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US Taxation of Gambling Winnings and Incentives to Bet

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  • Whelan, Karl

Abstract

Sports betting is growing rapidly in the US after its legalization by the Supreme Court in 2018. This paper describes the treatment of gambling winnings and losses in the federal tax code and shows how the system may incentivize some gamblers to substantially increase the scale of their betting in order to have a chance to win. This incentive stems from the fact that gambling losses can only be deducted if taxpayers are filing for itemized deductions, meaning the scale of gambling losses has to be large enough to push a taxpayer’s eligible deductions over the standard deduction. This incentive to engage in large-scale betting applies mostly to lower and middle-income households.

Suggested Citation

  • Whelan, Karl, 2022. "US Taxation of Gambling Winnings and Incentives to Bet," CEPR Discussion Papers 17515, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:17515
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Paton, David & Siegel, Donald S. & Williams, Leighton Vaughan, 2004. "Taxation and the Demand for Gambling: New Evidence From the United Kingdom," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 57(4), pages 847-861, December.
    2. Feldstein, Martin S, 1969. "The Effects on Taxation on Risk Taking," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 77(5), pages 755-764, Sept./Oct.
    3. Evsey D. Domar & Richard A. Musgrave, 1944. "Proportional Income Taxation and Risk-Taking," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 58(3), pages 388-422.
    4. Naomi Muggleton & Paula Parpart & Philip Newall & David Leake & John Gathergood & Neil Stewart, 2021. "The association between gambling and financial, social and health outcomes in big financial data," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 5(3), pages 319-326, March.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Income tax; Gambling; Sports betting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism

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