What's different here
- Form W-2G, not 1099. Gambling winnings are reported on W-2G when they reach the threshold for the game: for 2026, $2,000 from a slot machine or bingo game (raised from $1,200 by Pub. L. 119-21 for payments after 2025, indexed from 2027); $1,500 from keno (net of the wager); $5,000 from a poker tournament (net of the buy-in); and $600 or more for other wagers if the payout is at least 300 times the wager. Check the current Form W-2G instructions each year.
- Two withholding rules. Regular gambling withholding at 24% applies to winnings over $5,000 from sweepstakes, wagering pools, lotteries and other wagers at 300-to-1, regardless of TIN. Backup withholding at 24% applies to reportable winnings (including slots, bingo and keno, which are otherwise exempt from regular withholding) when the winner does not furnish a TIN. The two never stack; one or the other applies.
- TIN collection at the point of payout. The W-2G is prepared before the money is handed over, so the cage needs the winner's name, address and TIN on the spot; Form W-9 or the W-2G itself serves as the certification. A winner who refuses a TIN is paid net of 24% backup withholding and the W-2G shows it.
- Identity overlaps with Title 31. Casinos already collect and verify identity for currency-transaction and suspicious-activity reporting under the Bank Secrecy Act; the TIN captured for the W-2G should be the same record, verified the same way, and screened against OFAC like any other customer.
- Prizes and promotions (drawings, tournaments with non-cash prizes, comps to non-employees) fall under 1099-MISC box 3 rules, not W-2G, and use the ordinary thresholds.
- Foreign winners are subject to 30% chapter 3 withholding on U.S.-source gambling winnings (with treaty exceptions for some countries and an exemption for certain table games), reported on 1042-S, not W-2G.
Controls on the floor and in the back office
- Verify the name/TIN pair from the cage against IRS records the same day, before the W-2G file is built; a mismatch is far easier to fix while the player is still a customer.
- Track backup withholding by patron in the casino management system, deposit it with regular gambling withholding, and reconcile on Form 945.
- Use the same identity record for Title 31, OFAC screening and W-2G reporting; three separate captures of the same person produce three sets of mismatches.
- Sweep unmatched W-2G records before the January filing and solicit corrected TINs; the CP2100 for W-2Gs works exactly like the one for 1099s.