Professional Gamblers May Be Eligible for Unemployment Payments

As the Coronavirus pandemic rages on and keeps Americans shuttered in their homes, the range of people being adversely affected economically is reaching every profession. That includes the professional gambling profession.

Yes, professional gambling is a viable form of employment. It is estimated that 1% of all the people who gamble regularly consider themselves to be professional gamblers. Some of these people gambler parttime while others can do it on a fulltime basis.

Remember, income that is derived from gambling activities online or in land-based gambling establishments is subject to federal and state income taxes, though some states do not require residents to pay state taxes on any income. If someone is tracking all of their gambling revenue to be offset by expenses and losses, they can indeed classify themselves as self-employed professional gamblers. Note: Any write-off of gambling losses is restricted to an amount equal to or less than stated gambling revenue.

While land-based casinos all over American are in shutdown mode, online casinos and online sportsbooks in states where such activities are legal continue operating. Still, if any gambler is unable to reasonably ply their trade as a professional gambler, they may be able to apply for unemployment in some states. At this time, all indications are Nevada might be one such state. It's also noteworthy that anyone who has reported gambling income over the last two years might be eligible for the federal government's $1,200 stimulus program.

At-risk right now are three types of gamblers: poker players, horse racing bettors and sports gamblers. For certain, sports gamblers are getting the brunt of the coronavirus shutdown as sports leagues and events all over the world have been postponed or canceled until further notice.

Where things might get a little confusing is when gamblers have access to online forms of gambling but decide to file for unemployment instead of taking part in online gambling activities. At that point, it would be incumbent on the unemployment applicant to provide substantial proof that gambling online is not viable for them based on certain circumstances. This will surely get challenged in cases where the applicant will be laying claim to being a "live-action" poker player who does not have adequate access to online poker websites.

As was stated by Professional poker player Chris Konvalinka (in a newspaper interview): “I’m going to give it a shot.” Adding “It seems like a freeroll to me. Worst case, they say no.”