Virginia Dems take tax hikes into overtime, target fantasy football leagues

[Baker Boy]

Sen. Adam Ebbin's Fantasy Contests Act would impose 10% levy on fantasy sports revenue as part of broader Democratic tax agenda
 

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/virginia-dems-take-tax-hikes-overtime-target-fantasy-football-leagues

[weepaws]

Yawn. The OP might be ready to jump. 

[JagFan]

28 minutes ago, weepaws said:

Yawn. The OP might be ready to jump. 

Hey man, tomorrow’s the Super Bowl…don’t you have a TE to finally draft?

[JagFan]

Nothing really to see here.  There are no professional sports teams in Va to tax, and I’m sure all DFS providers like DraftKings and FanDuel will just not offer their contests in Virginia.  No biggie.

[Ray_T]

1 hour ago, JagFan said:

Nothing really to see here.  There are no professional sports teams in Va to tax, and I’m sure all DFS providers like DraftKings and FanDuel will just not offer their contests in Virginia.  No biggie.

yeah, this just guaratees no sports franchises will want to relocate there.   and people will do their gambling with out of state websites.   you cant legislate outside of your jurisdiction.

this is a nothingburger.    

might affect some minor league sports teams.    I could see them relocating out of state if 10% of their revenues disappear.

as a person who has written papers on tax policy, this kind of policy only works if all jurisdictions do it. 

[polecatt]

Great 20%of my winnings go to DC...

[JagFan]

39 minutes ago, polecatt said:

Great 20%of my winnings go to DC...

Actually fantasy winnings are taxed at a flat 22% by the IRS.  And they are cracking down.  I read a couple years ago they know they’ve missed out on years of gambling winnings so they are watching it closely.  If you get a W2 from a betting site, you better file and pay.

[Ray_T]

On 2/7/2026 at 3:23 PM, JagFan said:

Actually fantasy winnings are taxed at a flat 22% by the IRS.  And they are cracking down.  I read a couple years ago they know they’ve missed out on years of gambling winnings so they are watching it closely.  If you get a W2 from a betting site, you better file and pay.

well, they have to prove it first.  lots of leagues are just cash leagues.   And when you pay with cash, its hard to track.

sure any of those leagues you do online, I could see that being trackable.   daily fantasy and such.    but for most of us who just go in a league with a bunch of buddies.  it doesnt affect that situation.

 

 

[LaChup]

I can't wait to start writing off my losses. 

[weepaws]

1 hour ago, Ray_T said:

well, they have to prove it first.  lots of leagues are just cash leagues.   And when you pay with cash, its hard to track.

sure any of those leagues you do online, I could see that being trackable.   daily fantasy and such.    but for most of us who just go in a league with a bunch of buddies.  it doesnt affect that situation.

 

 

Agreed. 

[TBayXXXVII]

On 2/10/2026 at 10:52 PM, Ray_T said:

well, they have to prove it first.  lots of leagues are just cash leagues.   And when you pay with cash, its hard to track.

sure any of those leagues you do online, I could see that being trackable.   daily fantasy and such.    but for most of us who just go in a league with a bunch of buddies.  it doesnt affect that situation.

 

 

It's only the gaming and online hosting sites they're going after.  So, things like FanDuel, DraftKings, Underdog(?... those BestBall sites), and other gaming sites like LeagueSafe, are the ones getting hit.  The government is going to force these sites to track people's winnings.  I don't think they can go after people playing home/local leagues that just host it on a website like ESPN, because they have no idea of what the stakes are.  But, this is what Virginia voted for.  Good luck to them.

[Ray_T]

On 2/12/2026 at 8:44 AM, TBayXXXVII said:

It's only the gaming and online hosting sites they're going after.  So, things like FanDuel, DraftKings, Underdog(?... those BestBall sites), and other gaming sites like LeagueSafe, are the ones getting hit.  The government is going to force these sites to track people's winnings.  I don't think they can go after people playing home/local leagues that just host it on a website like ESPN, because they have no idea of what the stakes are.  But, this is what Virginia voted for.  Good luck to them.

was this a plebiscite? 

interesting. I got the impression the Dems were blamed for it.

at the end of the day if the option was given to the people to decide, its really nobodys fault but that of the people.

that aside I always wondered why when you win a jackpot in vegas you have to pay tax on that.    where I live lotto winnings and casino winnings are tax free but I suspect the govt takes their cut of the revenue so it is effectively taxed before it gets paid out (thus tax free)   it would certainly make it a whole lot easier in terms of filing taxes.

either way,   its not my clowns and not my circus.  just an interesting observation.

