TLDR
- Unregulated online gambling now represents $5.9 trillion in wagering value, making it the world’s third-largest economy behind only the US and China
- 78% of the online gaming market operates without licenses, while only 22% is regulated and compliant
- Gaming Compliance International calls unregulated online gambling the biggest cybercrime worldwide
- A growing “unacknowledged” category includes social casinos, sweepstakes, skins trading, and TikTok contests
- GCI says consumers see one marketplace where regulated and unregulated products compete equally, leading to rising risks and tax losses
The Scale of Unregulated Online Gambling
A new report from Gaming Compliance International has put a number on the size of unregulated online gambling worldwide. The consultancy estimates it now reaches $5.9 trillion in wagering value.
That figure would make unregulated online gambling the world’s third-largest economic system. GCI says only the legitimate economies of the United States and China are larger.
The report, titled Online Gaming 2025: Global, breaks the market into regulated and unregulated segments. According to GCI, 78% of the online gaming market is unregulated.
That means the vast majority of online gambling activity is happening outside of any licensing framework. Only 22% of the market is identified as licensed and compliant by governments.
GCI describes itself as a consultancy that uses an AI-driven platform to help policymakers understand and respond to the online gaming industry. The company released its findings on Monday.
GCI chief executive Matt Holt said regulators are dealing with a dominant problem rather than a minor one. He said most activity is happening beyond the regulated perimeter.
GCI president Ismail Vali said the industry now operates as a three-sector marketplace in every jurisdiction. Those three sectors are regulated, unregulated, and what GCI calls unacknowledged activity.
The Rise of Unacknowledged Gambling Products
Vali described a third layer of gambling-like products that fall outside any official classification. GCI says this layer is accelerating consumer confusion and regulatory complexity.
Examples of unacknowledged products listed in the report include social casinos, sweepstakes, fake financial products, skins trading, and TikTok contests. Some prediction markets also fall into this category.
In the United States, prediction markets on sports events are regulated as financial products by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. But GCI says that in most other jurisdictions, these products sit outside any regulatory framework.
Vali said consumers do not separate the three sectors. From their perspective, everything is accessible and competing equally in one marketplace.
GCI describes the result as a “white noise marketplace.” The company says everything is visible and indistinguishable to the average user.
The report says this overlap is leading to declining revenue for regulated operators. It also points to rising tax losses and higher consumer risks.
GCI calls unregulated online gambling the biggest cybercrime in the world. The consultancy says the problem extends far beyond traditional gambling markets.
The company is proposing a framework it calls MPEO, which stands for monitor, police, enforce, and optimize. GCI says this approach focuses on actions that benefit commerce, community, and consumers in each jurisdiction.
Holt said the company’s goal is to provide full transparency across the total marketplace. He said this would allow regulators to respond with confidence.
GCI frames the issue as a broad regulatory challenge rather than a narrow market concern. With unregulated activity accounting for most of the online gaming market, the company argues that stronger enforcement is needed to match the scale of the problem.
