Nevada Gaming Tax at 6.75% Faces Political Challenge in Governor Race

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alexis Hill has put forward a proposal to raise Nevada’s 6.75% gaming tax rate, which she describes as the lowest in the country. No specific new rate has been named. Hill told The Nevada Independent she would bring gaming companies into discussions before any change.

Nevada’s gaming tax has held at 6.75% since 2003, when it rose by half a percentage point. Hill argues the current structure benefits large corporations and billionaires while ordinary residents face higher costs. In a conversation with News 4 Reno, she said residents feel “nickel-and-dimed every time you do anything,” while those with capacity to pay more benefit from low rates.

A Broader Tax Reform Platform

The gaming tax proposal sits within a wider package of fiscal changes. Hill wants to raise rates on corporate homeowners, introduce a capital-gains excise tax for corporations, and direct new taxes on commercial electric vehicles toward road improvements. Her broader argument is that Nevada has relied too heavily on gaming and hospitality, and that the state needs a more diversified economic base.

At the same time, she wants smaller Nevada businesses to access the same tax exemptions available to large corporations. Her plan includes a pause on all corporate tax abatements, with Hill on record as skeptical about whether those subsidies produce enough jobs to justify the cost to the state.

An Uphill Race

Hill trails Ford in polling, endorsements, and fundraising. Polymarket gives her a 0.4% chance of a Democratic primary win. Ford, who has served two terms as Attorney General, is better positioned in the race, though he has recently been the subject of an ethics investigation.

Her gaming tax proposal may not advance her campaign, but it could reopen a debate the state has avoided for over two decades.

💡TGJ Take

Hill is unlikely to reshape Nevada gaming tax policy unless her campaign gains real traction, but operators should not dismiss the proposal. The core risk is not her current polling position. It is the possibility that Nevada’s low gaming tax rate becomes a mainstream political target in a cost-of-living election cycle. For casino operators, that turns tax defence from a background lobbying issue into a public-faced messaging challenge. If other candidates adopt similar rhetoric, the 6.75% rate could face pressure regardless of who wins in November.