A recent industry analysis by regtech supplier Gaming Compliance International (GCI) estimated the global value of unregulated online gambling reached $5.9 trillion in 2025.
The GCI’s Online Gaming 2025: Global report, released on Sunday, marked a 4% increase from $5.7 trillion in 2024. It represents a continued rise, with last year’s figure of $5.7 trillion being 12% up on 2023’s total of $5.1 trillion.
The analysis focused solely on online gambling activities and excluded retail or land-based gambling operations. Only operators actively conducting transactions and targeting local markets were counted; accessible but non-transacting sites were omitted.
GCI defined “unregulated” online gambling as transacting unlicensed products that actively target local consumers.
This category encompassed various gambling activities including sports betting, unregulated prediction markets (except in the United States), casino games, poker, crypto gambling and lotteries.
According to the report, GCI utilised a combination of automated surveillance and human analysis to estimate both the betting volume and gross gaming revenue (GGR) across the online ecosystem.
To size the market comprehensively, GCI analysed audience behaviours across all platforms using proprietary metrics including “Value Per Visit” (VPV). This quantified spending variances between regulated and unregulated operators.
Key findings
Unregulated gambling operators account for approximately 78% of the global online gaming GGR in 2025, while regulated operators constitute 22%.
GCI characterised the unregulated sector as the world’s third-largest economy, surpassing most nations in size after the USA and China. The report further categorised unregulated online gambling as the largest form of cybercrime worldwide.
Research from H2 Capital last week revealed that the UK offshore unregulated market reached £16.6 billion ($22 billion) in 2025, up from £5 billion in 2019. This was an increase of just over 230%.
In response to the CGI’s report, its CEO Matt Holt commented that “at $5.9 trillion in wagering value, unregulated online gambling is one of the largest economic systems in the world, operating largely outside regulatory oversight”.
“Regulators are not facing a marginal challenge, but a dominant one – the majority of activity is occurring beyond the regulated perimeter. Our role is to provide full transparency across the total marketplace, enabling regulators to act with confidence.”
The report also introduced the concept of a “White Noise Marketplace” where consumers are unable to clearly differentiate between regulated, unregulated and “unacknowledged” gambling products.
Prediction markets and sports advertisement
Predictions for 2026 highlight several factors likely to fuel unregulated growth. These include product spill-over from loosely regulated sectors such as prediction markets.
Further complexity is introduced by crypto-linked gambling products and prediction markets. Notably, while the US regulates prediction markets under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), other regions often fall outside traditional gambling regulation. Brazil confirmed last month that prediction markets are illegal in the country. The telecommunications agency Anatel has already blocked 28 platforms. This is in stark contrast to Gibraltar, where operator Predict Street was licensed as Gibraltar’s first regulated prediction market.
It also predicted widespread advertising via illegal sports streaming. This comes as “unregulated gambling advertisements featured on more than 80% of illegal streaming of sports content in the US and UK in 2024 and 2025”. Events such as March Madness and the World Cup accounted for the predicted surge.
At the start of the month, Ukraine launched an online tool designed to expedite public reporting of illegal gambling advertising. The current statutory administrative fine for illegal gambling advertising in 2026 is set at UAH5.19 million ($117 million).
Australia recently announced a package of national reforms aimed specifically at gambling advertising in response to the Murphy Report. This included a national ban on wagering advertisements during live sports broadcast on free-to-air TV between 6am and 8.30pm.
UK MPs recently framed gambling advertising as a public health issue, recommending a pre-9pm watershed ban on gambling adverts and an end to most sports sponsorship deals.
Kathryn Evans
Kathryn covers bitesize breaking news with a primary focus on EMEA and US legislation. A proud North Walian, fluent Welsh speaker and lifelong Wrexham FC fan – long before Hollywood came calling.
