Crypto gambling is a big business, and growing. How big is hard to say, for various reasons. However, almost all experts agree they are on a meteoric rise in popularity – and revenue – in recent years. But the nature of the market means it changes fast. What can you expect from the crypto gambling business in 2026?
Well, growth in the market is probably a given. Top cryptocurrency gambling operators aren’t generally in the business of publishing their financials to the public. But some regulated online casinos markets do allow crypto betting.
Gambling data analysis provider SoftSwiss has reported that the total number of crypto bets placed at its substantial number of client operators rose 15% between 2024 and 2025.
Outside of that, there are key trends that can be analysed. Whether that’s the type of games that are proving more popular with customers, operators moves in response to regulation, or key developments in the crypto world that demand responses from the casinos, these are some of the big moves you need to look out for
Room for Growth in Purely Blockchain Games
One interesting thing SoftSwiss also noted in their research is that around 90% of crypto bets are facilitated through a conversion tool. This allows players to convert their crypto for the purposes of playing games set up for fiat currencies, before converting it back once the wager has settled.
This suggests there is room for market growth in purely blockchain or crypto based games. Smart contracts offer a uniquely fast and transparent way of running online casino games, which players are slowly getting into.
Although they are not yet as popular as the known quantity of slot games by recognised developers, blockchain-based games like plinko, crash and aviator style titles have achieved some level of virality in recent years.
It’s not all about crypto casinos in the modern gambling business however. If you want the very best casino games, or casino spil in Swedish, sometimes you’ll find regulated, non-crypto casinos have the highest quality options. These casinos often have more guaranteed by law player protections and regulatory oversight too, which makes many customers feel safer using their services.
The Big Crypto Casino Brands Will Diversify
The largest crypto casino operators are already attempting to find more widely accepted avenues in which to put their revenues.
Offshore crypto casinos are popular with customers and make a lot of money, but the prospect of increased regulation makes them a riskier business than being in individual national markets. So, big operators are increasingly trying to play both sides.
This helps them stay one step ahead of potential regulation by hedging their bets in other areas, and get on the good side of regulators by investing in businesses they cover.
For example Stake owns large shares in several regulated online gambling operators in Australia, and has applied for non crypto casino licenses in several European countries.
Most of them are also paying big bucks to promote themselves via streamers, musicians and other celebrities or sponsoring events and sports teams.
If any countries do, in fact, go the other way and loosen regulations on crypto gambling in 2026, expect to see operators take up the offer to move into regulated markets where possible.
AltCoins Will Become More Popular for Gambling
The most popular cryptocurrencies for gambling have remained consistent over the years. But there are signs that could be changing in the near future. The most popular cryptos for gamblers currently are, in order:
- Bitcoin
- Ethereum
- Litecoin
- Tether
- Dogecoin
Notice that last entrant – Dogecoin – which is the newest on the list. Dogecoin is what is known as a memecoin, and also falls under the banner of an altcoin. These cryptos often at least start out with no real use cases, but gain popularity (and value) based upon their name or marketing concepts.
The share of altcoins used for gambling has increased significantly in the past two years. The research says they accounted for 25% of crypto gambling transactions in 2023, but now have reached 45%.
This transition has been aided by many popular crypto casinos releasing their own in-house altcoin tokens, such as Rollbit’s RLB and Shuffle’s SHFL.
Expect to see more big and small operators roll out their own crypto coins moving into 2026, as well as adding popular altcoins to their crypto options.
Crypto Prediction Market Betting Is on a Roll
Another area of the crypto gambling market that could explode in 2026, is prediction markets. These operators blend sports betting and financial markets, as wagers affect odds displayed on a line graph in real time.
This makes them grey-area legal around the globe as traditional sports betting laws don’t apply to them.
The open nature of these peer-to-peer blockchain-powered platforms allow people to put money down on all sorts of events that might not be allowed at their nationally regulated sportsbooks.
For example, election markets are common on these prediction sites. For a sportsbook licensed in Sweden, many other EU countries, or the US – this would be illegal.
This massive choice of markets for betting, not just restricted to sports, is – excuse the pun – a game-changer.
Growth is Certain, but Challenges Are Ahead
Prediction markets have all the hallmarks of a growing segment of crypto gambling, and that is proven by the numbers. The factors priming them for growth include:
- Similar style and presentation to financial market trading, which is an increasingly popular activity
- Simple and easy to sign up and start betting using crypto
- Controversial betting markets put them in the public eye
- Beating the market with a contrary pick, rather than odds set by a sportsbook, is appealing to many gamblers
Expect to see many large online gambling companies launch their own prediction markets, or try to join the existing big players in some fashion, throughout 2026.
These models face some challenges. Crypto casinos are always concerned about increased government regulations for one thing. For another, they aren’t immune to hackers or other bad actors – but that isn’t unique.
Overall, the crypto casino business is looking strong, with plenty of new innovations – and possibly some unforeseen ones – set to deliver on continued interest in the sector.
