Stablecoins are the “first killer app” of blockchains. Once you see what they can do for payment infrastructure, you can’t unsee it. You want more. I predict the floodgates for blockchain and iGaming are about to swing wide open (finally), but before we get there, let’s reflect on what happened with stablecoins and iGaming in 2025.
Stablecoins first hit the iGaming scene via “crypto casinos,” accepting tokens such as USDT and USDC alongside native coins such as BTC, ETH, SOL, etc, as gambling currency. Throughout 2025, thanks to raised awareness and regulatory clarity (especially within the U.S. market), we’re now seeing expansion of stablecoin use in regulated iGaming, both from a currency and a payment infrastructure perspective.
The evolution from niche crypto assets to payment settlement rails is what gets me excited about stablecoins. In 2025, we saw “non-crypto branded” iGaming platforms tapping into this new infrastructure in a way that will deliver faster, cheaper, and more reliable payments without players ever needing to deal with stablecoins or native tokens directly—it’s all running in the background.
I also like to say stablecoins are the “gateway drug” for blockchain—once industries such as iGaming get familiar with how stablecoins can disrupt payments from behind the scenes, they will realize this is just the tip of the iceberg for what blockchain tech in general can do from behind the scenes.
So now that you understand why I’m so excited about the progress iGaming made with stablecoins in 2025, let’s take a deeper dive into the details with one of the most informed experts out there, Jamie Zammit, SVP Commercial & Managing Director (Gibraltar), at BVNK.
Zammit confirmed that over the past year, stablecoins have clearly matured within iGaming, particularly in locally licensed and highly regulated markets.
“What were once exploratory or hypothetical discussions have become far more practical and advanced, with some operators already live, others deep into implementation, and many more actively evaluating go-to-market strategies, he confirmed.
Regulation is almost always coupled with maturation, and in the case of stablecoins and iGaming, the situation is no different. Zammit confirmed that a major factor has been increased regulatory clarity in 2025, especially within the United States.
“Developments such as the GENIUS Act and the anticipated CLARITY Act have helped legitimise stablecoins as a credible financial instrument, allowing regulated operators to engage more confidently with the technology. As a result, stablecoins are no longer treated as an edge case or experimental option, but as part of a broader, long-term payments and treasury strategy,” he said.
“From a regulatory standpoint, clearer frameworks, particularly in the U.S., alongside progress in other major jurisdictions, have allowed compliance, legal, and payments teams to have more constructive conversations internally. That has been a major unlock,” Zammit added.
Additional drivers for stablecoin adoption this year have been operational efficiency and commercial pragmatism, according to Zammit.
“Operationally, stablecoins offer clear advantages around settlement speed, cross-border liquidity, and treasury management. These benefits are particularly compelling for operators managing multiple jurisdictions and payment flows,” he explained.
Adoption has also been driven by a more realistic understanding of player behavior, meaning simply adding stablecoins as another payment option is not going to be enough.
“Players have long-established habits around cards and traditional payment methods, and meaningful adoption requires intentional strategies, not passive enablement,” advised Zammit.
The most significant movement in 2025 has been toward stablecoins operating in the background rather than as a visible gambling currency, a huge step forward in my opinion.
“While there remains a place for player-facing stablecoin balances in certain segments, most regulated operators are far more focused on using stablecoins as infrastructure – powering deposits, payouts, settlement, and treasury flows while maintaining a familiar fiat-style user experience,” Zammit said.
For operators who offer stablecoins as a gambling currency, Zammit credited the uptick in adoption this year to those who are actively incentivizing usage through bonuses or promotions. Simply adding stablecoins as an extra rail tended to see far lower adoption, he said.
Heading into 2026, Zammit predicts stablecoins are likely to be normalized within regulated iGaming operations, rather than viewed as a novelty. We can expect to see a deeper integration of stablecoin infrastructure into operator payment stacks, more operators bringing elements of payments orchestration and settlement in-house, and continued evolution of player wallets.
“Importantly, the conversation will continue to move away from ‘crypto in gambling’ and toward efficient, compliant financial infrastructure that happens to use stablecoins under the hood. The operators that succeed will be those who treat stablecoins not just as a technology choice, but as part of a broader commercial and behavioural strategy,” Zammit said.
Watch | Malta Gaming Authority: Blockchain regulation in the gambling space
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Source: https://coingeek.com/stablecoins-and-igaming-a-shift-from-currency-to-infrastructure/
