A Look at Crypto Casinos

These perks improve iGaming experience, help gambling platforms attract more customers and give crypto casinos a competitive edge.

Crypto Gambling Market – General Statistics

While crypto gambling has grown rapidly in recent years, it still represents a small fraction of the broader online gambling market, and more in-depth reports about crypto gambling segmentation are still necessary.

Based on recent data, the crypto gambling segment could mirror trends within the wider online gambling market.

Developments In The Online Gambling Market

Online gambling has seen an astronomical rise throughout the pandemic, when regular players started increasingly using online platforms during the COVID lockdowns. 

The global iGaming market nearly doubled since 2018, prior to the pandemic, going from $37 billion to over $70 billion in recent years. Since then, online gambling has maintained its peak, and this positive trend is expected to continue. 

Per 2022 figures provided by Statista and Business Wire, the global online gambling market was recently valued at roughly $64 to $81 billion (averaging a little over $70 billion across estimates).

A 2023 study published by Grand View Research came to similar numbers, placing the online gambling market value at $70.64 billion. According to these estimates, the gambling market is expected to reach over $150 billion in 2030 at a CAGR of 11.7%.

Sports betting has historically been the leading iGaming activity, and is expected to maintain its #1 spot for the foreseeable future. However, as of 2022, casino games accounted for nearly a third of all global online gambling revenue, coming in second place.

We can expect sports betting to be the leading segment for crypto gambling as well, and online betting platforms are already on their way to capitalize off this emerging trend.

According to a 2021 Statista survey, 43% of eSports executives believe crypto integration is a significant growth opportunity for online sports betting.

Additionally, 48% believe in developing a global consumer base, which crypto could help facilitate due to its decentralized nature and widespread availability, even in unbanked populations.

Crypto Segment Within The Global iGaming Market

Some of the rising popularity of online gambling has carried over to crypto casinos.

Although the first crypto casino, SatoshiDice, first launched in 2012, crypto gambling has seen the largest uptick since 2021.

According to an article in The Daily Guardian, around 4% of all online gambling searches were crypto-related in 2022. While this might not sound like a lot, the same source found that interest for Bitcoin casinos quadrupled over less than 2 years.

While we don’t have exact numbers, the most recent crypto gambling market statistics place the crypto gambling market size at $250 million. Although still a small share of the  online gambling market, crypto iGaming adoption is at an all-time high.

A 2021 report by the iGaming developer SOFTSWISS suggests crypto is gaining traction in sports betting. This is unsurprising, since sports betting is the leading iGaming segment worldwide.

According to their findings, crypto made up nearly 8.5% of gross gaming revenue (GGR) for sports betting in 2021 across multiple global iGaming brands implementing the SOFTSWISS Sportsbook platform.

Overall, crypto was the third most used currency in sports betting after the US dollar and euro. Football bets made up 59% of the GGR share, followed by tennis (23%), and basketball (11%).

A subsequent SOFTSWISS report, which looked at data from over 600 crypto-friendly iGaming brands, found that the total crypto bet sum registered a growth of over 20% between 2022 and 2023. 

Within the same period, the total crypto bet count went up by over 50%. It seems iGamers are placing increasingly more crypto bets, driving up the total bet sum.

However, it’s also worth noting the average crypto bet sum has decreased from its early 2022 peak (over 3 euros per person), and stabilized at an average of 1.7 euro over the past two years. As of late 2023, the average crypto bet was twice the value of a fiat bet.

Most Popular Cryptocurrencies For Crypto Gambling

The same SOFTSWISS report also found Bitcoin was the most used cryptocurrency in iGaming. In 2023, BTC accounted for 73.3% of all crypto gambling transactions, followed by Ethereum at just 9.9%.

The prevalence of BTC and ETH within crypto gambling also mirrors their market dominance, with BTC accounting for over half of the global crypto market, and ETH making up over 17%, more than all other popular cryptocurrencies combined.

However, the memecoin DOGE was also within the top five, accounting for 3.1% of iGaming bets and beating other popular cryptos like BNB or Solana.

