New analysis from Gaming Compliance International reveals that unregulated online gambling has reached $5.9 trillion in global wagering value in 2025, confirming what is widely referred to as the “trillion dollar problem” – in reality, a multi-trillion-dollar global economy. At this level, unregulated online gambling now ranks as the world’s third largest economy, behind only the US and China, while also representing the largest form of cybercrime globally.

Global Marketplaces Dominated by the Unregulated

GCI’s global analysis, summarized in a new report, GCI Online Gaming 2025: Global, shows that the average online gaming marketplace is structurally unbalanced:

• 78% unregulated

• 22% regulated

This reflects the global Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) market share split, demonstrating that the majority of consumer-generated revenue is flowing outside licensed, taxed, and controlled environments. This is not a marginal issue – the unregulated sector dominates the marketplace.

One Marketplace, Three Sectors

There is one marketplace containing regulated and unregulated industries competing for the same audience, attention, and spend. However, this dual sector consideration is no longer sufficient. A third category – unacknowledged gambling – has now emerged at scale.

These platforms replicate gambling mechanics but fall outside traditional classification. This is the fundamental shift defining online marketplaces from 2025 onwards, reshaping how consumers engage with betting and gaming.

Online marketplaces are now fragmenting into three distinct sectors:

• Regulated – licensed and compliant

• Unregulated – unlicensed but actively targeting and transacting

• Unacknowledged – gambling-like products outside classification

This is not just a regulatory distinction – it is how audiences experience the market.

As these sectors converge, commercial revenue to regulated operators declines, tax losses increase, and consumer risks escalate.

The White Noise Marketplace

The result is what GCI defines as the “White Noise Marketplace,” where everything is visible, accessible, and indistinguishable. The audience does not differentiate between these sectors – they experience one marketplace.

This shift from a two-sector to a three-sector marketplace will define the next phase of global online gaming. Solutions are only found within the MPEO – monitor, police, enforce, optimize – framework, focused on actions that benefit each jurisdiction’s commerce, community, and consumers.

Matt Holt, CEO of GCI, said: “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.”

Ismail Vali, President of GCI, said: “What we are now seeing is a three-sector gaming marketplace in every jurisdiction – regulated, unregulated, and unacknowledged – and it is this third layer that is accelerating consumer confusion, unregulated growth, and regulatory complexity at scale.

“The audience does not distinguish between these sectors. They experience one marketplace, where everything is accessible and everything competes equally. In a world where you can bet on anything, consumers are increasingly betting on everything – this is the gamification of everything.

“If you cannot see the entire marketplace – regulated, unregulated, and unacknowledged – you cannot control it. This is the shift. This is the problem we are helping to solve at GCI.”

The U.S. commercial gaming industry reached a record high in 2025, generating $78.72 billion in gross gaming revenue (GGR), a 9.2% increase over the previous year, according to the American Gaming Association’s (AGA) Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker. In 2025, legal, state-regulated gaming generated $18.09 billion in gaming tax revenue, supporting state and local education, infrastructure, and other services across the country, up 15.1% over last year.

“For another year, legal commercial gaming in the United States has delivered exceptional results for consumers, operators, and the communities we serve. These record revenues and tax contributions demonstrate the broad appeal of regulated gaming markets and why strong state oversight remains essential as our industry evolves,” said Bill Miller, President and CEO of the American Gaming Association.

Growth Across the Industry in 2025:

• Traditional Gaming generated $50.94 billion in revenue, up 2.3%, while contributing $11.33 billion in taxes, a 7.2% increase.

• Sports Betting revenue rose to $16.96 billion, a 22.8% increase, on a total handle of $166.94 billion (+11.0%). State-regulated sportsbooks generated $3.71 billion in taxes, up 32.4% year-over-year.

• iGaming reached $10.74 billion in revenue (+27.6%) and delivered $2.59 billion in taxes, a 36.9% increase.

All 38 commercial gaming markets saw annual revenue increases in 2025. These figures reinforce strong consumer enthusiasm for legal, regulated gaming and highlight the expanding economic impact of state-regulated markets.

Protecting State- and Tribal-Regulated Gaming

Industry leaders and lawmakers continue to take a stand against prediction markets offering sports contracts outside state and tribal regulatory frameworks. These platforms operate without state oversight, are not subject to the same consumer protection and responsible gaming standards, and do not contribute tax revenue.

Even with a record state-regulated gaming tax impact in 2025, the AGA estimates that prediction markets offering sports event contracts have diverted more than $500 million in potential sports betting tax revenue to date.

“With 2025 marking another record year, the industry’s performance reinforces a clear principle. Sports betting belongs under state and tribal regulation. That’s how consumers are protected and how communities share in the benefits,” added Miller.