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US Representatives Dina Titus and Darin LaHood have been commended by the American Gaming Association (AGA) for their work towards raising the threshold for reporting slot tax winnings from $1,200 to $5,000.

Federal legislation dictates that casino patrons are obliged to report slot machine winnings upwards of $1,200 or more, while the machine was removed from the casino and the patron signs a W-2G tax reporting form.

Titus and LaHood, however, have recently battled to raise the threshold level to $5,000 to fall in line with current inflation rates.

“Casinos are the only businesses that must take their assets out of production to comply with their tax information reporting obligations. The current federal regulations on reporting slot machine winnings have been outdated for decades, creating inefficiencies, paperwork and unnecessary hurdles,” said Bill Miller, president and chief executive officer of the American Gaming Association.

“The gaming industry strongly supports the efforts of Reps. Titus and LaHood to update the antiquated threshold for reporting slot machine winnings while relieving associated burdens for casinos, their patrons and the IRS alike.”

While slot jackpots have steadily grown over the years to fall in line with inflation, the threshold level of $1,200 has remained static since its creation in 1977. This has meant that there has been an increase in the number of jackpot winnings reported by casino patrons over recent years, resulting in a rise in both operational inefficiencies and adding to the sea of W-2G forms that the IRS have to deal with in each year.

In a February 6, 2019 letter to Congress, Miller committed to raising the current slot tax reporting threshold to $5,000, listing it as one of the top AGA priorities for the 116th Congress.