When gambling at online casinos, there are a number of reasons why it´s important to keep records of the games you play, your wins and your losses.Each time you gamble, you should record the name of the casino, the web URL for its online location, the games played, and the total wins and losses at each game. Specifically record how much of your own money was placed on the line at each game as well, because if you want to look back over your gambling history, you will have a better idea of the collateral damage.
Gambling can be a fun and entertaining pastime, provided players are safe and responsible about their casino play time. Keeping written records are important steps to protect yourself from a potential gambling addiction, ensuring you get the most out of your gambling experience and making sure you have all of your ducks in a row when it comes time to file your income tax return. Take note of the following steps, and make sure that you keep a notebook by the computer every time you sit down to hit the Slots or Card Tables at your favorite online casino!
Reasons to keep records of your gambling history at online casino
You might wonder where your money has been going – an easy way to really see where your money is going and ensure that you’re sticking to your gambling budget is to write it down. When in the middle of an exciting casino game, you might not realize how many wagers you’re placing, until you’ve run out of money. By keeping these records you can look back at anytime to see where your money went during your online gambling experiences.
You want to maximize your winnings and play time – keeping track of the games that offered bigger payouts for smaller wagers and the number of times that you won or lost at each casino game can help you maximize your virtual casino experience. By looking back at your records, you may come to realize that each time you play virtual poker, you lose much more than you win; but that at the poker tables you maximize your play time by receiving payouts that you can continue to play with to extend your gambling budget. Keeping records can help enhance your gambling experience!
Declaring wins on taxes – depending on where you live and the region that the casino is licensed in, you are quite likely required to declare any winnings when filing your annual taxes. Any smaller winnings, less than 300 times the average wager can be declared as “Other Income” on tax forms and are subject to income tax. Larger winnings may require a separate form, and when gambling winnings exceed $5,000 taxes can be deducted immediately to be applied against any income taxes owing at the time of tax filing.
Declaring gambling losses on taxes – any non-professional gambler can actually declare their gambling loses on a separate section of their tax forms, but keeping in-depth gambling records as mentioned above are crucial and a requirement of the IRS (or appropriate agency in your country of residence). Should your taxes be audited and you have claimed gambling losses, you must have the name of the casino, the country/region they’re licensed in, the web URL, the games played and the wins and losses for each in order to prove your tax claims.
While keeping gambling records may seem like an unnecessary step, and take time away from the fun and excitement of playing at online casinos, the additional effort is well worth it, because it helps enhance your gambling experience and ensures that you remain a safe and responsible gambler.
