Steve Wynn Urges Massachusetts to Lower Gambling Tax Threshold

Steve Wynn has come forward with a number of suggested changes to the state’s gambling laws.

Wynn made the suggestions during a recent meeting with lawmakers. Perhaps the most important change he put forwards was to do with how winnings were to be taxed and the amount of tax that casinos need to collect before gamblers can leave the premises.

At presents gamblers must pay state income tax on any winnings over $600 before they leave the casino. While this is not an unusual law, the $600 threshold is the lowest in the country, the majority of states have a $5,000 threshold.

Furthermore, Massachusetts is one of five states that apply this rule to slot machine wins.

There are numerous problems to having such a low threshold. First of all it is likely to discourage high rollers from gambling in the state as their wins will most likely exceed the threshold every time.

Another serious problem is horse race betting where players usually make multiple bets on a single ticket. If one bet shows a $600 win while the others lose, the player must still pay tax even if they have lost hundreds on other bets on the same slip.