[TBayXXXVII]

1 hour ago, Ray_T said:

was this a plebiscite? 

interesting. I got the impression the Dems were blamed for it.

at the end of the day if the option was given to the people to decide, its really nobodys fault but that of the people.

that aside I always wondered why when you win a jackpot in vegas you have to pay tax on that.    where I live lotto winnings and casino winnings are tax free but I suspect the govt takes their cut of the revenue so it is effectively taxed before it gets paid out (thus tax free)   it would certainly make it a whole lot easier in terms of filing taxes.

either way,   its not my clowns and not my circus.  just an interesting observation.

Looks like it's about gaming/games, in the state of Virginia in a bill proposed by one of the Democrat Senators.  I don't believe the people voted for this specifically, they just voted for the people in office, who are proposing it.

I believe each state handles their own "winnings" differently.  Not sure what, where, and when they have to be paid.  I believe that if you win a lot of money in Atlantic City (here in NJ), you are given a form for your taxes before they hand you your winnings.  I also believe that if you hit a certain threshold (not sure what that is), they make you pay your taxes right then and there.

[Showboat]

The OP (as well as some responders) seem to be trying to make this into a political issue.  The fact is that people who profit from gambling are rightly required to pay appropriate federal income taxes regardless of what state you live in.  For most, winnings are usually more than offset by losses so there is no tax liability.  Unless you really want to incentivize gambling as a profession, why should gambling earnings be tax-free while other productive work earnings gets taxed?

[Ray_T]

5 hours ago, TBayXXXVII said:

Looks like it's about gaming/games, in the state of Virginia in a bill proposed by one of the Democrat Senators.  I don't believe the people voted for this specifically, they just voted for the people in office, who are proposing it.

I believe each state handles their own "winnings" differently.  Not sure what, where, and when they have to be paid.  I believe that if you win a lot of money in Atlantic City (here in NJ), you are given a form for your taxes before they hand you your winnings.  I also believe that if you hit a certain threshold (not sure what that is), they make you pay your taxes right then and there. 

I was aware of the threshold thing.  usually applies to big bets or mid sizedl ones that payout at like 100 to 1 or better.   also a thing in vegas.

sorry I misunderstood you.  your comments led me to believe there was some sort of vote on the issue as often happens south of the border.    Thanks for clarifying that.

either way as one who wrote a paper on tax competition between jurisdictions all this means is that gambling websites wont setup in the state.   and people in state will likely use VPN to gamble out of state and avoid this scenario.

this kind of tax is only effective if every state in the US agrees to do it.   then there will be no incentive for anyone to shut things down

there is some precedent that if the tax is very nominal in nature that there will be insufficient motovation to move businessess and such.   but this is an economic discussion and not a football one.  so I will cut this short so we can focus on football (which is what we are all here for)

I doubt that this actually affects the vast majority of us.  its just something dumb to talk about with a political twist to it that is loosely aligned with fantasy football.

[Ray_T]

4 hours ago, Showboat said:

The OP (as well as some responders) seem to be trying to make this into a political issue.  The fact is that people who profit from gambling are rightly required to pay appropriate federal income taxes regardless of what state you live in.  For most, winnings are usually more than offset by losses so there is no tax liability.  Unless you really want to incentivize gambling as a profession, why should gambling earnings be tax-free while other productive work earnings gets taxed?

true.  most games have win odds that lean heavily towards the house.

because of this I wouldnt be surprises if you need to win on greater than 60% of all bets(in dollars) made over the course of a year to break even overall.

I've not run any kind of study to verify this, but I wouldnt be surprised  if this is the case.   maybe the number is even higher.

[TBayXXXVII]

On 2/13/2026 at 6:10 PM, Showboat said:

The OP (as well as some responders) seem to be trying to make this into a political issue.  The fact is that people who profit from gambling are rightly required to pay appropriate federal income taxes regardless of what state you live in.  For most, winnings are usually more than offset by losses so there is no tax liability.  Unless you really want to incentivize gambling as a profession, why should gambling earnings be tax-free while other productive work earnings gets taxed?