Overall, Bitcoin appears the most popular cryptocurrency used in online gambling. According to some sources, the reverse might also be true – crypto gambling could be one of the most popular uses for Bitcoin, based on historical transaction data.

As a previous Bitcoin News article shows, betting accounted for over 50% of all BTC transactions in 2013. However, this could be the case for various reasons, including the low adoption of BTC in other establishments at the time and the large number of crypto casinos coming out since SatoshiDice’s debut in 2012.

It’s unclear if gambling is still the most common type of BTC transaction. According to a 2023 article by iGB, 60% of all BTC transactions are related to iGaming, and 55% of the global online gambling population owns cryptocurrency.

However, a 2022 UK paper looking at 713 crypto asset owners found that only 13% of people used their crypto for gambling, although the UK is second globally for online gambling revenue. 

In fact, over 50% of survey participants said they purchased crypto as an investment, and 55% never sold any of their crypto assets. Another 18% said they held crypto assets to buy goods and services.

A 2020 paper in Royal Society looking at gambling transactions on the Ethereum blockchain alone, found that the majority of iGamers partake in recreational gambling. 

In 2017, approximately 60-65% of the ETH gamblers only gambled 1-10 times. Less than 20% placed over 100 bets. Across approximately 250,000 individual bets observed throughout April to December, the average bet size was 1.528 ETH, although this figure also includes the large bets from high rollers.

A similar 2020 study looking at over 2 million transactions across three iGaming platforms on the ETH blockchain found that the average crypto gambler spends roughly $110 on 6 bets in a day. The heavily involved crypto gamblers spent over $120,000 over 35 days.

Crypto Gambling Market Statistics By Region

One of the advantages of crypto iGaming is its widespread global accessibility, thanks to blockchain casinos letting players bet from around the globe. Unfortunately, the anonymity of crypto also makes it difficult to track crypto gambling market statistics by region.

While we don’t currently have in-depth regional data about crypto gambling itself, looking at online gambling and crypto adoption rates gives us a general idea about potential trends.

Regions By Online Gambling Revenue

As of 2015, Europe has been leading the online gambling market, generating nearly the same revenue as all other regions combined. In 2022, Europe still accounted for over 41% of the global market share, according to the latest figures provided by Grand View Research.

However, the APAC is expected to register the fastest growth until 2030, as a result of increased internet adoption, economic growth, changes to online gambling legislation, and a high crypto penetration rate in the region.

Regional Differences Across iGaming Segments

Globally, sports betting accounts for most of the online gambling revenue, with Australia, the US, and the UK leading the sector, according to Statista’s revenue estimates. At a regional scale, Europe had the highest sports betting revenue, followed by APAC.

Europe had the most countries generating over $1,000 million in revenue in 2022, with the UK generating an estimated $3,837 million. Germany was second with $1,658 million, followed by France ($1,449 million) and Italy ($1,006 million).

In the APAC, Australia and India had the largest sports betting revenues in 2022, approximately $7,737 million and $1,389 million, respectively. Australia was also the biggest adopter in the region with a penetration rate of 23%, followed by South Korea at 8%.

In North America, the US had over 8 times the revenue of Canada in 2022, although Canada had the largest online sports betting penetration rate of 34%.

Casino games are the second most lucrative online gambling segment, generating nearly a third of global revenue. As of 2022, Europe dominates the global online casino segment, with the UK registering the highest online casino revenue of roughly $5,695 million.

Germany and Italy were also among the world’s top 5, with online casino revenues of $1,574 million and $1,388 million, respectively. North America was second for global online casino revenue, with the US generating $4,680 million. Canada was second in North America and third globally with a revenue of $1,972 million.

Overall, Europe is the biggest player on the online gambling market, in both sports betting and casinos. According to a December 2022 Statista report, sports and other betting accounted for 35% of online gambling revenue in Europe, while casinos made up 39%.

North America was second globally for casino revenue, while the APAC took second place for online sports betting. These regional differences might suggest a stronger online casino presence in Western countries, and a more active user base across all segments in Europe.

