On Friday, Rep. Mike Rulli (R-OH) presented the Giving Alien Migrants Back through Lawful Excise Redistribution (GAMBLER) Act, which, if enacted, would allocate money obtained from the federal tax on sports betting to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

The Republican from Ohio presented the legislation on Friday, after several days of demonstrations in major US cities against ICE and just before numerous “No Kings” protests planned for Saturday nationwide. Rulli seemed energized by the events in Los Angeles, where demonstrations, some organized, intensified to the level that President Trump summoned Marines from the adjacent Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, referred to as 29 Palms.

"Working-class Americans are paying the price while blue states and sanctuary cities harbor millions of illegal aliens who wave foreign flags in our streets, vandalize property, and drain resources meant for our own citizens,” said the congressman in a statement. “Our neighborhoods are being overrun, our laws ignored, and our voices silenced by an out-of-touch elite that refuses to act. In any other country—or any other time in history—this would be called exactly what it is: an invasion. And the American people are done being ignored.”

The press release reveals that the GAMBLER Act has already received backing from NumbersUSA, an organization focused on immigration reform. 

Additional Information on the GAMBLER Act 

The federal excise tax on sports betting began with the Revenue Act of 1951, aimed at reducing illegal gambling run by organized crime. The initial rate was 10%, reduced to 2% in 1974, and then lowered again to 0.25% — the present rate — in 1982. 

Rulli’s GAMBLER Act aims to modify the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a Border Enforcement Trust Fund in the Treasury Department. That fund would oversee the $300 million generated each year for the federal government from sports wagering excise, instead of allocating that money to the Treasury’s general fund. The Border Enforcement Trust would subsequently allocate those funds to ICE. 

It’s undeniable that $300 million is a considerable sum, yet in the context of the US government, it’s minor. It accounts for a portion of the suggested 2025 budget of $11 billion for ICE, and according to certain projections, that budget could increase fourfold by 2028. Rulli states that his proposed law highlights responsibility and strengthening border protection. 

“This is about fairness, accountability, and restoring the rule of law,” he added. “The GAMBLER Act is a common-sense solution that gives ICE the tools it needs—without raising taxes—to take back control of our borders and protect the American people.”

GAMBLER Act Encounters Rivals 

The GAMBLER Act encounters rivalry in the House due to bipartisan backing for a bill that would eliminate the federal sports betting tax. The legislation, which has been suggested several times, was presented earlier this year by Nevada's Rep. Dina Titus (D) and Pennsylvania's Republican Rep. Guy Reschenthaler. 

It’s the fourth occasion these two representatives have proposed a bill to eliminate the handle tax. They are both part of the Congressional Gaming Caucus, which has not issued a public statement regarding the GAMBLER Act. 

Rulli is not a member of the gaming caucus, nor is any other individual from the Ohio congressional delegation.