As of today the Internal Revenue Service will require all casinos to report any winnings of $5,000 or more from poker tournaments. Players winning that amount will be handed a tax that must be filled out before they collect their prize money.

By law players are supposed to claim any gambling wins on their taxes whether it's from tournaments, slot machines or table games. Casinos are required to report slot wins over $1,200 but in the past it was up to the players to report winnings from poker tournaments. A large number of poker players were not reporting their winnings so the new law will force the casinos to report it. This law is actually a compromise from an original IRS proposal that would have made casinos withhold 25 percent of tournament winnings for tax purposes.