The Spanish Financial Services and Securities Commission (CSSF) issued a consumer notice on July 2, 2026, one day after the end of the transition period for virtual asset providers. Platforms without authorization under the EU’s MiCA regulation no longer have permission to accept new customers in the EU and must wind down their operations in an orderly manner.
Bitstamp received its CSSF authorization on May 15, 2025, and Coinbase on June 20, 2025, both valid for the entire European Economic Area. The Grand Duchy thus oversees two of the largest digital asset trading platforms in Europe.
The Game is Played Using Licenses from Malta and the Isle of Man
Luxembourg currently has no separate licensing procedure for online gambling providers. The gambling law dates back to April 20, 1977. It regulates local gambling, the state-run Loterie Nationale, and the casino in Mondorf-les-Bains.
Online gambling is not mentioned in the law; the text is decades older than the internet. Nevertheless, gambling does take place in the Grand Duchy, via platforms licensed in Malta, the Isle of Man, or Curaçao. Many players rely on comparison portals when choosing a casino, including the recommendations from Casino.org for online casinos in Luxembourg. These portals sort providers according to their own criteria, such as licensing information, payout practices, and available payment methods.
Cryptocurrency deposits now appear as a separate filter criterion in such overviews. Those wishing to deposit using stablecoins will find suitable providers more quickly there than through a general search.
Three Estimates, Three Orders of Magnitude
The size of the crypto gambling business depends on the measurement method. TRM Labs is a blockchain analytics firm that also provides data to law enforcement agencies. It estimated the on-chain volume of crypto gambling at $51 billion for 2025 in an analysis dated June 10, 2026.
According to the same data, users conduct almost all of these transactions through stablecoins on the TRON network, with transaction fees costing only a few cents. Stable tokens keep the deposit amount constant, eliminating price risk. For operators, there’s the added benefit of settlement; payments are final, and chargebacks like those for credit cards are not possible.
The trade magazine Gambling Insider arrived at significantly lower figures on July 27, 2026. Author Gary McFarlane tracked deposits to twelve crypto casinos across three networks using publicly accessible blockchain queries. He calculated a gross gaming revenue of between $5.7 billion and $11.4 billion for 2025. That explicitly states this as a conservative lower limit because Bitcoin payments and payment service providers remained excluded.
Yield Sec, on the other hand, maintains its figure of $81.4 billion for 2024, based on web traffic measurements with unpublished assumptions and a broad definition that also includes offerings disguised as financial products. The cited figure also depends on the business model of the person making the calculation. The only point of agreement between the two organizations is the trend: the business is growing rapidly.
Article 79 Requires an Audit Starting in July 2027 for Amounts Exceeding €2,000
The EU Anti-Money Laundering Regulation has set the framework for payment processing. It applies directly in all member states from July 10, 2027, without national implementation, and defines gambling services uniformly across the EU for the first time.
Article 79 prohibits credit institutions, financial institutions, and crypto service providers from maintaining anonymous accounts, including those that anonymize transactions. Gambling providers must apply due diligence measures as soon as stakes or winnings reach €2,000, whether individually or in linked transactions. Exceptions remain reserved for services with demonstrably low risk, such as state lotteries.
For crypto payments in casinos, this primarily results in prioritizing payment methods. Deposits via MiCA-licensed providers like Bitstamp or Coinbase already meet the identification requirements, as their licensing mandates customer verification. However, anonymous wallet payments without any verification are hardly feasible under Article 79.
Operators who intend to serve the European market long-term will likely need to restructure their payment systems accordingly. The necessary, certified infrastructure has been in place since this summer, overseen in part by Luxembourg.
Whether cryptocurrencies will become an official payment method in online casinos across more regulated markets depends on national licensing systems. Germany, for example, does not specify any payment methods in its 2021 Interstate Treaty on Gambling; in practice, licensed providers rely on bank transfers, cards, and e-wallets.
A provider that processes stablecoin deposits through a MiCA-licensed service provider and complies with the due diligence requirements of the Money Laundering Regulation would at least have a clear legal framework at the payment level from 2027 onward. This is more than the industry has had in previous years.
Bill 8679 Leaves the Second Stage of Reform Open
In Luxembourg itself, the future of online gaming rests on a reform that has only just begun. Justice Minister Elisabeth Margue submitted draft law 8679 on January 7, 2026. It initially addresses gaming terminals in cafés. Moreover, according to the explanatory memorandum, it could be the first stage of a comprehensive reform. Online gaming is assigned to the second stage; the government has not yet announced a timeline for this.
The Council of State, which reviews every draft law before a vote, presented its opinion on June 10, 2026. Among other things, the body noted that the Loterie Nationale’s monopoly raises questions about its compatibility with the European freedom to provide services, and that dividing the reform into stages creates legal uncertainty. Both of these points increase the pressure to tackle the second stage swiftly.
Whether it will introduce a separate licensing model for online providers, as Malta has operated for years and Germany has since 2021, remains to be seen, but the prospects are good. In any case, the EU legal framework for the payments side will be in place by then, and a significant portion of it is being developed right on Malta’s doorstep, at the CSSF headquarters on Boulevard Royal.
The dossier for draft 8679 is with rapporteur Laurent Mosar, last updated on 13 July 2026. The regulation will apply from 10 July 2027.
Be the first to comment