Nevada congress members join push to raise IRS reporting threshold for slot winnings

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Three members of Congress from Nevada have joined a push to raise the threshold for reporting winnings on casino slot machines.

U.S. Reps. Dina Titus, Steven Horsford and Mark Amodei, plus two other representatives from Pennsylvania and Maryland, have introduced the Shifting Limits on Thresholds, or SLOT, Act.

Currently, when a casino player wins $1,200 or more on a slot machine, the machine must be taken out of service temporarily and the player must fill out a W-2G tax reporting form, per federal regulation.

The SLOT Act would raise that limit to $5,000 and index it to inflation.

"Due to inflation, the number of jackpots hitting that threshold, triggering a shut down of the machine and necessitating excessive paperwork requirements for the patron, has increased dramatically," Titus, D-Nevada, said in a press release. "This creates an unnecessary burden on the gaming industry, an economic driver for Southern Nevada and other communities nationwide where slot machines exist."

The American Gaming Association has backed the SLOT Act, calling it "a long overdue change" that would help ease casinos' administrative burdens.