As attendees flooded into the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas for the 2026 Global Gaming Expo (G2E) on Monday morning, discussions surrounding the future of cryptocurrency in regulated gaming took center stage. The panel, led by industry consultant Jonathan Michaels, featured insights from Earle Hall, the CEO of systems provider AXES; Rich Winley, the CEO of payment kiosk maker Payline; and Lindsay Slader, the chief growth officer of UBank.
The panel convened just weeks after the U.S. Senate's failure to move forward with the CLARITY Act, a significant proposal aimed at establishing a federal regulatory framework for cryptocurrency. While some parts of the gaming industry celebrated the bill's stagnation due to its connections with the emerging prediction market sector, it is important to note that the GENIUS Act, which was enacted in July 2025, established regulations for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency pegged to stable assets like the U.S. dollar.
The opinions on cryptocurrency adoption in gaming appear divided, varying by jurisdiction, but the overall usage remains low. The failure of the CLARITY Act was seen as a missed opportunity to create a structured market for digital assets. Despite this, panelists were optimistic that further advancements could be made without federal legislation.
"I feel like we have all these tools in our toolbelt where we could really spin it up quickly if we wanted to, regardless of what’s happening in the federal government, is my personal opinion," Slader remarked.
A significant theme of the panel was the industry's reluctance to embrace cryptocurrency, even as it continues to depend on cash and traditional banking systems. The Las Vegas casino industry has faced five substantial anti-money laundering fines in 2025 alone, including a notable $7.2 million fine against G2E host Venetian, which underscored the challenges of managing cash transactions effectively.
Hall argued that casino chips serve as a basic form of stablecoins, as they are exchanged for a fixed value and tracked by the issuer. He highlighted that the technology behind stablecoins provides a secure and fast method for transactions, potentially benefiting cash-dependent casinos.
The need for a seamless user experience was also emphasized, as Winley pointed out that the gaming industry has stagnated in its transaction processing speed for decades. He believes that the closer cryptocurrency interfaces can resemble traditional financial products, the more likely users will adopt them.
Recent research commissioned by the American Gaming Association has drawn attention to the connection between gambling and financial literacy. The results indicated that gamblers had higher average financial literacy scores compared to non-gamblers, with 41% of gamblers identified as "highly financially literate."
These findings suggest that if regulations can adapt to meet consumer demand, the expansion of cryptocurrency as a payment method would likely be embraced by bettors. Another study released by Paysafe in June revealed that online sports bettors are adopting cryptocurrency at rates significantly higher than the U.S. average. The authors of that study projected that cryptocurrency would rank among the top three deposit methods and become a favored payment option in key markets like New York and Illinois.
From a banking standpoint, Slader acknowledged that gaming has historically been perceived unfavorably. However, as cryptocurrency becomes more mainstream, she envisions potential harmonization between the two sectors within a highly regulated framework. “I think we do need to help gaming regulators understand this entire system and help them become comfortable with what this ecosystem that the player’s going to be in still looks like,” she added. "There’s still KYC happening…The same user is still going through the self-exclusion checks, the RG checks, all the other things that happen in their customer journey."
