New data shows crypto gambling is booming, with $81.4 billion in gross gaming revenue last year, despite being illegal in most regions.
Crypto casinos have experienced explosive growth, with 2024 wagers generating over $81.4 billion in gross gaming revenue, a fivefold increase from 2022, according to YieldSec data reported by the Financial Times.
Although crypto gambling websites are illegal in many countries, they still remain accessible through VPNs and other workarounds. Crypto casinos, like Stake, Rollbit, and Roobet, operate from jurisdictions where crypto gambling is legal, such as Curaçao and Malta. Stake alone claims to account for up to 4% of all Bitcoin (BTC) transactions, with 25 million users placing 300 billion bets since its 2017 launch.
In a commentary for the Financial Times, a spokeperson for Stake noted that the platform’s operations “are conducted in full compliance with applicable laws and regulations, are legitimate and are fully licensed,” though a Financial Times test showed it was possible to create an account from London using a VPN without immediately verifying address or affordability.
Since April 2024, the British Gambling Commission has sent more than 280 cease-and-desist notices to providers accepting and promoting crypto as a deposit method in the U.K.
The gray area of crypto casinos extends beyond the U.K. though, as in mid-April crypto.news reported that Richard Kim, a former Wall Street executive, was accused of scamming investors out of more than $4 million in his blockchain-based casino project, ZeroEdge.
Kim, who previously worked at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, launched the company in March 2024, marketing it as a crypto-powered casino featuring on-chain games. Despite raising $4.3 million through seed financing and token sales, prosecutors claim Kim diverted funds for personal use. Kim faces federal charges under wire fraud and securities fraud laws, with the case still under investigation.
