Don�t Forget to Report Your Super Bowl Winnings

February 8, 2009

Many people won�t think of reporting any wins that they get from any kind of personal betting situation, including the Super Bowl, but the Internal Revenue Service wants people to realize that they are supposed to. They know that the Super Bowl is one of the biggest betting days in the country during the year, and they want to make sure that they get their piece of the pie.

A few years ago there were estimates taken regarding how much money was bet on the Super Bowl and they said that it was assuredly somewhere around $8 billion. Now, this includes those bets that are made at online gambling sites, sports booking sites, office pools, informal bets and in Nevada. Of this amount, they say that only 1% was made legally through Nevada and even less than this was reported.

No matter where you have made your bet though, you are required to report it according to the IRS. Some say that if their online gambling site or local casino is not going to report the wins why should they, but the government wants you to understand that it is your legal obligation to do so. They are aware that there are those people out there that won�t, but if they catch you, you will pay a penalty that could be quite substantial.

Some don�t realize that online gambling winnings are taxable. They say that paying taxes on online gambling winnings would be like paying taxes on alcohol during prohibition.
 

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