US and Peru face contrasting legislative responses to gambling tax disputes
Regulation2 min read
An opinion column on a Latin American gaming law site compared gambling tax disputes in the United States and Peru. The US FAIR BET Act would restore full deductions for betting losses; Peru's Congress passed a bill to change how the selective consumption tax applies, but the proposal did not pass again after presidential objections. The columnist said Peru's Constitutional Court had admitted a challenge to the tax for consideration.
US representative Dina Titus has asked the House speaker to include a restoration of full betting-loss deductions in legislation due to pass this year, before taxpayers file their 2026 returns in 2027. In Peru, a bill to change the taxation of remote gambling failed to pass again after presidential objections, while a constitutional challenge has been admitted for consideration, according to Carlos Fonseca, founder and managing partner of Gaming Law Latam.
President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on 4 July 2025, reducing the federal income tax deduction for betting losses from 100% to 90%. A player with $100,000 in winnings and the same amount in losses could therefore be taxed on $10,000 despite making no net gain. Titus introduced the FAIR BET Act, H.R. 4304, on 7 July 2025 to restore the full deduction. Fonseca said the relevant House committee voted for the proposal on 16 September 2026.
In Peru, Legislative Decree 1644 introduced a 1% selective consumption tax on the value of bets, including those made with operator bonuses. Fonseca said the tax therefore covers transactions involving amounts not contributed by players. The regime's constitutionality has been questioned over a possible breach of article 74 of Peru's constitution.
Peru's Congress unanimously passed Bill 3595 on 12 June 2025, but then-president Dina Boluarte objected to it. The tax has continued to apply since the bill failed to pass again. A citizen initiative backed by 5,058 certified signatures brought the constitutional challenge, which Fonseca said Peru's Constitutional Court had admitted for consideration.