As attendees made their way into the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas for the 2026 iteration of G2E on Monday morning, discussions focused on the prospective role of cryptocurrency within the regulated gaming sector. Panelists expressed both enthusiasm and frustration, underscoring the current state of cryptocurrency, which remains unsettled.
Jonathan Michaels, an industry consultant, led the panel featuring Earle Hall, CEO of AXES; Rich Winley, CEO of Payline; and Lindsay Slader, chief growth officer of UBank. Their insights pertained to the complicated relationship between gaming and finance.
The panel convened shortly after the US Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act, a significant piece of federal legislation concerning cryptocurrency. While some industry segments viewed this as a positive development due to its implications for the prediction market industry, another piece of legislation, the GENIUS Act, was signed into law in July 2025, which does provide a regulatory framework for stablecoins linked to assets such as the US dollar.
Panelists noted that perspectives on cryptocurrency vary across jurisdictions and overall adoption remains minimal. They suggested that, despite the recent federal legislative setback, there are still ample opportunities for advancement in the sector.
Slader remarked, "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."
A significant theme of Monday’s dialogue revolved around the industry’s reluctance to embrace crypto, despite its established reliance on cash and conventional banking methods. The Las Vegas casino industry has experienced challenges, highlighted by five multimillion-dollar anti-money laundering fines since the beginning of 2025, including a $7.2 million fine against the Venetian.
Hall noted that the foundation of crypto or stablecoin technology offers a secure and expedited method for transactions. He drew parallels between casino chips and stablecoins, stating that both are exchanged for predetermined values and monitored by their issuers.
The panel underscored the importance of creating a smooth user experience for cryptocurrency adoption. Winley expressed concern that the gaming industry has not evolved its transaction clearing processes sufficiently. He emphasized that increased similarity between crypto interfaces and traditional financial products would promote wider acceptance among users.
A new study commissioned by the American Gaming Association revealed a noteworthy link between gambling and financial literacy. Gamblers exhibited higher financial literacy scores compared to non-gamblers, with 41% of gamblers identified as "highly financially literate," while only 27% of non-gamblers achieved that classification.
These findings suggest that bettors would be receptive to enhanced crypto payment and withdrawal options, contingent upon evolving regulations. A separate study by Paysafe indicated that crypto adoption among online sports bettors is more than double the national average, with predictions that crypto could soon rank among the top three deposit methods and the top two payment preferences in major markets like New York and Illinois.
Slader addressed the traditional banking skepticism toward gaming, noting that the well-established nature of cryptocurrency implies that a merger in a regulated setting should be feasible. She emphasized the need for gaming regulators to gain a better understanding of crypto's ecosystem. "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 stated. "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."
