What should a tax firm collect from a gambling client at intake?

By the W2gMatch team · Sources checked 09-06-2026 · General information, not tax advice.

A gambling client intake needs three things before the return starts: every operator the client used in the year, every information return the IRS holds for them, and the client's own log. This checklist covers the questions to ask, the documents to request from each operator, and the records to keep so the loss deduction survives review.

Questions to ask before anything is uploaded

  1. Every sportsbook, casino, poker site, daily fantasy app, prediction market, lottery and racetrack used this year, including ones closed, barely used or lost at.
  2. Every state the client placed bets in or visited a casino in.
  3. Whether the client kept a log or diary, and in what form (app, spreadsheet, notebook).
  4. Whether any single win produced a hand-pay, a W-2G, or withholding.
  5. Whether the client received any IRS notice about a prior year.
  6. Whether the client files as a casual or a professional gambler, and why.
  7. Which accounts were funded from which bank or card, and whether any payment platform (PayPal, Venmo) sat in between.

The first question is the one that matters. The IRS standard for losses is a diary supported by records from the establishments the client played at, [1] [2] and a losing account left off the list is a deduction left off the return.

Documents to request

  • Form W-2G, every one, from every operator, including any the client says they never received.
  • Form 1099-MISC from each daily fantasy or pick'em product; any 1099-K from a payment platform; any 1099-INT, 1099-B or 1099-DA from a prediction market.
  • The annual win/loss statement from every operator, requested for the full calendar year.
  • The wager-by-wager history export from every online book and app.
  • The client's session log or diary, or the records to reconstruct one.
  • Bank and card statements covering deposits to and withdrawals from each operator, casino ATM withdrawals and casino credit.
  • The IRS Wage and Income transcript for the year, pulled by the firm.
  • Any state withholding statements or W-2G copies filed with a state.

Each operator has its own route to a statement: a download in the app's tax section, a request form, an email to the players club, or a signed and mailed request. Several operators say forms are available by January 31. [3] Start the requests at intake; the mailed ones take weeks.

What the firm does with the file

  1. Pull the Wage and Income transcript and list every payer on it against the client's operator list.
  2. Reconcile each operator's forms, statement and history, and record the reconciling items.
  3. Derive gross winnings and gross losses per operator, with the session method where the play supports it.
  4. Apply the limits: itemizing, the cap at winnings, and for tax years from 2026 the 90% figure. [4]
  5. Keep the workpaper with the return, with a trail from each figure to its document.

For the client to keep going forward

A session log started now, and statements requested every January from every operator used. The second year is far easier than the first.

Gambling client intake, in order

  1. List every operator. Sportsbooks, casinos, poker, fantasy, prediction markets, lottery, racing. Closed and losing accounts included.
  2. Pull the transcript. The Wage and Income transcript lists every W-2G and 1099 the IRS holds; compare its payers to the operator list.
  3. Request statements and histories. Annual win/loss statement and wager-by-wager history from each operator; start mailed requests immediately.
  4. Collect the log and the bank records. The client's diary, or the material to reconstruct one, plus statements showing money to and from each operator.
  5. Reconcile and derive. Per operator: tie forms to the history, derive gross winnings and losses, list reconciling items.
  6. Apply the limits. Itemizing, the cap at winnings, and the 90% figure for tax years beginning in 2026.

Give the client one link instead of the list

W2gMatch sends the client a drop link and a request for each operator's statement, reads everything that arrives, and hands the firm the reconciled workpaper.

See the platformThe session log for clients

Sources

  1. IRS Tax Topic 419, Gambling income and losses, page last reviewed June 11, 2026
  2. IRS Publication 529, Miscellaneous Deductions, Gambling losses up to the amount of gambling winnings, Rev. December 2020
  3. Monaco CPA, NJ sportsbook tax forms: DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM, updated September 3, 2026 (secondary source)
  4. 26 U.S.C. § 165(d), Wagering losses, as amended by Pub. L. 119-21 § 70114 (Legal Information Institute), amendment effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025

Related

This page is general information about how U.S. federal and state tax rules apply to gambling, written to be checked against the sources it cites. It is not tax advice for your situation. A licensed CPA or enrolled agent should review your return before it is filed.