Crypto betting markets’ huge growth fuels calls for billion-dollar volumes in 2025

The crypto gambling and betting industry is growing rapidly, gaining in volume and public attention. In November 2024, Polymarket dominated media headlines with its accuracy in predicting the next US president, as well as an outstanding monthly trading volume of $2.5 billion. In December 2024, Crypto.com launched a sports event trading platform.

In Jan. 2025, crypto casino Stake.com, a giant with $1.1 billion of monthly deposit volume, secured naming rights to an F1 car. The increasing crypto adoption and technological advancements, notably in the DeFi sector, are fueling the sector’s rising influence.

Crypto gambling platforms grow market share

iGaming, a sector that encompasses online gambling and betting, has been growing greatly for the past two decades. According to iGamingbusiness, total winnings amounted to nearly $139 billion in 2023 and are projected to reach $266 billion by 2030. Statista estimates the total iGaming market size (company revenues) at $97 billion in 2024, with sports betting accounting for 46%, online casinos for 36%, and lotteries for 16%.

Crypto-based gambling has seamlessly integrated into the industry, offering key advantages to both centralized and decentralized platforms. In centralized casinos, blockchain enables faster transactions, lower fees, and global accessibility—though some regions impose restrictions. In decentralized gambling, blockchain powers betting operations with enhanced transparency and efficiency, while DeFi innovations introduce new models like decentralized betting pools.

Softswiss, a software company catering to the iGaming industry, reported that around 17% of all iGaming bets in the first three quarters of 2024 were placed in crypto. This number is slightly lower than the equivalent period in 2023 due to slower growth: while the fiat bet sum surged by 50%, crypto betting grew by only 15%.

According to Softswiss, the top five most popular cryptocurrencies in iGaming have remained consistent over the years, with some shifts in ranking. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Tether, and Dogecoin continue to dominate among crypto gamblers. Bitcoin is still the most popular crypto, but altcoins’ share increased significantly from 25% over the first nine months of 2023 to over 47% during the same period in 2024.

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Another notable trend is the rise of casino-specific tokens aimed at enhancing player engagement. These tokens, such as Rollbit’s RLB and Shuffle’s SHFL, are designed for cross-platform compatibility, reduced volatility, and exclusive perks for users.

A unicorn could emerge in 2025

Since SatoshiDice, the first crypto gambling site launched in 2012, the sector has evolved significantly. According to Tanzanite, Stake.com is now the largest crypto gambling website, holding an impressive 52% of the market share among the biggest crypto casinos (the list does not include prediction markets and trade signal games). It is a centralized platform, using blockchain primarily for handling crypto bets. It now processes around $1.1 billion in monthly deposit volume.

Stake.com is also famous for its partnership with Drake, who serves as its official ambassador. The Canadian rapper regularly bets massive sums on the platform, often during live-streamed events. In May 2022, Drake won $17 million on a single roulette spin but lost $660,000 on sports bets the same month. However, the platform faces security risks—in September 2023, Stake.com suffered a $41 million hack.

According to DappRadar, which lists onchain gambling DApps, Trade Signal on BNB Chain leads the market with $2 billion in monthly volume, followed by Polymarket with $760 million (now lower than during the election craze, but still very impressive). CryptoFights Pro ranks third but with a much lower volume of $18 million. The interesting thing about CryptoFights, though, is that it runs on PlayBlock, a layer 3 network on Arbitrum Nova, specifically designed for gasless gambling. DappRadar lists 24 gambling DApps already operating on the network.

Despite its growth, crypto gambling faces increasing regulatory scrutiny. Many jurisdictions restrict access to these platforms—for example, Stake.com is banned in the European Union. In 2024, Taiwan and France banned Polymarket, with Singapore joining them in Jan. 2025.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.