Tennessee and Texas are alike in regards to gambling. I can answer you
from personal experience in this regard. Not reporting winnings to the
IRS is certainly tax evasion punishable by fines, interest, and jail
time. Internet gambling is taking the country by storm. The long arm
of the law is very lacking in manpower and funding to chase after
every breaker of the law, especially minor infractions. Unless you are
running your own booking service on line, or something to this
extreme, the law will not chase after you. It is like any freeway you
drive on. There are speeders everywhere, but johnny-law is only
concerned about the ones going more than 10 or so mph over the limit.
However; the IRS picks at random to check returns and audit. If you
are selected at random and then your new-found wealth was detected,
you could face hefty consiquences. Since most of the Internet sites
are set up in the little Islands off Miami, they won't be required to
notify anyone of your winnings. Most of the professional gamblers I
know here in Texas report some (not all) of their gambling earnings
(after-all how could you explain to the IRS how you lived without any
reportable income). |
