Posts tagged as:

betting

A Fantastic Super Bowl Sunday? You Can Bet On it.

February 1, 2009 · 7 comments

There are a few things that we know for sure about today’s Super Bowl game:

  1. This year, no Manning will win the Super Bowl (thank goodness).
  2. The two quarterbacks who are playing in the big game (Warner and Roethlisberger) have not been particularly stellar throughout the regular season. Trust me. They were my fantasy football quarterbacks this year.
  3. The Super Bowl will be televised in 230 countries in 34 languages.
  4. Beer commercials will be plentiful – but not as much as last year. PepsiCo. dethroned Anheuser-Busch/InBev this year to top all advertisers this year in paid Super Bowl ad spots.
  5. Defense, defense, defense. The key to the game will be whether the Steelers could do what the Eagles could not (insert sobs here) and stop the Cardinals’ run.
  6. A lot of people will bet on the big game. A lot. Last year, legal bets alone on the Super Bowl totaled nearly $100 million with billions more made offshore, online and in office pools. This year, with illegal bets added in to the mix, analysts predict that nearly $10 billion will be wagered on today’s game, an increase of about $2 billion.

Yep, betting on the big game is all the rage. Experts predict that nearly half of all American adults will make some sort of wager on the big game. Apparently, a poor economy might make you rethink that authentic NFL jersey but not discourage you from throwing a few bucks in a betting pool.

If you win, you’ll need to pay up to Uncle Sam, regardless of whether the winnings were from legal sources. Gambling winnings, legally gained or not, are fully taxable and must be reported on your tax return. Winnings include proceeds from lotteries, raffles, horse races, casinos, cash winnings as well as the fair market value of prizes such as trips and cars.

And if you lose? Well, all is not totally lost. You can deduct gambling losses if you itemize deductions on your tax return on a Schedule A, though the amount of losses cannot be more than the amount of gambling income that you reported on your return.

Win or lose, it’s sure to be an exciting game. Who’d have figured a Steelers versus Cardinals finale? Even odds makers in Vegas have to be shaking their heads at this one.

Despite the crazy season, one of these unexpected teams will become the Super Bowl champions. So, what is the official line on the Super Bowl? The Steelers are the favorites to win by 6 points.

Go Steelers!

{ 7 comments }

It Really IS Whether You Win or Lose – and Not Just How You Play the Game

February 1, 2008 · 0 comments

When it comes to Super Bowl, folks think chili, beer and commercials. They also think gambling. It’s one of those games that inspires a lot of big money, sure, but also enormous numbers of side bets and the ubiquitous office pools.

What does gambling have to do with tax? Plenty. Gambling winnings, no matter whether the source of your winnings are legal, are fully taxable and must be reported on your tax return. Winnings include proceeds from lotteries, raffles, horse races, casinos, cash winnings (just ask Richard Hatch) and the fair market value of prizes such as trips and cars (remember Oprah’s infamous Pontiac giveaway tax flap?).

And if you lose? Well, hopefully you won something along the way. You can only deduct gambling losses if you itemize deductions on your tax return on a Schedule A and the amount of losses cannot be more than the amount of gambling income that you reported on your return. To prove this, it’s important to keep accurate records of your gambling winnings and losses. If you have legal winnings, the form that is used to report winnings and losses of varying amounts (depending on the kind of game) to the IRS is a form W2-G.

So, all of this doesn’t apply to you, right? I’m *betting* that it does. Experts estimate that over $10 billion (yes with a “b”) will be wagered on Super Bowl XLII – and over 50% of all adult Americans will participate.

All of that said, what is the official line on the Super Bowl? The Patriots are the favorites to win by 12 points.

I did a little informal poll on the Business Channel. Here’s what a few of my bloggers think:

Kelly (that’s me): Patriots 35, Giants 28
Phil at slackermanager.com: Patriots 42, Giants 20
Chris at doingbizabroad.com: Patriots 31, Giants 28
Thursday at onevotematters.com: Patriots 42-48, Giants 28-34 (the original spreadsheet had 6 point blocks)

Rico at contract-worker.com (who doesn’t even follow “American football” but graciously participated anyway) has chosen Eli Manning as his MVP pick.

Check back on Monday!

{ 0 comments }