In all seriousness, there’s more or less two levels of IRS reviews.

(1) A review, which is basically the IRS saying “hey we see a few things that don’t make sense or look iffy to us, so please clarify and/or provide some additional information.”. For example, if someone uses the session method and reports income less than the total listed on w2G amounts, the IRS might flag the return and ask the taxpayer to provide some backup. A review usually revolves around only one or two specific items on a return.

(2) An audit. This is a much more involved process than a review. In an audit, the IRS focuses on the entire return, not just one or two items. Lots of documentation is needed and lots of interaction with the IRS (usually by email, mail or phone…in-person interaction is almost never needed). It’s a big PIA and can be a long drawn out process. An audit can be called for any reason, or even no reason in the case of a random audit. Most disputes with the IRS are handled on a “review” level. These days, audits for most taxpayers, even those who have w2-g income are very rare.

I’ve never been audited (thankfully), but I’ve heard some horror stories from some. I did once get a notice from the IRS that they owed me a larger refund than I filed for!! Bottom line is most players with w2-g earnings don’t have to worry much if they just follow some basic rules.