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free bet taxed?

Used one of those free bet promos last weekend, hit a nice parlay for a decent chunk. Now I'm wondering how the tax thing works with these. Is it just the winnings you have to worry about, or do you count the full payout including the free bet amount? Stuff seems kind of gray if you're mixing in bonuses and promos, and I don't want to trip up during tax season just for trying to get a little extra edge.

Never had an issue with casino promos since those losses mostly even out, but sports betting with free bets feels trickier. Would love to hear how others handle this, especially if you've dealt with similar payouts recently.

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842••2 replies

“little extra edge” off a promo parlay?! That’s not edge, that’s book marketing with better PR lol

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3,445•

Promo parlays are clown bait.

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999•

Promo parlays got me betting legs i would never touch with cash. I did that once after a blackjack session, turned a clean night into a mess chasing the “free” part.

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5,539•

What bites people isn’t the bet, it’s the year-end paperwork. I had one book lump a $500 promo hit in with cash wagers and the total was off 14%. Same lazy mess as roulette bonus chips, REALLY 😐

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564•

Main thing people miss: on most free bets the stake is not returned, so there usually is no “full payout including stake” to count. The taxable number is the cash that actually settled to you. I log what hit the account, period. Same way I track poker promos: what posted matters, not the fake face value!!!

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2,852•

Honestly I screwed this up once sooo now I treat the free bet stake like it was never my money and only care about the actual win. Same vibe as Roulette freebies to me, house credit ain’t cash, tax man wants the hit lolll

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