Winstar World Casino

[Snowman]

I'm typing without googling, but, I think the tribal gambling tax rate is 6% or so. And it is equal, or very close, to the Nevada rate. If you are a low taxes stimulate economic growth type, then I would suggest that both Nevada and Oklahoma casinos are prime examples of that.

The rate on gabling winnings specifically may be similar, but Nevada does not have a state income tax, so winning similar amounts in either state plausibly does result in a noticeable difference for someone from Texas.

[Dob Hooligan]

The rate on gabling winnings specifically may be similar, but Nevada does not have a state income tax, so winning similar amounts in either state plausibly does result in a noticeable difference for someone from Texas.

Can you expand on this? Assume you are discussing the IRS gaming winnings reporting amount? And if Indian casinos in Oklahoma are reporting those numbers to the Oklahoma Tax Commission, then there could be the Oklahoma tax rate of about 5% due at tax time?

The next question I would have is how much would a Texas gaming tax rate be? I find it hard to believe Texas would legalize casino gambling at a tax rate less than 15%, which would make the net tax amount on Oklahoma winnings less than in Texas.

[Dob Hooligan]

I understand the difference is personal versus casino tax. But the tribal casinos can have a field day with the “Low overhead Indian casinos in Oklahoma” marketing.

[bombermwc]

Keep in mind that the casino only has to report at a certain level. For example, you have a high winning amount like a jackpot, they'll have you fill out the form. But for the average Joe with small winnings, there's no way for them to even know who you are unless you register with the player's club. You could win oodles and the casino would only report that they distributed winnings, but wouldn't say it was to Joe. That's up to you later to report it (cause you're such a nice guy) on your taxes.

The better casinos can trace your transaction if you ATM out cash to track the ticket history in each machine/etc. But honestly, a lot of them aren't that sophisticated....or care. Unless you work only in cash, there can be some sort of trace to some extent, but they don't do it for everyone because it's not cost effective to use all those resources to trace the data. That's why there's a floor on when you have to report winnings (or at least where they're impactful from an income perspective).