Why It Matters

The Social Gaming Leadership Alliance has filed a new lobbying registration disclosure with Covenant Government Affairs LLC, signaling a fresh push into federal policy on gaming and gambling issues.

The registration, signed Monday, June 8, identifies gaming and gambling as the organization’s focus but does not specify any legislation or policy issues. The Social Gaming Leadership Alliance has no prior federal lobbying record, making this its first disclosed lobbying registration. It enters a gaming and gambling sector already crowded with policy debates, including gambling-loss tax treatment, prediction market regulation, and tribal gaming sovereignty.

Broader Context

The filing lists one lobbyist: Jeff Duncan, Founding Partner at Covenant Government Affairs LLC. No lobbying expenditure amount was reported in the registration, which is consistent with a new client registration filing under lobbying registration requirements.

There is no prior spending history available for the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance, as this is its first LDA filing on record.

Involving the gambling loss tax deduction, the Republican reconciliation package that passed earlier in 2025 included a provision capping the deduction for gambling losses at 90%, meaning gamblers could owe taxes on money they never kept. That provision triggered a bipartisan backlash, particularly from Nevada's delegation.

Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV-4) introduced the Facilitating Useful Loss Limitations to Help Our Unique Service Economy (FULL HOUSE)**** Act in January 2026 to restore the full deduction, calling the existing provision "a stacked deck" against Nevada's gaming community. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) have been vocal opponents of the provision since it passed.

Also involving prediction markets, platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket have drawn scrutiny from lawmakers who argue they function as illegal online sportsbooks operating outside state and tribal gaming authority. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), under Chairman Michael Selig, has faced bipartisan pressure to act.

Congressional Activity on Gaming

On the gambling loss deduction front:

  • Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV-1) filed a discharge petition in February 2026 to force a House floor vote on her Fair Accounting for Income Realized from Betting Earnings Taxation (FAIR BET) Act, which would restore the full 100% gambling loss deduction. The bill had been sitting in the Ways and Means Committee for eight months.
  • Sen. Rosen and Sen. Cortez Masto attempted to pass a bipartisan fix in July 2025 but were blocked on the Senate floor.
  • Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) flagged the provision's impact on Michigan's gaming industry.

On prediction markets:

  • Sen. Cortez Masto led 11 Senate colleagues in demanding answers from the CFTC in January 2026, then led 21 Democratic senators in urging the CFTC to reverse course in February 2026.
  • Sen. John R. Curtis (R-UT) joined the bipartisan Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act, arguing that "if it looks and talks like gambling, it is gambling."
  • Rep. Titus introduced the Fair Markets and Sports Integrity Act in February 2026 to prevent casino-style event contracts from bypassing state gaming laws.
  • Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM-2) pushed a Farm Bill amendment to ban prediction market sports betting, framing it as a tribal sovereignty issue.
  • The Senate Commerce Committee held a subcommittee hearing on sports betting and gaming integrity in May 2026. Polling cited at the hearing showed 81% of Americans consider prediction market sports betting to be gambling.
  • Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA-1) introduced the bipartisan Providing Opportunities for Individuals in Need of Treatment and Support (POINTS) Act in March 2026 to direct gambling excise tax revenue toward addiction treatment programs.

Competitive Landscape

Nevada's gaming industry and its congressional allies have been the most active voices in this space. Tribal gaming interests have also been engaged, particularly in the fight over the prediction markets. No specific lobbying filings from competing organizations on the same issue areas were identified in the available data.

The Bottom Line

The Social Gaming Leadership Alliance is entering federal lobbying at a moment when gaming policy is seeing more congressional attention than it has in years. The combination of a new tax burden on gambling losses and the unresolved question of how to regulate prediction markets has produced a busy legislative calendar.

Access the Legis1 platform for comprehensive political news, data, and insights.