SoftSwiss Calls Crypto a Fad, Then Forecasts a 2027 Crypto Casino Boom

SoftSwiss, which sells operators a ready-made crypto casino, says in its new trends report that crypto slid from a defining theme in 2023 to a payments topic by 2027.

The finding sits on page 14 of the 2027 iGaming Trends report, which SoftSwiss released on Sept. 29. "In 2023, it appeared to be one of the defining themes of the industry's future," the report says.

SoftSwiss writes that crypto "remained relevant but largely as part of a broader discussion around payments, localisation, compliance, and player acquisition."

SoftSwiss Lists the Topics That Faded

The report marks its fifth edition. SoftSwiss built it with WorldGaming from a survey of more than 500 experts and an analysis of over 480,000 media headlines, according to its launch release.

Page 14 names NFTs, metaverse casinos and smartwatch gambling as topics that "generated industry interest without becoming operational priorities." SoftSwiss moves responsible gambling in the other direction. The report says it grew from a compliance topic into "a central component of regulation, product design, marketing, player trust, and brand legitimacy."

The authors say artificial intelligence spread into fraud prevention, customer support and CRM. They tie cybersecurity to business continuity.

The second finding concerns borders. SoftSwiss names tax, payment preferences and compliance requirements among the forces that split markets apart, and writes that "in many cases, local conditions proved more influential than global narratives."

Georgia showed the pattern in September, when it launched an offshore casino license that does not yet allow crypto payments.

The Same Report Forecasts a Crypto Revival

On page 72, SoftSwiss changes tone. It cites TRM Labs for $14.0 billion in on-chain crypto gambling volume in the first quarter of 2026. That figure counts money sent to gambling platforms across public blockchains.

"Crypto gambling may enter a new development cycle in 2027," the report says. SoftSwiss expects the next stage to move past crypto as a payment method toward "blockchain-native products, including non-custodial models, on-chain settlement and independently verifiable mechanics."

Non-custodial means you keep control of your coins between bets. Independently verifiable is the idea behind provably fair games, where you can check each result yourself.

The same page quotes Martyn Elliott, media director at SBC Media. He picks prediction markets for investment, and for growth in 2027, "crypto casinos."

TRM Labs' own research puts crypto gambling above $51 billion in 2025, with a record $15 billion in Q4. Stablecoins carried about 70% of on-chain gambling volume since 2022. TRM says high rollers hold 6.3% of personal gambling wallets and account for 91.8% of their volume.

TRM also found that prediction markets passed crypto gambling in Q1 2026 for the first time, at $36.6 billion against $14.0 billion. SoftSwiss lists a prediction markets platform among its products.

Treat gambling as entertainment you pay for. 18+, and if it stops feeling like entertainment, help exists at BeGambleAware and GamCare.