Stablecoins Now Fund Three-Quarters of Crypto Casino Deposits as Gaming Outgrows Payment Rails

iGB Intelligence report, produced with RYKI, finds settlement and custody infrastructure will decide which operators benefit as MiCA and the GENIUS Act take hold

ROAD TOWN, British Virgin Islands , Oct. 27, 2026 /CNW/ -- Dollar-pegged stablecoins now account for approximately 75% of all crypto casino deposits, according to How the Stablecoin Shift Is Reshaping Crypto Gambling, a new report from iGB Intelligence produced in partnership with RYKI, a fully registered Virtual Asset Service Provider in the British Virgin Islands. Drawing on six weeks of onchain deposit data from March and April 2026, the report concludes that crypto gambling has functionally become dollar-denominated gambling conducted on blockchain payment rails, rather than speculation on volatile assets.

A payment problem, not a crypto trend

Behind that shift sit the limits of conventional rails. Card processing typically costs 1.5% to 3.5%, and fees in emerging markets can reach 3% to 6% of deposits. Bank withdrawals take one to five business days, against under ten minutes for crypto, and operators report payment cost reductions of 60% to 70%. SWIFT and correspondent-bank transfers can take three to seven days to clear, with foreign-exchange conversion adding 50 to 100 basis points.

"Speed is an operational architecture choice, not just a crypto advantage," said Lennon Sweeting, CEO of RYKI. "An operator taking deposits in a dozen currencies and settling in stablecoins is running a foreign-exchange book whether it intends to or not."

Regulation is bringing clarity to the rails

The report points to an 18-month window that represents the most significant convergence of crypto asset regulatory clarity the industry has seen. The EU's MiCA regime, whose transitional period for crypto-asset service providers ended in July 2026, and the US GENIUS Act, effective by January 2027, are bringing stablecoin payments inside formal frameworks, giving operators firmer ground on which to build. Compliant rails already have scale: USDT and USDC together account for 89% of stablecoin gambling transactions, and USDC was one of only two of the ten largest stablecoins that were MiCA-compliant at the time of writing. Regulated pathways are also widening. Estonia, Malta and the UAE have opened them, and the UK Gambling Commission is formally exploring crypto payments for licensed operators.

"A regulator assessing an operator's crypto exposure will eventually ask who is holding the funds, who is screening the wallets and under whose registration the settlement happens," said Sweeting.

Higher-value players, higher stakes for custody

SOFTSWISS data cited in the report shows average crypto bets at roughly double those in fiat, and stablecoin-first casinos reported 32% higher average player lifetime value in Q1 2026 than brands running on volatile tokens. One tracked platform records an average deposit of just under $4,000. RYKI estimates that more than $50 billion in crypto holdings among high-net-worth players remains untapped by premium gaming venues.

For individuals, access is uneven: whether a platform accepts digital assets depends on its licence and the player's jurisdiction.

"A platform whose average deposit is $4,000 is custodying meaningful balances for individuals," said Sweeting.

RYKI's dedicated service line for the global gaming industry combines same-day stablecoin and fiat settlement, institutional custody, multi-currency treasury and gaming-aware compliance. Gaming companies retain their own licences and remain the regulated operator of their business, while RYKI provides the digital asset and payment layer beneath them as the registered VASP.

Discuss the findings

Gaming operators, payment and treasury leaders, and qualified individuals who want to discuss what the findings mean for their own settlement, custody or cross-border flows are invited to arrange a conversation directly with Lennon Sweeting at [email protected]

The full report is available to download at https://igamingbusiness.com/crypto-gambling/igaming-stablecoins-report-crypto-gambling

About RYKI

RYKI is a digital asset services firm offering crypto-fiat execution, institutional custody, lending and treasury solutions to high-net-worth individuals, family offices, institutions, gaming operators and crypto-native businesses. RYKI Inc. holds a full Virtual Asset Service Provider registration from the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission, and the firm operates a FINTRAC-registered money services business in Canada. RYKI has executed more than $1 billion in transactions to date.

SOURCE RYKI

For further information or comment, please contact: Bianca Mora, Website: www.ryki.io, Email: [email protected], Tel: [phone]