The House Always Logs On: Onchain Gambling Posts $14B Quarter as Crypto Takes a Beating 🃏

Onchain gambling held near record levels in the first quarter of 2026 with $14 billion in wagering volume, even as the broader crypto market pulled back, according to blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs. Prediction markets, meanwhile, overtook the category for the first time, generating $36.6 billion in volume over the same period.

TRM said in a Wednesday report that both sectors expanded rapidly heading into 2026. Onchain gambling reached $51 billion in 2025, while prediction markets climbed to $54 billion, putting the two segments at comparable scale. Quarterly gambling volume hit an all-time high of $15 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025 before easing to $14 billion in Q1 2026, and neither segment retreated in step with the broader 2025-2026 market correction.

A TRM Labs spokesperson told Cointelegraph that gambling volumes have surged during the recent market pullback because of the "sticky and expanding activity of a loyal user base." The spokesperson added, "This does not mean anything about concentration risk in itself, since there is quite a large gambling user base," and said, "It shows how a consistent user activity can insulate an industry from a market pullback and in fact drive growth."

TRM noted that gambling platforms and prediction markets are increasingly converging on shared stablecoin infrastructure, but that their financial crime risks remain distinct. Prediction markets such as Polymarket and Kalshi operate as peer-to-peer markets for binary outcomes, while gambling platforms such as Stake, WINk and Rollbit function more like traditional casinos, with the platform setting odds and maintaining a house edge. TRM said prediction markets have attracted scrutiny over insider trading, while gambling platforms are more exposed to money laundering risks. "Gambling services and prediction markets carry distinct inherent financial crime risks, and firms should calibrate controls accordingly," a TRM Labs spokesperson told Cointelegraph.

The firm also analyzed user behavior, finding that more than 2 million personal wallets interacted with gambling platforms between January 2022 and March 2026. TRM divided those wallets into five groups: "Dabblers," who made five or fewer transactions and disappeared within a month; "Casual Bettors," averaging 18 transactions across eight active days; "Event Chasers," who returned around major sporting events; and "Daily Grinders," who gambled on at least 30% of the days in their active tenure. The highest-value cohort, labeled "High Rollers," averaged $13,558 per bet and $378,000 in lifetime gambling volume.

Volume remains heavily concentrated among top users, with High Rollers representing 6.3% of personal gambling wallets but driving 91.8% of personal wallet gambling volume since the start of the period, according to TRM Labs.