London, March 22, 2026, 17:30 GMT
Over the last few days, ZunaBet—a fresh face in the crypto casino space—has been promoted as a rival to legacy betting names. Blockonomi and CoinCentral rolled out direct matchups with bet365, following TheBodyLockMMA’s earlier head-to-head comparisons with Cloudbet and mBit. All this coverage highlights a growing split in the market: banking-backed giants sticking with cards on one side, crypto-only operators betting on speedier payouts and heavier rewards on the other. 1
The timing is notable. On Feb. 26, Tim Miller, executive director for research and policy at the Gambling Commission, said the regulator wants to look at “the potential path forward” for using cryptoassets in licensed UK gambling—though he stressed safeguards must come first. At the same time, the Commission flagged crypto as one of the top two search terms sending British gamblers to illegal websites. Licensed operators, meanwhile, are already feeling the squeeze from higher taxes and more expensive bonus wars, as reported by Reuters. 2
The campaign took off fast. On March 20 and March 21, TheBodyLockMMA put out PR pieces pitting ZunaBet against DraftKings and FanDuel. Blockonomi labeled its bet365 write-up as a press release, attributing the content to a third party. Over at CoinCentral, a bet365 comparison appeared under the same Michelle DG byline. Notably, Kooc Media Ltd links show up in the footer or author sections of all three outlets: CoinCentral, Blockonomi, and TheBodyLockMMA. 3
ZunaBet lists Strathvale Group Ltd., registered in Belize, as its operator, with gaming license ALSI-202510047-FI2 issued by Anjouan. According to the Anjouan register, Strathvale is cleared to run zunabet.com until Oct. 28, 2026. 4
Comparison write-ups noted that ZunaBet hit the market in 2026, rolling out over 11,000 games and backing more than 20 cryptocurrencies. There’s a gamified rewards program in play. The public site highlights crypto deposit offers, an extensive roster of game providers, and a loyalty section touting rakeback—rebates on bets—of up to 35%, with VIP perks on top. 1
bet365 remains a giant. For the 52 weeks ending March 30, 2025, the company reported turnover at 4.04 billion pounds with profits at 249.7 million pounds, according to group accounts filed at Companies House in December. The operator said it has kept putting money into safer-gambling tech, while also updating its website, app, and betting products. 5
The crypto gambling sector isn’t exactly newcomer territory. Cloudbet operates under Halcyon Super Holdings B.V., running out of Curacao with licence OGL/2024/328/0599. Over at mBit, that’s Scores55 Tech B.V. behind Curacao licence OGL/2024/1307/0748. In other words, ZunaBet faces not only established names like bet365, but has to contend with these crypto-native brands too. 6
Promotions remain the battleground here. “We just didn’t execute our generosity strategy as well as we should have done,” Flutter chief executive Peter Jackson said to Reuters back in February, calling out the incentive tactics gambling firms rely on to keep customers in play. That gives some context for why ZunaBet’s pitch is so fixated on fast payouts, introductory offers, and how it handles loyalty. 7
Still, those same perks—quick deposits, non-stop access, fat payouts—crank up the regulatory risk. Reuters just noted African governments hiking gambling taxes, pointing to mounting addiction concerns, while the Financial Times flagged $17 billion in U.S. sports-betting revenue for 2025, with studies linking the surge to spikes in debt and bankruptcy rates. 8
That looks more like marketing than meaningful market share at this stage. Still, the comparison is telling: crypto-first operators aren’t just sizing themselves up against rivals in their own corner anymore—they’re stacking their progress against giants like bet365, the brands that shaped online betting’s previous chapter. 1