Crypto Adoption Rates By Region

According to a 2023 Statista survey of respondents from 56 countries, crypto adoption is particularly high in the APAC. In 2022 and 2023, 20% or more of respondents from Malaysia, India, Singapore, Vietnam, South Korea, and Indonesia said they owned or used crypto.

The crypto adoption rate was lower in Western countries at under 20%. Just 16% of US respondents owned crypto in 2023, followed by 15% or less of respondents in the majority of European countries.

The UK, Germany, Italy, and France, the European countries with the biggest online gambling revenues, had a crypto adoption rate of 11-12%. 

While Europe currently leads the online gambling market, the widespread crypto adoption in the APAC region could become a driving factor for the expected market expansion in the region. In India, in particular, online sports betting and crypto adoption are both at an all-time high.

Crypto Gambling Demographics – Who’s The Average Crypto iGamer?

A Statista report of 15,960 global consumers found that 12.7% of men used cryptocurrency for gambling and betting in 2022, compared to 11.1% of women. 

The total number of male crypto gamblers is likely a lot higher than that of female gamblers, considering men disproportionately outweigh women in crypto ownership.

For example, a 2023 YouGov survey of US consumers with online gambling accounts showed 62% of respondents aged 18-34 were interested in crypto gambling, compared to less than a third of those aged 35-54. 

Within this high-interest age group, men accounted for 62% for potential crypto bettors. Interestingly, potential crypto gamblers were also more likely to be interested in sports betting, particularly soccer (75% of potential crypto gamblers vs 50% of all online gamblers).

Potential crypto gamblers in the survey showed a higher preference for shorter withdrawal times and using payment apps over bank transfers. These two factors likely inform their higher interest in blockchain gambling.

Previous 2022 UK figures from the HMRC mirror these age and gender trends. Men in the survey were over twice as likely to own crypto assets compared to women, and those aged 18-24 were the most likely to own crypto out of all age brackets.

Among crypto bettors in the UK survey, 23% were self-employed or working as a business director. Around 40% of crypto bettors also worked with a financial advisor, and 17% had other active investments.

It appears crypto gamblers are also more likely to trade cryptocurrency regularly, and there’s also considerable overlap between crypto traders and high-risk stock traders. However, crypto traders and crypto gamblers are younger than stocks-only traders.

Those who partake in crypto trading and gambling are also more likely to be well-educated, technologically-savvy, and have a deeper understanding of cryptocurrency than other groups.

Main Factors Influencing Crypto Gambling Trends

Since the inception of SatoshiDice in 2012, the global crypto gambling market is estimated to have reached $250 million, and crypto might now be the third most popular betting currency after the dollar and euro.

Although crypto iGaming is still an emerging market, there are already hundreds of crypto casinos and people are showing increasing interest in crypto bets. We can expect this trend to continue thanks to a few contributing factors.

Technological Advances

A combination of blockchain technology, cross-platform integrations, and widespread internet adoption have made crypto gambling possible and accessible on a global scale.

Payment apps like Neteller or Skrill already let players deposit crypto for payments in legacy casinos like Bet365 and Unibet. But nowadays, more iGaming developers are implementing novel payment methods like Bitcoin to further facilitate crypto gambling. 

By directly providing in-app crypto payments, online casinos can reach a wider audience of players otherwise unserviced by common banks or payment apps. In-app crypto payments also ensure faster transactions and lower fees, contributing to a better user experience.

And blockchain technology doesn’t just make payments easier. It also changes gambling as we know it, providing transparency, security, and ensuring provably fair gaming to increase players’ trust.

Thanks to this, players can verify the fairness of each game and monitor every betting transaction on a decentralized, immutable ledger. These perks will likely continue to incentivize online casinos and bettors to switch to crypto.

Continued Adoption Of Cryptocurrency

iGaming is increasingly popular, though crypto only accounts for a small market share. The ongoing adoption of cryptocurrency will change that, as a growing number of potential bettors will be holding crypto in the future.

Currently, fewer than 20% of people in Western countries own or trade cryptocurrencies, although Europe and North America are the biggest players on the global online gambling market.

