A new study from US-based regulation consultancy Gaming Compliance International has found that unregulated online gambling reached US$5.9 trillion in global wagering value in 2025, making it the largest form of cybercrime globally and enough for it to rank as the world’s third largest economy behind only the United States and China.
The study, titled GCI Online Gaming 2025: Global, shows that the average online gaming marketplace is structurally unbalanced with 78% of online revenue generation coming from unregulated sites versus just 22% from the regulated market.
“At US$5.9 trillion in wagering value, unregulated online gambling is one of the largest economic systems in the world, operating largely outside regulatory oversight,” said Matt Holt, CEO of GCI.
