henderson

Hello everyone, I play on Full Tilt and I've started winning a
decent amount of money and I was just wondering if I have to report
winnings eventually if I start winning a lot

beaston

I guess you're in the USA?

Dyno_Don

Henderson, I think it would be best to pay your taxes from your winnings, especially living in the USA.

My guess is that the US government tagged on the UIGEA bill (illegally of course) to the port security bill as a measure to try and keep online player taxes inside the country, or just to keep tabs on them.

I really don't see what the big fuss is on taxes; just drop the federal taxes and add them to the general taxes in each state.
This way even those who gained money illegally or otherwise skipped out on paying taxes will end up paying when they buy something in any store...end of tax problems.

You think all of those government officials would have made this happen many years ago.

beaston

Well, the problem lies in the fact that unless you get a W2G, you can't really claim it on your taxes. Even though there's a spot on tax forms to claim gambling winnings, it pretty much applies to casinos in the USA that issue a W2G if your winnings are over a certain amount.....

After my miracle run in Vegas during a trip in 2007, I was in the black at all of the Harrah's properties to the tune of > $6,000, and they never sent me a w2g, as you can see in the picture below. So I never claimed those winnings...

As far as offline poker cash games go, there's no real way for them to know if you're ahead or losing at the end of the year. But if you have large tournament winnings, then those are definitely taxed.

Dyno_Don

What was that big 6g game win on beaston?

It has to be either blackjack, poker, or craps. I figure it must be on a craps table for that amount.
Unless you got really lucky on a few hands of blackjack and let them ride.

beaston

Naw, that was a culmination of games over 5 days, mostly blackjack and craps, but with some 3 card poker thrown in the mix...

In some states if you have a single game win on slots that's $1200 or more, not only is it paid by hand, but they also give you a W2G in order to claim it on taxes...

Dyno_Don

Wow, I didn't think the amount for taxing was so low.
I think in the Harrah's in NC says you have to have over $1999 before you have to claim it, but that may have changed in the past two years.

I always thought you could win up to around $4999 and not be taxed.

Laws and money limits are always changing.

beaston

I could be wrong, but I think it's Bingo winnings < $5,000 that don't have to be taxed...

And yes, it's really low here in PA for slots jackpots. All of the casinos I've seen here in the state limit their jackpots on most slots at $1,199 to get around it

Oh, maybe it's just skill games? I know at Pogo.com, their cash jackpots max out at $4,998 to get around the $5K barrier.

henderson

<snip>

Bye Bye, Spammer.