As participants gathered at the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas for the 2026 edition of the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) on Monday morning, the event kicked off with a passionate discussion about the evolving role of cryptocurrency in regulated gaming. This topic remains unsettled, as pointed out by the panelists.
Moderating the panel was industry consultant Jonathan Michaels, accompanied by three experts: Earle Hall, CEO of AXES, Rich Winley, CEO of Payline, and Lindsay Slader, chief growth officer at UBank. Their discussion followed the recent failure of the US Senate to advance the CLARITY Act, a significant federal cryptocurrency bill. This outcome was welcomed by certain segments of the gaming sector, particularly due to the ties between cryptocurrency and the developing prediction market industry. However, in July 2025, another relevant law, the GENIUS Act, was enacted, providing a framework for stablecoins—cryptocurrencies tied to a specific asset like the US dollar.
Panelists expressed differing views on the necessity of federal legislation like the CLARITY Act for the advancement of cryptocurrency in gaming. "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.
The discussion highlighted the gaming sector's reluctance to fully embrace cryptocurrency, despite its heavy reliance on cash and traditional banking. Since January 2025, the Las Vegas casino industry has faced five substantial anti-money laundering fines, including a $7.2 million penalty imposed on the Venetian. This has illustrated the hurdles of managing cash oversight effectively.
Hall commented, "The foundation of a crypto or stablecoin technology is the most secure and the fastest means of moving a transaction." He argued that casino chips function similarly to stablecoins, as they are exchanged for a set value and tracked by the issuer, backed by cash. The secure technology underlying stablecoins could enable a cash-dependent industry to expedite transactions while reducing costs.
User experience was another vital aspect discussed. Winley expressed frustration over the unchanging pace of transaction clearing in the gaming sector over decades. He stated that as cryptocurrency interfaces evolve to resemble traditional financial products, user adoption is likely to increase.
A new study by the American Gaming Association released this month illustrated the link between gambling and financial literacy. It found that gamblers possess higher financial literacy scores compared to non-gamblers, with 41% of gamblers categorized as “highly financially literate,” versus 27% of their non-gambling counterparts. These findings indicate a favorable environment for expanding cryptocurrency as accepted payment and withdrawal methods provided regulations keep pace with demand.
Another study by Paysafe, published in June, revealed that online sports bettors' acceptance of cryptocurrency is over twice the US average. This research suggested that cryptocurrencies could soon rank among the top three deposit methods and be preferred for payments in key markets such as New York and Illinois.
From a banking standpoint, Slader acknowledged that the gaming industry traditionally holds a less favorable view but noted the established nature of cryptocurrency. She emphasized the importance of bridging gaming and crypto within a tightly regulated framework for both industries. "I think we do need to help gaming regulators understand this entire system and help them become comfortable with what the 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."
