Gambling Insider delves into the contentious debate surrounding the vastly differing revenue claims within the crypto casino sector. To shed light on this issue, we utilized data from the blockchain analytics platform, Dune.
One might assume that crypto casinos would be transparent due to their operations being recorded on a public blockchain, but the reality is more complex. Attempts to ascertain the total revenue generated by these casinos often lead to confusion.
Our investigation focused on two prominent estimates regarding the crypto casino industry's gross gaming revenue (GGR). The first figure, provided by Yield Sec, projects a staggering $81.4 billion for 2024, as reported by the Financial Times. This GGR represents the difference between the total bets placed by players and the winnings paid out by the casinos.
Ismail Vali, Yield Sec's founder, stands firmly behind this estimate, stating, “We did that work for the FT a couple of years ago… and we stand by it.” In our interview with Vali, we sought to understand how Yield Sec arrived at this frequently referenced figure.
In contrast, an analysis from the crypto casino analytics platform, Tanzanite, suggests a drastically lower GGR of approximately $10 billion—an eightfold discrepancy.
This stark difference may be attributed to the distinct client bases of the two organizations. Yield Sec aims to assist governments, businesses, and consumers in combating illegal financial activities, including illicit gambling. Their website emphasizes the necessity of consumer safety for sustainable gambling practices, labeling illegal operations as theft rather than mere market anomalies.
Conversely, Tanzanite offers data and consultancy services to the very companies it evaluates, which Yield Sec categorizes as illegal gambling entities.
While many crypto casinos operate under regulation, they often do so in offshore jurisdictions like Curaçao and Anjouan for lower costs, or Malta and the Isle of Man for higher regulatory standards.
Is there a possibility that Yield Sec has a vested interest in inflating the perceived scale of the issue? Tanzanite seems to suggest as much. In a blog post titled ‘The $81 Billion Myth Debunked’, Tanzanite challenges Yield Sec’s estimate, asserting, “Our assessment indicates a realistic cryptocurrency gambling GGR in 2024 of around $10-11 billion, not $81.4 billion.” They argue that Yield Sec’s figure does not align with industry data and blockchain analysis.
Gambling Insider examined 12 casinos that collectively generated between $5.7 billion and $11.4 billion in GGR for 2025, a range that aligns with the lower end of the two competing estimates for the global market in 2024.
To clarify the situation, we initiated our own research to confirm Tanzanite’s findings, subsequently reaching out to Yield Sec for insights into their methodology and assumptions behind the $81.4 billion figure.
We chose to begin with Tanzanite due to its reliance on publicly accessible data and a transparent methodology. This does not imply any lack of transparency from Yield Sec; they have a data intelligence business to protect. However, we aimed to establish a solid baseline of $5.7 billion, which we believed was best achieved through this approach.
For those unfamiliar with cryptocurrency, it’s important to understand that every transaction made with currencies like Bitcoin or Ether is recorded on a blockchain—a public ledger accessible to anyone and replicated across millions of computers globally. Unlike traditional banking records, this ledger is open and does not conceal identities; transactions occur between “addresses” rather than named individuals.