u/Critical-Drawing395

Hi everyone, I'm recovering from a pretty brutal gambling addiction (all on apps, never have been to a casino, but just as tough for recovery since the online apps are everywhere). I've found SMART recovery meetings to be so helpful for me; currently at almost 100 days of not betting. One thing I am working on though (and I mentioned this in another comment too) is trying to adjust to when GA alums or members join SMART meetings and introduce themselves as "I'm a compulsive gambler" (I don't intro myself like that) and talk about 12-step-type tendencies that have helped them. Does anyone else dealing with gambling problems (or any addiction tbh) feel thrown off by 12-step culture and phrases like "I'm a compulsive this-or-that?" I completely support the individuals in their recovery process and want them to make the choices that work for them; I just sometimes feel a little thrown off by recovery culture in general and am unsure if I'm using the right lingo at meetings (or what the right lingo is for people new to recovery). Sorry if this is a dumb question...

We'll see if this post gets allowed, but I'm going to try anyway.

After sports betting was legalized in my state a few years ago, I fell into a vicious sports betting addiction (yes, entirely my fault) that I didn't know I had to pay taxes on because I was a net loser each year and DraftKings and FanDuel told me each year I had no tax documents. But the IRS and your state tax authorities don't care that DK and FD are being so shady documents-wise. If you take the standard deduction each year when paying federal and state taxes, you must pay taxes on your "winnings" even if they were canceled out by your losses that year (which was my case each year), and you cannot deduct your losses unless you itemize (which most people don't do or even know how to do). Even if you DO itemize, many states do not allow you to deduct your sports betting losses anyway for state taxes (brutal). And since 2026 began, Trump and the GOP decided that people who itemize their taxes are no longer allowed to deduct all their sports betting/gambling losses -- that deduction is limited to 90%, so even if you itemize, you're paying taxes federally on income you never had.

STOP BETTING ON SPORTS.

I've posted this in other Reddit venues on taxes and sports betting because it's genuinely unsettling that sportsbooks have spent years NOT telling bettors what their taxes are. 99% of DraftKings and other sports bettors have not been reporting properly since the Supreme Court and various states legalized sports betting. This issue has remained unresolved because W-2Gs rarely get issued so DraftKings users who lose money just report nothing without hearing a thing. This is about to change. North Carolina is requiring sportsbooks to provide the entire wagering history of registered players so they can generate computer mismatches and send assessments (mostly to net losing players). Other states and the IRS are likely to follow suit. If you've never declared "winnings" on your tax forms in previous years because you were a net loser for the year, this is going to be a huge hit to your finances. Shame on DraftKings for not warning users.

https://preview.redd.it/4gd938h6rfbh1.jpg?width=739&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a5433dbf8c6621a58ad5fc19526355981d93061a

Got an email from a friend of mine that is in my contacts; it was the stupid fake-email-invite scam. I was distracted, though, and absentmindedly clicked the "View the Card" link in the pic above, then half a second later after it opened into a tab on my Firefox browser, panicked as I realized it must be a scam and closed the tab. I didn't see what appeared in the tab since I closed it so fast, and so I didn't enter any of my info into anything on the page; I don't see anything downloaded on my Mac (am currently running my Sophos antivirus program just in case). Not sure what else to do...all help appreciated!

Just caught up on some of the coverage of Swift's wedding, as well as some of the unrelenting hatred and mockery of Lively for not being there (barring some shocking revelation that she was and it just hadn't been reported). I supported Baldoni for a while last year, then switched sides this year after seeing a bunch of the depositions/texts/learning about Melissa Nathan's and Jed Wallace's other clients. And I felt like I had a bit of a wake-up call in feeling like "JFC this hatred towards Blake is INSANE. It's so over the top. The Reddit hate pages are psychotic. What is happening?"

Most of all, Swift ditching Lively during the worst time in Blake's life feels incredibly petty and shallow to me. And it's bizarre if Baldoni supporters give Taylor a pass if they're going to be so harsh on Blake. If you believe the text messages from the lawsuit exposed Taylor as a mean girl and a liar, but you're celebrating her not inviting Blake to the wedding...why are you giving Taylor a pass for deserting her friend?

NC lawmakers this week passed a tax bill that further penalizes sports bettors who have gross winnings of $2K from any single mobile app. NC bettors are already not allowed to deduct losses at all from winnings on state tax return (!) & are already capped at deducting 90% of losses on the federal return.

With this precedent-setting provision, the Secretary of State can request win-loss reports from mobile operators & determine whether taxpayers are accurately reporting.

Most losing bettors (which is 95% of all sports bettors) don't bother reporting winnings because they either don't know they're supposed because they're net losers, or they are confused by what to report since they lost money overall, so people generally roll their eyes on these issues. But now the North Carolina tax authorities will know that you were supposed to report & even worse, it starts with last year.

Links:

https://x.com/fairplaygov/status/2069854891305242900

https://x.com/bachandler27/status/2069553927083696546

I have a nearly 14-year-old boxer and am exhausted all the time. I haven't slept past 5 a.m. or vacationed in two years. I love him to pieces and am trying to focus on every minute I might have left with him, and I treat him like a prince, but I also constantly feel like I am failing him because old dogs have such painful issues. If anyone else feels like this with their senior dog, just sending hugs because you aren't alone. I wish I wasn't constantly feeling like I could be doing more for him.

Amid all the discussion this week about Ryan Reynolds' appearance on Colbert, and how Colbert may have included Ryan because Ryan helped raise money for writers during the WGA strike, just want to call attention to Justin Baldoni actually saying during his deposition last year that he "would have no problem being called a scab."

Baldoni supporters: you're actually going to defend him saying he doesn't mind crossing picket lines and hurting workers? Way to support labor rights! How can anyone in Hollywood, especially writers, be on Baldoni's side given these actual words?

This is an update to a previous post/question I'd asked this page about whether U.S. gamblers (especially sports bettors) are paying taxes on both the wager AND the profit of their bet. TurboTax today on their Instagram says YES, you are paying taxes on both the wager AND the profit (contrary to what I've seen on tax forums on Reddit). Here's their full response:

"You can't subtract the cost of gambling from your winnings. For example, if you win $620 from a horse race but it costs you $20 to bet, your taxable winnings are $620, not $600 after subtracting your $20 wager. You are not permitted to "net" your winnings and losses. So, in your example, when you bid $100 but win $50, the $150 is your taxable amount, because when you are bidding, you are forfeiting that amount in hopes of winning."

This is going to be a huge shock for many people, given the current state of sports betting/gambling in the U.S. and how widespread it is.