For example, according to 2022 data from the European Gaming & Betting Association, gross online gaming revenue in Europe went up by 12.5 billion euro over the pandemic. 

The UK registered a 65% revenue share from online gambling activity, but maintains a crypto adoption rate of 10-12%.

However, interest in cryptocurrencies is increasing globally, and countries like India or South Korea already stand out for above-average adoption rates. According to Statista data, most European countries also saw a smaller but consistent increase since 2019.

Based on these trends, we can expect the number of crypto owners (and potential bettors) to keep going up in key regions where online gambling is already booming. 

Changing Consumer Behavior

Multiple reports we’ve shared in this article show online gamblers prefer privacy, safety, and convenience. With blockchain casinos better equipped to meet these demands, we might see more iGamers adopting crypto in the future.

According to a series of infographics from Cryptobetting.net, 23% of crypto gamblers believe blockchain technology makes gambling more secure, while 12% said they chose crypto because the blockchain protects their IP.

These findings suggest a sizable share of crypto bettors prefer keeping their banking and other personal information private while gambling, which minimizes the risk of data loss.

The same infographics show 17% of respondents thought using crypto cuts costs, likely thanks to reduced transaction fees. Another 15% said digital currency works well for handling microtransactions. 

The 2023 YouGov survey covered previously had similar findings – 34% of potential crypto bettors claiming fast withdrawals are a priority. Additionally, 40% of potential crypto bettors preferred not to use their bank account when placing bets and withdrawing money.

Additionally, the share of iGamers using phones surpassed that of desktop gamers for the first time in 2019. According to SOFTSWISS, 77% of sports bets in 2020 were placed via mobile. Since 2020, the downloads for mobile crypto wallet apps have also doubled. 

These changes could lead to an influx of crypto casino apps. However, casino websites will likely be more popular among high crypto rollers, as desktop bettors accounted for 75% of the total bet sum.

Regulatory Shifts

Crypto casinos are still controversial and under-regulated. The legality of crypto gambling also depends on local laws pertaining to gambling overall. In Australia, for example, interactive gambling is illegal, and the country went on to ban crypto gambling altogether. 

In other jurisdictions, crypto gaming remains a gray area. Within the US, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) prohibits online gambling without mentioning crypto gaming. Even in the states where iGaming is legal, crypto casinos remain unregulated.

In Europe, crypto gambling is legal in multiple countries, though regulatory standards differ and could be difficult to implement.

For example, a 2022 paper looking at popular crypto casinos in the UK found only 47.5% held a valid operating license, and none of the operators verified the identity of new players.

Given the lack of KYC identification in many crypto casinos, money laundering and underground banking remain a concern, especially in underregulated regions.

Even the best-known crypto casinos like Stake, Jackbit, 7Bit, or Wild.io operate out of Curaçao, an international iGaming licensing jurisdiction with a controversial reputation due to its lax anti-money laundering and KYC policies.

However, the ongoing development of crypto iGaming could lead to updated regulations and improved compliance, thereby helping crypto casinos establish legitimacy and trust among clients.

In early 2024, Curaçao’s minister of finance, Javier Silvania, announced a plan to improve the jurisdiction’s anti-money laundering policies, which would imply stricter KYC standards. 

Stricter iGaming policies and regulatory success could set a precedent, encouraging wider acceptance of crypto casinos and fueling crypto’s expansion into the global gambling market.

What’s Next For The Crypto Gambling Market?

With the global iGaming market set to surpass $150 billion by 2030, the potential for crypto gambling is clear. 

As online gambling and crypto adoption rates increase, crypto casinos will likely attract an increasing audience of prospective gamers and providers. Mirroring wider iGaming trends, we expect sports betting to be the leading crypto gambling segment in the future. 

More online bettors already seek the privacy and convenience of blockchain technology, and sports betting operators are willing to meet these new demands by integrating blockchain technology within their services. 

However, crypto gambling still faces challenges like regulatory ambiguity and security concerns. Long-term success will hinge on how well the industry addresses these challenges and adapts to evolving regulations.

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