Paysafe research says crypto could become one of the main sportsbook payment methods in the US if more states allow operators to accept digital assets.
Good to Know
The strongest finding in the Paysafe report is not just deposit demand. Player retention sits right beside it. A poor crypto payment experience could cost operators customers, with 71% of bettors saying they would leave a sportsbook after bad payment friction. In New York, that figure rises to 80%.
Paysafe surveyed bettors in Colorado, Wyoming, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Virginia for its All the Ways Players Pay Crypto Edition report. The company included states with different regulatory positions, which makes the data useful for operators watching US sports betting payment rules.
Colorado and Wyoming already permit crypto deposits. In those two states, Paysafe found that 59% of Colorado bettors and 45% of Wyoming bettors had already funded a wager with a digital asset. That gives the wider demand numbers a real-world baseline, not just a survey wish list.
The market also has a ready user base. Paysafe said 64% of active US bettors own cryptocurrency. New York posted the highest demand for crypto deposits at 92%, while Illinois and Florida followed at 88% each.
Crypto would rank as a top 3 funding method if allowed more widely. Digital wallets led at 55%, debit cards followed at 50%, and crypto came next at 45%. In New York, crypto ranked second only to wallets, at 54% against 59%. Illinois showed a similar split, with 52% choosing crypto and 58% choosing wallets.
However, crypto would not replace every old payment option. Credit cards and pay by bank or bank transfers both held 37% preference. Local payment methods, including peer-to-peer apps, reached 23%, while eCash options such as PaysafeCash reached 14%.
The timing also lines up with product development. Paysafe launched Pay with Crypto for the US iGaming market in April 2026, powered by MoonPay. The product lets players fund accounts with stablecoins such as USDC and other cryptocurrencies, with funds converted into US dollars where permitted.
For sportsbooks, the sales pitch is clear enough. Crypto can help acquisition, but smooth payouts may matter even more once players join. Paysafe found that 85% of bettors want crypto withdrawals, even though no US state currently permits sportsbook winnings to be paid out in digital assets.
Brand trust still ranked first when players choose a sportsbook, at 36%. Yet crypto payment features came close behind. Seamless crypto withdrawals ranked at 29%, payment choice at 28%, and seamless crypto deposits at 26%.
Zak Cutler, President of Global Gaming at Paysafe, commented:
“While crypto payments are only currently permitted in a relatively modest cohort of U.S. states, our latest research indicates that there’s strong player appetite for crypto at the cashier in not just these jurisdictions but across the broader market. As regulation evolves and as more iGaming markets embrace digital assets’ impressive value at the cashier, we’re confident that crypto will not just become an important payment method, but arguably pivotal to the industry’s transactional future.”
One useful comparison comes from Paysafe World Cup 2026 payments research, which found that 44% of bettors had abandoned a bet because a preferred payment method was unavailable. That supports the same commercial point: payment choice can affect conversion before a wager even happens.