Decentralized casinos and DAO-run betting protocols are maturing in 2025. On-chain sportsbooks such as SX Bet report hundreds of millions in cumulative wagers, while prediction platforms like Polymarket have posted multibillion-dollar volumes this year. Infrastructure protocols including Azuro and Thales power multiple front-ends, and purpose-built gambling chains such as WINR’s stack have crossed nine-figure handled volumes. Yet the year also highlights risk, with authorities pursuing alleged “rug pulls” like ZKasino.
What “decentralized casino” and “DAO betting” really mean
A decentralized casino executes game logic, payouts, and randomness on smart contracts rather than a private backend, enabling transparent, provably fair play and non-custodial funds. DAO betting adds token-holder governance over parameters such as fee splits, treasury use, and product upgrades.
How the tech stack works
Liquidity and pricing are moving on-chain. Azuro’s LiquidityTree plus virtual AMM model routes bets against a shared liquidity pool and programmatically sets odds, while Thales/Overtime runs non-custodial sports markets governed by an elected council. These designs reduce custody risk for players and lower the barrier to launching local front-ends.
Platforms and protocols to watch in 2025
Azuro Protocol and its ecosystem
Azuro provides the betting infrastructure—liquidity, odds, and settlement—so multiple apps can launch without building engines from scratch. Its public dashboard showed nine-figure cumulative volume by mid-2025, and industry coverage reports further growth into August. Front-ends include Bookmaker.xyz tournaments and SmartContractBets.xyz.
What to monitor in 2025: protocol volume on Dune, number of active front-ends, and chain distribution across Polygon and other EVM networks.
Thales Protocol’s Overtime Markets
Overtime, built on Thales, offers a non-custodial sports trading experience with instant liquidity and governance via the Thales Council. It supports markets across soccer, basketball, UFC, tennis and more, and intentionally operates without its own token for the Overtime product.
SX Bet on SX Network
SX describes itself as the largest on-chain betting exchange, reporting more than $600–700 million in lifetime wagers and double-digit year-over-year growth through 2025, with expansions to new chains like Berachain. The project migrated to an Arbitrum Orbit rollup for faster blocks and continues to publish quarterly volume updates.
WINR Protocol and JustBet
WINR positions itself as iGaming infrastructure with a decentralized bankroll and fully on-chain casino titles. A spring 2025 case study cited over $130 million processed volume and profit share paid to users, while project docs outline DAO governance and “no middleman” design.
Decentral Games DAO (Poker Arcade)
Decentral Games’ poker offering is governed by its DAO and has iterated product design via governance votes, including a 2024 transition of ICE Poker branding to Poker Arcade. Public resources and market trackers document the DAO framing and token migration notes.
Zeitgeist (prediction and futarchy on Polkadot)
Zeitgeist runs a Layer-1 prediction market with “always-liquid” design and has implemented futarchy in governance. A 2025 third-party security audit on combinatorial betting adds to due diligence materials. While broader than casinos, its sports and crypto markets overlap with betting demand.
Polymarket’s breakout year
Although not DAO-governed, Polymarket is essential context for Web3 betting in 2025. Coverage notes monthly records and multibillion-dollar YTD turnover, alongside a high-profile move to re-enter the U.S. via a regulated acquisition. These developments normalize on-chain event markets and may influence regulatory posture toward decentralized betting.
Market context: gaming wallets vs. betting growth
DappRadar reported a Q2 2025 dip in overall blockchain gaming wallets, even as on-chain betting verticals posted strong flows at the protocol level. This divergence suggests speculation-driven apps can buck broader gaming softness when liquidity and events calendars are favorable.
Regulatory and adoption signals to track
Event-contract and sports-betting developments continue globally, including partnerships between crypto exchanges and U.S. sports gaming operators, and mainstream coverage of prediction markets around marquee events. These signals affect liquidity access and consumer awareness in Web3 betting.
Risk management and red flags
Jurisdictional compliance, KYC expectations, and consumer protections vary widely. High-profile enforcement actions around alleged crypto casino “rug pulls” like ZKasino show why audits, transparent treasuries, and on-chain controls matter. Review official notices and credible forensics when evaluating platforms.
How to evaluate a decentralized casino or DAO betting app
Smart-contract design and audits. Favor systems with public documentation and recent audits or formal verifications. Zeitgeist’s 2025 audit is a reference point for the kind of reporting to look for.
On-chain transparency. Check a protocol’s Dune or similar dashboards for volumes, LP counts, and treasury activity; Azuro’s public stats are an example.
Governance and token distribution. Review participation rates and whether governance is meaningfully decentralized rather than dominated by a core team. Thales Council materials and project docs can illustrate how proposals are surfaced and executed.
Custody and payouts. Prefer non-custodial wallets and instant on-chain settlement where legal. Overtime and SX document non-custodial mechanics; WINR/JustBet emphasizes decentralized bankrolls.
Outlook for the rest of 2025
Expect more chain-specific deployments, liquidity programs around major sports seasons, and experiments with AI-assisted agents placing bets on decentralized books. Early coverage emphasizes that agent automation is nascent and faces regulatory and reliability hurdles, but it is a theme to watch.
Bottom line
On-chain betting is moving from novelty to durable niche in 2025. Infrastructure protocols like Azuro and Thales, exchange-style sportsbooks such as SX, and fully on-chain casino stacks like WINR/JustBet are setting the pace, while prediction markets such as Polymarket bring mainstream attention. Use audits, dashboards, and governance disclosures to separate signal from hype—and always consider your local laws before participating.
