Casino win/loss statements, explained
Every casino with a players club will give you a win/loss statement for the year. It is worth having and not worth trusting on its own. Here is how it is built, how to request it, and how to use it with your own records.
Published 2026-10-27 · Updated 2026-11-04
Not tax advice. This page explains the rules in plain language so you know what records to keep. Tax law changes and your situation is specific to you. Talk to a CPA or enrolled agent before you file.
What a win/loss statement is
A win/loss statement is a casino's summary of your gambling activity for a calendar year, usually broken out by game type: slots, table games, sometimes poker and sports. It is produced from your players club account, so it covers only play the casino rated: slot play with your card inserted, and table play where the pit opened a rating on you. Most casinos make it available in January for the prior year, through the players club desk or your online account.
How casinos calculate it
Slots are precise: the machine reports coin-in and coin-out for the card in the reader. Table games are not. A floor supervisor estimates your average bet, your time played and the house edge of the game, and the system derives a theoretical loss and an estimated actual result from buy-ins and the chips you walked away with. Average bets get rounded, breaks get missed, and a colour-up at a different table may or may not get tied to you. The number on the statement is a reasonable estimate of rated play. It is not an accounting of what happened to your money.
What it misses
- Unrated play. Any session without your card, or where the pit never opened a rating, does not exist as far as the statement is concerned.
- Other casinos. One statement per company. A Vegas trip across three operators means three statements, and nothing from the locals joint that does not issue them.
- Table accuracy. Estimated average bets and durations make table results approximate by design.
- Cash out timing. Chips taken home and cashed next month land in the wrong period or nowhere.
- The disclaimer. Almost every statement says, in some form, that the casino does not warrant its accuracy and that it is not a substitute for your own records. The casino is telling you the same thing the IRS does.
How to request yours
- Large operators. MGM Rewards and Caesars Rewards show win/loss statements in your online account under tax documents, typically from late January. Download the PDF.
- Regional and tribal casinos. Ask at the players club desk; many have a form, and some require a notarised request or ID. Allow a few weeks.
- Every casino where you used a card. One per operator, per year. Make the list from your own log so you do not forget the one-night stops.
- Keep the W-2Gs separately. A win/loss statement is not a W-2G and does not replace one.
What the IRS makes of it
The IRS asks for a contemporaneous diary with the date and type of wager, the establishment, the people present and the amounts won or lost, plus supporting documents. A win/loss statement is squarely a supporting document. It corroborates a diary; it does not substitute for one. Taxpayers who have arrived at the Tax Court with a statement and no diary have generally lost the deduction, because an estimate of rated play does not establish the amount actually lost. The combination is what works: your log says what happened, the statement shows the casino saw roughly the same thing.
Reconciling it with your log
- Export your sessions from the app as a CSV and filter to the casino and year.
- Total your sessions there. Compare with the statement's table games line.
- Expect the statement to be lower in absolute terms if you had unrated play, and noisier on tables than on slots.
- Note the differences and why, in a sentence each. Keep that note with the statement.
- Repeat for each casino. Your log is the master; the statements are the audit trail.
Blackjack Logger, a free app for iPhone and Android, keeps the master record for you: every session with a casino, date, time and result, and a one-tap CSV export. How the gambling log works for taxes, and how to prove gambling losses.
Log the session the night you play. Request the statement in January. Reconcile in February.
Free on iPhone and Android. No ads, no subscription.
Sources
- IRS, Topic No. 419, Gambling income and losses
- IRS, Publication 529 (diary and supporting records)
- MGM Resorts, Win/Loss statements
FAQ
Is a casino win/loss statement accurate?
Slot figures are precise for carded play. Table figures are estimates based on a floor supervisor's rating of your average bet and time, and the statement usually carries a disclaimer saying so. Treat it as an estimate of rated play, not a ledger.
Can I use a win/loss statement for my taxes?
As supporting evidence, yes. The IRS asks for your own contemporaneous diary first, with statements, W-2Gs and bank records backing it up. A statement alone has not held up well in Tax Court.
When are win/loss statements available?
Most large operators post them to your online rewards account in late January for the prior year. Smaller casinos may take a few weeks after a written request.
Does a win/loss statement include unrated play?
No. Only play tracked to your players club card, or rated by the pit, appears. Sessions without a card are invisible to it.
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