The $1,200 slot tax reporting threshold was set in the 1970s. AGA believes it is time to update the current slot jackpot reporting threshold to a higher level, such as $5,000, to address four decades of inflationary effects. Research commissioned by AGA suggested raising the slot threshold to $5,000 would result in as much as $500 million in annual savings to the gaming industry. Additionally, higher reporting threshold will help lower administrative costs and provide customers an improved experience when they visit our facilities.

The Internal Revenue Code currently imposes a federal excise tax of 0.25% on the amount of any legal sports wager with a commercial sportsbook, as well as an additional $50 annual head tax for every employee engaged in receiving wagers for or on behalf of any legal sports betting operator. This tax was established in the 1950s, not as a revenue source, but rather as a tool for prosecuting illegal bookmaking operations that didn’t pay the tax.

Currently, this tax serves no dedicated purpose and represents an added operating cost to legal sportsbooks that illegal operators do not pay, further impeding customers’ move away from the predatory, illegal market to safe, regulated sports betting channels. Congress can help empower the success of a safe, regulated marketplace, by repealing the federal excise tax that unnecessarily disadvantage legal sports betting operations.

The AGA supports corporate tax policy that allows the gaming industry to continually make investments in our world-class entertainment facilities, experiences, and technologies. Our ability to innovate often requires borrowed capital to accomplish significant projects. That is why it is critical to preserve 4 interest expense deductibility and ensure the tax benefits attributed to capital and intellectual property expenditures are maintained while opposing the addition of a minimum tax regime.

Gaming innovation also depends on robust research and development. Securing a permanent refundable research and development tax credit would permit gaming equipment manufacturers and suppliers to plan for the long term while investing in cutting-edge technologies, particularly in the area of computer software. Additionally, for consumers, the AGA strongly believes those who itemize their returns should continue to have the ability to net their gaming losses and winnings for the purposes of determining their tax liability