Can UFC's Dana White Save the Poker Profession Against Gambling Tax Policy?

Jon Sofen

Senior Editor U.S.

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May 13, 2026 3 min read

New gambling tax laws in the United States have some professional poker players concerned about the future of their careers. But a celebrity with a close relationship to President Donald Trump is trying to fix the problem.

Dana White, the CEO and President of the UFC, wrote President Trump a letter asking the second-term Republican to make one small change to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA) that could impact a number of gamblers, including poker players.

Dana White to the Rescue?

White, a gambler known to bet thousands on blackjack hands in Las Vegas, wrote Trump to "raise an issue" the two have discussed in the past. That issue is the 90% tax limit Americans, starting this year, can report as gambling losses when they file 2026 taxes next April.

The UFC boss is asking the president to step in and reverse the new tax policy and allow professional gamblers to deduct all losses. It's unclear if White, who will host a UFC event on the White House lawn this summer, will have enough influence to pull it off. But the two are friends, so his request couldn't hurt.

https://twitter.com/DustinGouker/status/2054584887919903130 "I believe Congress should fix this issue as the policy is already creating problems. The current law makes it irrational to bet in the United States because you could end up owing taxes when you lose or having a tax bill that winnings for the year," White wrote.

White continued to explain that the policy won't only impact gambling taxpayers, and it could hurt those in the service industry who rely on tips. The UFC president wrote that "now that this 90 percent limitation exists gamblers are likely to be less generous if they even gamble at all."

The gambling tax policy was snuck into the OBBA, and even some Republican lawmakers didn't catch it before voting on the bill, Trump's signature tax overhaul. Trump signed the bill into law on July 4, 2025.

Professional gamblers in the U.S. can now only deduct 90% of losses. So, even if a gambler has a losing year, they'll still be on the hook for paying some taxes on those losses. This has led to some longtime tournament grinders such as Erik Seidel to scale back the volume of play.

Seidel, a 10-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner and Poker Hall of Famer, is one of many poker players who have spoken out against the gambling tax policy. White, who invites Trump to all UFC events, just might be the one person, given his love of gambling and President Trump, to eliminate the policy. Even Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a Trump ally and poker fan, has said he opposes taxing gambling losses.