The global volume of unregulated online gambling reached an astonishing $5.9 trillion in 2025, according to a report from Gaming Compliance International. This figure represents a 4% increase from the previous year's total of $5.7 trillion and continues the upward trend from $5.1 trillion in 2023.
The report specifically examined online gambling, excluding traditional retail betting and land-based casinos. It categorized unregulated gambling as unlicensed offerings aimed at local users, which encompasses sports betting, online casinos, poker, lotteries, cryptocurrency gambling, and prediction markets. GCI employed both automated surveillance systems and manual analysis to assess betting turnover and gross gaming revenue.
GCI's CEO, Matt Holt, emphasized the undeniable scale of the unregulated sector, stating, “With a wagering value of $5.9 trillion, unregulated online gambling stands as one of the largest economic systems globally, largely operating outside the reach of regulatory oversight.”
The report outlined a three-tiered market structure consisting of regulated, unregulated, and “unacknowledged” segments. The latter includes social casinos, sweepstakes, skins trading, TikTok contests, and prediction markets, which often mimic gambling mechanics without being officially recognized as such.
While prediction markets are regulated as financial products by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the U.S., they are classified as unregulated gambling in other countries. GCI President Ismail Vali noted that the lines between these categories are increasingly blurred for consumers.
“In a world where betting is possible on virtually anything, consumers are engaging in bets across all areas. This represents the gamification of everything,” Vali remarked. “Consumers do not differentiate between these sectors; they experience a singular marketplace where all options are accessible and compete on equal footing.”
GCI estimated that prediction-market trading volume related to the Super Bowl and similar events reached approximately $3.1 billion earlier this year. The report also revealed that prediction platforms account for 0.2% of legal sports betting profitability in the U.S., while unregulated prediction-style products make up 8.7% of unregulated online sportsbook revenue.
Furthermore, GCI cautioned that the rise of prediction markets and illegal sports streaming could contribute to the growth of black-market gambling in 2026. The firm noted that unregulated gambling ads appeared on over 80% of illegal sports streams in the U.S. and the U.K. during 2024 and 2025.
Outside the U.S., prediction markets have attracted regulatory attention, with Brazil recently blocking 28 prediction-market platforms after deeming them illegal. Conversely, Gibraltar has licensed its first regulated prediction-market operator this year.
These findings arrive as governments in Australia and the U.K. pursue stricter regulations on gambling advertising. Research from H2 Gambling Capital estimated that the British offshore gambling market reached £16.6 billion ($22 billion) in 2025, a significant increase from £5 billion ($6.6 billion) in 2019.
Holt concluded by stating that regulators are increasingly challenged as gambling activities migrate beyond licensed frameworks. “This report highlights that regulators are not merely facing a minor issue, but a significant one,” he said. “The majority of gambling activities are occurring outside the regulated perimeter.”