The Internal Revenue Service may lower the reporting level for casino customers who win at slot machines, keno and bingo, a change that gaming and legal advocates say is not needed and only adds more paperwork to an overly regulated industry.
The proposal, released this week by the IRS, suggests the reporting rules for winnings from gambling on slots, keno and bingo be reduced from $1,200 to $600. The agency set a 90-day period for the casino industry to respond to the suggested regulation changes.
***
Michelle Ferreira, an attorney with Greenberg Traurig in San Francisco who specializes in tax matters, said it appeared from reading the suggestions, that the IRS “doesn’t believe it would be a big deal” reducing the reporting requirements to $600, primarily because “much of record keeping is handled electronically.”
Ferreira said many slot machine players utilize player tracking/player loyalty cards, which record activity.
“I’ll be interested to see what the commentary is from the gaming industry,” Ferreira said. “In the IRS’s view, players check in and check out of a game electronically. The IRS may not believe this is much of an administrative hassle.