Professional gamblers living and working in the state of Nevada could now find themselves qualifying for unemployment due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Normally, gamblers do not qualify for unemployment as they are self employed and make their money independently not under a employer, business, or company. However, given the current pandemic where statewide casinos have been shutdown and professional gamblers are not able to physically earn their income, a new special circumstance arises for these professional gamblers. Thanks to the CARES Act, these professional gamblers being self employed may qualify as being considered "independent contractors". One part of the CARES Act bill, extends a hand to self employed individuals and could give these gamblers (out of work) the cash flow they need right now to pay their bills.
Gamblers use the money they earn to pay their taxes so they are contributing to the state just like any other working individual. According to Market Watch, one issue that these professional gamblers might run into is that under the CARES Act, it pertains to people who are not able to telework from home. One argument is that there is online poker and some say that could be considered telework from home therefore giving professional gamblers the opportunity to work from home...there is no way of finding out if they qualify unless one tries but economists and experts say these professional gamblers have a good shot at receiving unemployment if the bulk of their "income" is being missed out on due to the coronavirus pandemic.
-Producer Lightning