Crypto Casinos: How Gray Platforms Make Billions

In 2024, Crypto Casinos Surged: $81.4 Billion in Bets Despite Legal Grey Zones

In 2024, crypto casinos experienced explosive growth: global betting volume reached $81.4 billion — five times more than the previous year. This occurred despite the fact that such activities are either heavily restricted or outright banned in key regions such as the U.S., China, and the EU. How does an industry operating in a legal grey area achieve such growth? And what can entrepreneurs in high-risk niches learn from this?

What’s Happening: Growth Despite — Not Because of — the Law

According to data from research firm Yield Sec, the crypto gambling market is expanding rapidly thanks to users who:

• Access websites via VPNs and proxies;
• Use mirror and cloned websites;
• Rely on anonymous wallets and accounts with minimal verification.

In other words, a whole infrastructure exists to circumvent strict regulations. When demand is high, users find workarounds on their own. It’s crucial to understand this behavior and design products with it in mind.

Market Leaders and the Scale of the Game

Stake, one of the largest players in the sector, reported $4.7 billion in gross gaming revenue (GGR) in 2024. Since its launch in 2017, the platform has logged over 300 billion bets. Other ambitious projects like Roobet and Rollbit are also gaining traction. These platforms primarily operate with cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, USDT, and LTC, and often attract users through aggressive influencer marketing and bonus schemes. Learn more about Gambling Soft’s ready-made crypto casino solution

Vulnerabilities and the Dark Side

Despite platform claims of regulatory compliance, journalists at the Financial Times easily registered accounts on Stake using a VPN and passed verification with minimal friction. Many platforms:

• Do not impose limits on deposits or losses;
• Do not require mandatory identification;
• Do not implement self-exclusion tools for problem gamblers.

This makes crypto casinos particularly dangerous for:

• Minors;
• Users in countries where gambling is prohibited;
• Individuals suffering from gambling addiction.

Add to this the volatility of cryptocurrencies: a bet not only risks a gaming loss but also potential devaluation due to token price fluctuations.

Why Is This Market Still Growing?

Key growth drivers:

• Anonymity and accessibility. No banks, no identification — the barrier to entry is minimal.
• Lack of regulatory pressure. With oversight bodies lagging behind, startups scale freely.
• Influencers and streamers. Some content creators actively teach users how to bypass restrictions and gamble on crypto platforms.
• Technical flexibility. Smart contracts, blockchain games, and tokenized rewards create a sense of participating in a “new economy.”

What Are Regulators Doing?

Major jurisdictions are attempting to tighten control:

• The UK and U.S. are implementing measures to block crypto gambling.
• The European Union plans to enhance KYC procedures at the crypto wallet provider level.
• Twitch and YouTube are limiting the advertising and display of gambling content.

However, the offshore nature of many platforms and the use of technical workarounds make enforcement highly challenging.

Conclusion: What Businesses Can Learn from the Crypto Casino Case

The rise of crypto casinos isn’t just a story about a grey market. It’s a case study in how digital products scale in environments with weak regulation, high user motivation, and technical ingenuity. Three key takeaways stand out:

Markets Without Rules Offer Opportunity — But No Foundation for Sustainability

The success of Stake and similar platforms is built on temporary regulatory “blind spots.” These models can scale fast — but are just as prone to sanctions, shutdowns, and loss of user trust.

Frictionless Access and UX Speed Are Critical Advantages

Anonymity, minimal barriers, and instant onboarding are exactly what attracts millions of users. Even in regulated businesses, it's worth asking: where do we create unnecessary friction?

Adaptability Wins Over Protocol Perfection

Crypto casinos operate on the edge, but they are agile. Their approach to marketing, user engagement, and token-based economies can serve as a blueprint for other digital ventures. If you're planning to launch a casino, you must design the business with legal, technical, and behavioral dynamics in mind from the start. Ignoring them is like building on sand. Crypto casinos are not just a regulatory concern. They are a real-life masterclass in user psychology, growth, and borderless scaling.