Recently the IRS has put out two memos that are of special interest to gamblers. 

The first you can read at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/am2008011.pdf. This seems to legitimize what Marissa and I discussed in our book Tax Help for Gamblers about using the session method in reporting gambling wins and losses. 

This memo does include an admonition: “This advice may not be used or cited as precedent.”   However, Marissa says it can still be used when dealing with the IRS at the administrative levels. 

The second memo is at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/am2008013.pdf. 

On this one Marissa has these comments: “As the memo points out, there have been two divergent tracks of court cases pertaining to whether a professional gambler can deduct expenses in excess of gambling wins. (In our book we cite the Praytor case that does not allow expenses in excess of gambling wins.) I think eventually we will see a court case, maybe even at the Supreme Court level, which will try to resolve the differences between these cases.

”For right now, it's a use-at-your-own-peril concept since this memo is just the opinion of one researcher at the IRS. And as with the first memo it says, 'This advice may not be used or cited as precedent.'"

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