Right, It is very hard now to get to deduct losses. You can't deduct it directly from the winnings. The winnings will still show up as income. You can only deduct gambling losses up to the amount of your winnings if you itemize deductions on Schedule A. Gambling losses go on schedule A line 28 and are not subject to the 2% threshold.
Gambling Losses are an itemized deduction and you need to itemize on schedule A to use them. So if your Standard Deduction is more they won't be used. And since the Standard Deduction has increased a lot more people will be taking the Standard Deduction.
Can I Deduct gambling losses?
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/credits-and-deductions/help/can-i-deduct-my-gambling-losses/00/258...
