Do I need to report my gains from social casinos if they're under a certain amount?

These social casino games are in a bit of a gray area, but the IRS generally considers all gambling winnings as taxable income regardless of amount. That $600 threshold you mentioned is actually just when the casino is required to send you a W-2G form, not when you're required to report it. Technically speaking, you should report all gambling winnings on your tax return as "Other Income" on Schedule 1, even if you didn't receive any tax forms. The IRS expects you to report all income, even if it's just a few dollars. That said, many people don't report small winnings if they didn't receive documentation. Just be aware that if you were to be audited, you'd be expected to have reported all income, including these social casino winnings.

I went through this exact same situation last year! After hours of research and calling the IRS (which was useless btw), I found an amazing service called https://taxr.ai that actually specializes in these weird tax situations. You upload screenshots of your winnings and they tell you exactly what to report and how. For social casinos specifically, they explained that these are considered sweepstakes winnings, not gambling exactly, but they're still taxable. They helped me figure out which ones I needed to report and which documentation to keep. Super helpful since the rules around these games are confusing as hell.

Just wanted to update that I tried taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here. Honestly wasn't expecting much, but they cleared up my confusion immediately. Turns out my social casino winnings are considered "sweepstakes winnings" and technically taxable at any amount. BUT - and this is what the IRS phone rep never told me - they also explained that if the platforms don't issue a 1099-MISC (which they typically don't for under $600), many tax professionals consider it reasonable to offset small winnings with the cost of playing. For my situation with about $400 in winnings but also money spent playing, they suggested keeping records but explained why many accountants wouldn't list it separately. Super helpful and saved me a bunch of stress!

As someone who's spent HOURS trying to get through to the IRS about a similar question (but for fantasy sports winnings), I finally discovered https://claimyr.com which literally changed my life. You can watch how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c Instead of waiting on hold for 3+ hours, they have some system that holds your place in line and calls you when an IRS agent is actually ready. I got an official answer about reporting thresholds for my situation in under 30 minutes instead of wasting my entire day. The IRS agent confirmed that ALL gambling and sweepstakes winnings are technically taxable, but they also told me about the proper forms to use for different types of online gaming platforms. Totally worth it for the peace of mind.

I was super skeptical about that Claimyr thing mentioned above (still thought it sounded like a scam), but I was desperate after trying to reach the IRS for 3 days straight about my social casino winnings question. I'm actually shocked to report IT WORKED. I got a call back in about 45 minutes and spoke directly to an IRS representative. They confirmed that technically all gambling/sweepstakes winnings are taxable income regardless of amount, but they also told me that for social casino games specifically, they look at whether you received a 1099 form. The agent explained that while legally all income is taxable, they typically don't pursue issues for small amounts without documentation unless there's an audit for other reasons. Not saying don't report it, but this gave me some peace of mind about my situation.

Guys I think we're overcomplicating this. I've been playing these social casino games for years and never reported anything under $1000. The IRS has bigger fish to fry than chasing people down for a couple hundred bucks from Chumba Casino lol.

Does anyone know if these social casinos themselves report our winnings to the IRS? Like if I won $500 but they never sent me a form, does that mean they didn't report it either?

I actually had a very similar situation and ended up consulting with a tax professional about it. The key thing to understand is that social casino winnings are technically considered "other income" and should be reported on Form 1040, Schedule 1, regardless of the amount. However, the practical reality is more nuanced. If you spent money playing these games (buying coin packages, etc.), you can potentially offset some of your winnings with those expenses, though you'd need to keep good records. The $600 threshold people mention is just when the platform is required to send you tax documents - it doesn't change your obligation to report. For $850 in winnings, I'd personally recommend reporting it to stay compliant, especially since you're asking the question (shows good faith). You can list it as "Social casino/sweepstakes winnings" under other income. If you have records of money spent playing, keep those in case you ever need to justify your reporting. Better to be overly cautious with the IRS than risk issues down the road, even for smaller amounts.

I've been dealing with this exact same issue and wanted to share what I learned after doing a deep dive into the tax code. The confusion around social casinos comes from the fact that they operate differently than traditional gambling. Technically, these are "sweepstakes" winnings since you're not directly gambling with cash - you're playing with virtual currencies that can be converted to cash prizes. The IRS treats sweepstakes winnings the same as gambling winnings though - all taxable as "other income" regardless of amount. Here's what I found helpful: keep a simple spreadsheet tracking your total winnings AND any money you spent on coin purchases. While you report the full winnings amount, having records of your "investment" in playing can be useful context if questions ever arise. For your $850, I'd recommend reporting it on Schedule 1 as "Sweepstakes winnings from social casino apps" just to be completely above board. It's a relatively small amount that won't significantly impact your tax liability, but it shows good faith compliance with tax law. The peace of mind is worth more than any hassle of adding one extra line to your tax return!

I'm dealing with a very similar situation and wanted to share what I learned after consulting with a CPA who specializes in digital income. The key distinction here is that social casino winnings fall under IRC Section 74 as "prizes and awards" rather than traditional gambling winnings under Section 165. This means they're taxable as ordinary income at fair market value when received, regardless of whether you get a 1099. For your $850, you should report it on Form 1040, Schedule 1, Line 8b as "Other Income" with a description like "Social casino sweepstakes winnings." The good news is that unlike traditional gambling, you can potentially deduct the cost basis of any purchased coins/tokens as an ordinary business expense if you kept detailed records. One important note: if you're planning to continue playing these games regularly, consider whether this might constitute a "business activity" for tax purposes, which could open up additional deduction opportunities but also requires more detailed record-keeping. The $600 reporting threshold only applies to the platform's obligation to send you tax forms - your obligation to report income exists regardless of amount. Better to report it properly now than deal with potential issues later if the IRS ever cross-references platform data.