<<Not everyone who gambles is required to report gambling activity on their return. The IRS only wants to know about WINNINGS.>>
Sorry, but this is very dangerous misinformation. From "Tax Help for Gamblers":
"Many people think they understand the gambling-income concept. "Hey, I'd be glad to report income for a year in which I actually won money gambling, but that hasn't happened yet." What they don't understand is that the IRS is not talking about one net win-or-loss figure at the end of the tax year, but win/loss figures for individual gambling sessions. They say: You cannot net out your gambling for the year. You must add up all the winning sessions and all the losing sessions separately. To emphasize this, the IRS puts this, in plain non-technical easy-to-understand language, in the instructions that come with your tax forms: You cannot reduce your gambling winnings by your gambling losses and report the difference."
True, most casual gamblers do not report their gambling action. But if you ever get even one W-2G, you appear on the IRS radar - and will have to start reporting your gambling action. This can cause the uninformed a lot of grief - that is why I wrote the tax book, to help you know the facts and how to navigate those rough IRS waters!!!!
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Jean $¢ott, Frugal Gambler
http://queenofcomps.com/
You can read my blog at
http://jscott.lvablog.com/
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