evolve.
As part of our push for next-generation gaming policies, the AGA will deliver the message that casinos should not be treated differently than other businesses. As reaffirmed in a poll conducted by Mark Mellman and Glen Bolger, a majority of voters support this opinion.
As this issues progresses, we will keep you informed on this and other advancements.
IRS Proposal’s Impact on Gaming
The IRS's proposed regulations currently do not alter commercial casinos’ reporting thresholds from the existing levels for winnings from keno, bingo and slot machine play (other than electronically tracked slot machine play). However, the IRS may consider future additional regulations that could reduce the reporting thresholds. The IRS will be accepting public comments over the next 90 days regarding current threshold levels, and considering whether amounts should be uniform for bingo, keno and slot machine play. The AGA Tax Working Group, comprised of senior tax representatives from AGA member companies, will submit comments to the IRS on behalf of the industry.
View the AGA’s summary and the official IRS documents on this issue.
The AGA’s Next Steps
We stand ready to facilitate industry consensus and to advocate for rule makings that benefit and protect the casino gaming industry’s interests. It is policy proposals such as this one that the AGA will address under our “Next Generation Gaming” platform that seeks to streamline regulations, remove barriers to innovation and allow regulators to be more nimble as the gaming landscape continues to evolve.
As part of our push for next-generation gaming policies, the AGA will deliver the message that casinos should not be treated differently than other businesses. As reaffirmed in a poll conducted by Mark Mellman and Glen Bolger, a majority of voters support this opinion.
As this issues progresses, we will keep you informed on this and other advancements.
