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Taxes and Online Gambling in the United States

Taxes and Internet gambling make for a confusing combo, at least for U.S. citizens. Although it’s not exactly legal (or illegal) to gamble online, if you do gamble, and win, you’re required to report those winnings as taxable income.

And that’s something some players don’t realize. After all, most players aren’t even sure whether or not gambling on the Internet is legal. And since most legislation to regulate online gambling in the U.S. involves specifying how taxes work, it’s easy for the casual gamer to have the wrong impression.

But the fact is, gamers do need to report their winnings as taxes, or risk some big penalties. And as a casino affiliate who wants to make your site as great resource for online casino visitors as possible, it’s to your advantage to remind them of that.

Gambling taxes is one of those niches that’s pretty under-reported. The basics are:

  • Yes, taxes must be paid on gambling winnings, whether offline or online.
  • The basic U.S. tax form, 1040, allows for reporting gambling winnings.
  • Not just casino jackpots are taxed, but also winnings from playing lotteries, raffles, poker, and all other forms of gambling.
  • If the prize isn’t cash, taxes must be paid on the “fair market value” or what was won.

On the other hand, players may also not know that gambling losses can be deducted. “However, the amount of losses you deduct may not be more than the amount of gambling income you have reported on your return,” as one online tax source points out.

Gambling.law.us offers a great primer on online gambling and taxes. Use this info as a starting point to keeping your players up to date on tax laws; that’ll help build confidence for your casino affiliate site, and help to build your reputation as a resource for online gambling information.  

After all, providing useful, hands-on info for players is one of the most effective ways to build traffic to your affiliate marketing site. Build a reputation as a trustworthy source of info, whether through a blog, or through word of mouth via your social media connections, and you’ll see more traffic and hopefully more return visitors, too.