I mean, it is a political issue.  That aside, everyone understands paying taxes, what's happening here is that people are already paying the taxes that this is bill is proposing.  What they're doing is adding extra (or increasing), what's being taxed.  Wasn't the Democrat party the one that said "Tax the Rich" and increase the taxation percentage on the 1%?  What "rich" people are making tons of money on gambling sites and fantasy football?  How is this increasing the tax on the 1%?

Gambling is and has already been a profession.  Been like that for a number of decades.  No one's saying to not tax it, they're asking why it's increasing and why are we bothering with people making $100 or $200?  There's already things in place for thresholds as small as $500 or $600.

Welcome to America.  Guess you just got here a week or two ago.

[Showboat]

2 hours ago, TBayXXXVII said:

I mean, it is a political issue.  That aside, everyone understands paying taxes, what's happening here is that people are already paying the taxes that this is bill is proposing.  What they're doing is adding extra (or increasing), what's being taxed.  Wasn't the Democrat party the one that said "Tax the Rich" and increase the taxation percentage on the 1%?  What "rich" people are making tons of money on gambling sites and fantasy football?  How is this increasing the tax on the 1%?

Gambling is and has already been a profession.  Been like that for a number of decades.  No one's saying to not tax it, they're asking why it's increasing and why are we bothering with people making $100 or $200?  There's already things in place for thresholds as small as $500 or $600.

Welcome to America.  Guess you just got here a week or two ago.

You seem to be mixing a lot of messages here.  I don't get the sense that this is a tax-the-rich program, but more of "sin tax" such as extra taxes on alcohol and tobacco (which many conservatives, especially the religious right, support).  It doesn't seem unreasonable to increase taxes on gambling earnings if it is viewed that gambling contributes to many social ills.  When previously illegal activities (such as gambling and weed)  become more widely legalized, it is not uncommon that legalization comes with a higher level of regulation and taxation (and illegalization itself is an extreme form of regulation).  That is not limited to one political side or the other.  In fact, many legalization efforts were ironically (given that legalization is essentially a loosening of regulation) driven by the left rather than the right (particularly with weed).  We can debate the merits of any tax program, but starting the argument with monolithic blaming of one political party seems overly biased, provocative and unnecessary. 

[TBayXXXVII]

1 hour ago, Showboat said:

You seem to be mixing a lot of messages here.  I don't get the sense that this is a tax-the-rich program, but more of "sin tax" such as extra taxes on alcohol and tobacco (which many conservatives, especially the religious right, support).  It doesn't seem unreasonable to increase taxes on gambling earnings if it is viewed that gambling contributes to many social ills.  When previously illegal activities (such as gambling and weed)  become more widely legalized, it is not uncommon that legalization comes with a higher level of regulation and taxation (and illegalization itself is an extreme form of regulation).  That is not limited to one political side or the other.  In fact, many legalization efforts were ironically (given that legalization is essentially a loosening of regulation) driven by the left rather than the right (particularly with weed).  We can debate the merits of any tax program, but starting the argument with monolithic blaming of one political party seems overly biased, provocative and unnecessary. 

No mixed messages, you got it right.  The Democrats national policy is tax the rich, that's NOT this.  It's why it's being called out.  Democrats have said that they're not for taxing the middle or lower class, but if you look at all the proposals made by the new governor in Virginia, that's exactly what she's doing.  Almost every tax is going to hit the very people that they purport to not tax.

Like I said, there's nothing wrong with tax things (well, I mean, there is, but...), but this is simply adding an extra tax.  Virginia already has a gambling (and fantasy sports), tax, and was done 10 years ago.  This particular one is specifcally targeting events that take place in Virginia (which was already covered from the initial bill), and as I said, just piling on.  Look, I completely agree with everything you're saying.  The point is, the Demcrat party has been calling out the Republican party for taxing the middle and lower class (even though they haven't been - but that's another discussion), and calling them supremcists (and what not), for it... and now they're doing the exact same thing.  If a Democrat legislaters are proposing a bill to be passed by a Democrat governor, I'm not sure how can say this isn't one party doing it.  

That said, this is more of a politics thing than a fantasy football thing, so this should be moved to the Geek Club.

[Ray_T]

On 2/17/2026 at 12:53 PM, TBayXXXVII said:

That said, this is more of a politics thing than a fantasy football thing, so this should be moved to the Geek Club.

I would second that motion.  its not really fantasy related other than a vague relation due to taxation on some sports gambling which is loosely related due to daily fantasy.