It’s very stupid, but what triggers a W2G is an individual bet that pays out $600+ AND is 300:1 odds or greater. It’s dumb because 99%+ of gamblers will never hit a bet that triggers one. Also, if you request one from the books, they will say no. When I asked for one at DK, they at least sent me a summary of my gross winnings and losses so I will be covered there, but I have tens of thousands of dollars over hundreds of bets elsewhere that I will have to go back and manually calculate my results. The books should send one to everyone IMO. I’d be surprised if there isn’t something done about this in the future with sports betting legalization continuing in more places as I’m sure there will be a lot of money not reported since folks aren’t receiving forms to let them know what to report.
So this is where I'm confused about the W2G.
From Intuit:
If you take home a net profit of $600 or more for the year playing on websites such as DraftKings and FanDuel, the organizers have a legal obligation to send both you and the IRS a Form 1099-MISC. If you receive your winnings through PayPal, the reporting form may be a 1099-K.
So why was the law written to only worry about net profits on these sites if only winnings matter?
Also, as far as legislation around sports betting, I wouldn't be surprised if the industry pushes for changes to how losses are calculated. I've seen a stat that as many as 90% of households will take the standard deduction with the 2017 tax bill and low mortgage rates. So with the industry targeting more casual gamblers now, something has to give. If the IRS starts cracking down on the casual bettor, it could severely impact the sports betting industry with most people only counting the wins and not the losses on their taxes.
So maybe there's a compromise there. Report everything, but make losses easier to report or move to only net profits.