Would legalized gambling even be worth it?

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Student of human moves
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If this were to ever come to pass (and who knows, it might someday) would it even be worth it? I'm positive in the "legalized" environment that the US Gov't would be taxing your winnings. Isn't the 11/10 juice tough enough to overcome, much less having to add another layer of "fees" (taxes) on to it. I'm not sure of the exact percentage but doesn't this most certainly raise your breakeven point above 52.7%. If I'm wrong on this can someone please explain my thinking?
Please discuss....
 

Woah, woah, Daddy's wrong, Mommy's right.
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depends how it is taxed. If it is taxed as it currently is (i.e., net of losses), then your break even point remains the same.
 

Student of human moves
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can someone please provide an example of how "net of losses" works? Having never had to report any winnings (due to dealing with mostly with cash and locals) i'm unfamiliar with this.

thanks
 

Everything's Legal in the USofA...Just don't get c
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can someone please provide an example of how "net of losses" works? Having never had to report any winnings (due to dealing with mostly with cash and locals) i'm unfamiliar with this.

thanks

You can claim your gambling losses as a deduction (itemized deduction, I believe), but only to the extent of your gambling winnings. In other words, if you won $20,000, but lost $60,000, you could only deduct $20K in losses. (I don't believe you could carry over your losses to a future tax year, either.) Also, if it is in fact an itemized deduction, you couldn't deduct anything if you use the standard deduction.

As for the argument that gambling winnings would be taxed if legal, gambling winnings are taxable even if they are obtained through illegal wagering. Just like with racetrack or with the lottery winnings, legal gambling winnings wouldn't be reported to IRS unless they were over a certain amount. So the real question is whether or not you want to declare the income , as is your legal responsibility.
 

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