Nevada Rep. Dina Titus is behind two pieces of gambling legislation in the world of legal sports betting and casino gaming.
Titus (D-District 1) last month reintroduced The Discriminatory Gaming Tax Repeal Act, which would remove the federal 0.25 percent tax on all sports bets placed in the U.S. She also last week reintroduced the Shifting Limits on Thresholds (SLOT) Act to update the reporting threshold on slot machine winnings, which hasn’t changed in nearly 50 years.
Titus' recent legislative endeavors mirror the gaming-centric economy of Nevada, home to Las Vegas, the gambling capital of the country.
An outdated sports betting policy
A Legal Sports Report article outlined the decision made by Titus and Pennsylvania Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-District 14) to resurface the plan to remove the federal sports betting tax.
“The Discriminatory Gaming Tax Repeal Act of 2025 repeals a tax that does nothing except penalize legal gaming operators for creating thousands of jobs in Nevada and 37 other states around the nation,” Titus said. “Illegal sportsbooks do not pay the .25% sports handle tax and the accompanying $50 per head tax on sportsbook employees, giving them an unfair advantage.
“I once asked the IRS where the revenue from the handle tax went in the federal budget, and they didn’t even know,” she continued. “It makes no sense to give the illegal market an edge over legal sportsbooks with a tax the federal government does not even track.”
Titus and Reschenthaler, co-chairs of the Congressional Gaming Caucus, co-sponsored similar proposals in 2019, 2021, and 2023.
The federal tax was implemented in 1951 as a means to scare off off-shore sportsbook operators. However, in a digital age and one in which sports betting is legal at the federal level, the tax is heavily outdated.
Offshore operators have also become better at attracting audiences, while would-be gamblers in states without legal sports betting often see offshore sportsbooks as a reasonable alternative.
GRIT Act, slot machine reporting
While Titus and Reschenthaler are looking to remove the federal tax on legal sportsbooks, Oregon Rep. Andrew Salinas (D-District Six) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal in February introduced the Gaming Addiction Recovery, Investment and Treatment (GRIT) Act.
Legal Sports Report detailed how the bill would allocate funds from the federal legal sports betting tax, which generated more than $500 million since 2018, to study and treat problem gambling behaviors such as gambling addiction.
“The growing legalization of sports betting coupled with the ability to place bets from your phone whenever you want have created the perfect storm for gambling addiction — resulting in a severe public health crisis,” Blumenthal said in a press release. “The GRIT Act will allocate dedicated federal funding to tackle problem gambling head-on, allowing individuals suffering from gambling addiction to access support, resources, and treatment. With this legislation, we work to stop addiction and save lives.”
Titus’ endeavors in the world of gaming legislation have also taken center stage in casinos, specifically with her plans to rework slot machine reporting.
The SLOT Act would raise the minimum threshold for reporting from $1,200 to $5,000 and provide a framework for future adjustments relative to inflation.