New survey data commissioned by VIP Grinders suggests millions of US gamblers are funding bets through credit cards, overdrafts, cryptocurrency and personal borrowing, highlighting how gambling transactions are increasingly stretching beyond traditional disposable income
For years, debates around gambling payments largely centred on one question: should bettors be allowed to use credit cards?
New US survey data suggests the reality has become considerably more complicated. Research commissioned by VIP Grinders found that while most American gamblers still fund betting with disposable income, a sizeable minority are increasingly turning to credit products, cryptocurrency, and informal borrowing to place wagers.
The findings point towards a gambling payments ecosystem which now stretches well beyond debit cards and bank transfers.
According to the survey, 25.4% of gamblers said they use credit cards to gamble, while 16.6% borrow from friends or family and 12.1% use overdrafts. Another 9% said they use cryptocurrency to fund bets.
The research, conducted by Censuswide among 2,000 US adults who gamble, extrapolated those figures to suggest tens of millions of Americans may now be funding gambling through some form of debt or alternative financial source.
Crypto becomes part of the gambling payment mix
While credit cards remain the largest non-disposable income funding method identified in the research, the cryptocurrency findings may prove more significant for the wider payments sector.
VIP Grinders estimated that 23.9 million American adults use cryptocurrency for gambling transactions, with usage heavily concentrated among younger demographics. According to the survey, 16.6% of respondents aged 25-34 reported using crypto to gamble compared to 1.1% of those aged over 55.
The research also suggested regional disparities. Western US states recorded the highest level of crypto gambling funding at 14.8%, while San Francisco registered the highest city-level figure at 25.9%.
The figures arrive as crypto continues to carve out a more established role within online gambling and sports betting, particularly in offshore markets where digital assets are often promoted as faster and more private alternatives to traditional payment rails.
For operators and payment providers, crypto presents a different set of challenges to cards or bank transfers, particularly around transaction monitoring, affordability controls and regulatory oversight.
Borrowed money remains under scrutiny
The survey’s findings also reinforce broader concerns around the use of borrowed money in gambling.
An estimated 67.3 million Americans were projected to use credit cards for gambling, while 44 million borrow from friends or family, according to the survey extrapolations.
Younger consumers appeared more likely to rely on external funding sources. One in four respondents aged 18-24 said they had borrowed from friends or family to gamble, while 15.4% reported selling personal possessions to fund betting activity.
João Mourato, Head of iGaming Product at VIP Grinders, argued the figures reflected growing financial risk among some consumers.
Mourato said: “Using a credit card to fund gambling does not just mean you are playing with borrowed money, it means every loss carries an interest charge that continues long after the session ends.
“Gambling should only ever be funded from money you can genuinely afford to lose. The moment you are borrowing, whether from a bank, a credit card, or a friend, you have moved into territory where the losses can follow you home in ways that compound over months and years.”
The relationship between gambling and credit has become increasingly politicised in recent years, particularly in the US market where lawmakers and regulators have scrutinised transaction fees, affordability and payment accessibility.
Earlier this year, US Senator Elizabeth Warren publicly criticised gambling-related payment fees, prompting renewed discussion around whether credit-funded gambling should face tighter restrictions.
“The potential liabilities created when credit cards are used for sports gambling and prediction market platforms are not just bad for card issuers—they are also bad for consumers who are often saddled with unexpected, expensive junk fees,” she said.
Payment rails become a regulatory issue
The US gambling market remains fragmented from a payments perspective, with operators often working across differing state-level rules, banking relationships and transaction monitoring requirements.
While some international markets have moved to restrict certain payment methods, the US has yet to adopt a uniform approach to credit-funded gambling. This fragmentation has created a broader debate around whether gambling payment methods should be viewed purely as infrastructure, or as part of wider responsible gambling frameworks.
Mourato argued payment design and transparency play a larger role in consumer behaviour than is often acknowledged.
“The funding data tells a clear story: when players don’t have access to transparent, well-designed platforms with built-in tools like deposit tracking and session limits, they end up funding gambling through channels that carry real financial risk,” he said.
However, the survey also illustrates a wider shift taking place across gambling payments more broadly. Consumers are no longer relying on a single funding source, with traditional banking products now sitting alongside crypto wallets, peer-to-peer borrowing and alternative forms of credit.
For payment providers, operators and regulators alike, that increasingly fragmented ecosystem may prove more difficult to monitor than the card-based gambling models that dominated previous regulatory debates.
The research was conducted by Censuswide between 5-7 May, 2026, among 2,000 US adults aged 18+ who gamble.
