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119-hr-10767119th CongressWALLET

Fair Play Enforcement Act

Sponsored By: Representative Smith, Adrian [R-NE-3]

Introduced

Summary

Creates an excise tax on colleges tied to athletic participation violations. This bill would tie a tax to an institution's gross athletic receipts and increase the rate for repeat offenses.

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  • Colleges and universities would owe a tax equal to a percentage of their gross athletic receipts when they allow covered individuals to play. The rate is 5 percent for 1 violation, 10 percent for 2 violations, and 20 percent for more than 2 violations counted across the current year plus the prior 5 taxable years.
  • "Specified individuals" include anyone who placed a wager on an intercollegiate event and anyone who previously appeared on a professional team's roster for a similar event. The bill exempts practice-only participation, being on a roster without playing, and court-ordered participation.
  • The Treasury Secretary would be able to issue regulations and treat related incidents as a single violation under an aggregation rule. The bill would add a new Subchapter I to Chapter 42 of the tax code and apply to taxable years ending after enactment.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

1 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.

Colleges face new sports tax

This bill would create a new excise tax on eligible colleges and universities that commit covered athletic participation violations. The tax would be charged on an institution’s gross athletic receipts for the year. The rate would be 5% for one violation, 10% for two, and 20% for more than two, counting violations in the taxable year and the prior five taxable years. A violation would occur when the school knowingly lets a "specified individual" actively compete — but practice-only participation, being on a roster without playing, and play ordered by a court would not count. A "specified individual" would include anyone who placed any wager on a college event or someone employed as a pro athlete and listed on a pro roster for a similar event. The Secretary could treat multiple wager-related incidents from the same facts as one violation. If enacted, the change would apply to taxable years ending after the law’s enactment date.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Smith, Adrian [R-NE-3]

NE • R

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Boyle, Brendan F. [D-PA-2]

    PA • D

    Sponsored 10/6/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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