Your favourite streamer on Kick or Twitch probably plays casino games.

In fact, the odds are you’ve seen them bet $250 or more on single slot machine spins (Drake, who has a huge partnership deal with Stake, has hosted countless live streams of himself betting millions of dollars).

This used to be considered “high stakes” gambling but is now completely normalized in the streaming space, and it’s led to Gen Zers becoming avid casino players.

With traditional console sales down and mobile gambling at an all-time high, what we now have is a generation of gamers playing online casino games instead of your traditional $50 multiplayer AAA releases from major studios, making for one of the most interesting gaming trends we’ve seen for a long time.

Specifically, Gen Z are hooked on slots and crash games, two of the most popular categories at the moment, and with how it’s shaping up they’re only going to get bigger.

Slots and Crash Games Have Got Gen Z’s Attention

Not that long ago, gambling games were hidden away in a corner of the internet.

Now, they’re everywhere, from online casinos to the sweepstakes casinos ranked on sweepsplays.com, with anyone able to access them.

Inside the likes of the FanDuel, Stake, and DraftKings casinos are slots and crash games, both of which Gen Z have gotten hooked on over the past few years (ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, gambling among young generations has skyrocketed).

Slots Are the New Wave, with Games Like ‘Sugar Rush’ Leading the Way

With classic casino games such as poker and blackjack taking a backseat, slots have taken on a completely new life now that Gen Z have started playing them.

The difference now is that online slots are no longer the boring, safe, and predictable 3-reel slots that everyone used to play.

They’ve undergone a huge transformation over the past decade, adding tons of new features, big bonuses, better themes, and everything else you can imagine.

There’s also been the rise of Megaways and Cluster Pays slots, providing new players with thousands more ways to win when they smash that spin button.

Sugar Rush, a candy-themed smash-hit from Pragmatic Play, has proven to be one of the best new generation slot games yet, as well as a handful of others like Gates of Olympus and Sweet Bonanza (these are usually the go-to slots for streamers on Kick and Twitch).

And the reason why Gen Z can’t stop spinning them is because slots offer instant gratification, meaning no learning curve or overly long gameplay.

You quite literally just grab your iPhone or Android, hit the spin button, and wait to see what happens.

When you throw on top the fact it’s possible to win money from these slot games you begin to see why Gen Z is obsessed.

Crash Games, a New Type of Casino Game, Have Also Taken Over

Crash games are also racking up hours of playtime among Gen Z.

They’re brilliantly simple: once the game starts, a multiplier climbs from 1.00× as a spaceship or vehicle flies up into the sky, and players must then cash out before it crashes.

It’s effectively a game to test your nerves and how long you’re willing to let the multiplier rise before you cash out.

For example, if you bet $10 and cash out at 3.00×, this would bag you $30, although the catch is that the spaceship can crash at any moment.

Just like slots, it’s a fun, adrenaline-pumping concept that’s really taken off (pun intended) with Gen Z, and it’s safe to say that crash games could easily overtake slots in the near future.

Aviator (Spribe), Spaceman, Big Bass Crash and FlyX, all of which you can find inside leading online casinos, have adopted this concept and become player-favorites, finding the perfect way to provide instant gameplay excitement without players having to learn or practice any complex rules.

Gen Z Make Up 34% of All US Betting Activity in 2025

The recent rise of slot and crash games among Gen Z is shown in the TransUnion’s recent US Betting Report, which found that they accounted for 34% of all US bets in the second quarter of 2025.

So much of this is driven by these casino games, as well as Gen Z’s other favorite obsession, sports gambling.

Casinos have caught their attention the most, though, especially now the likes of xQx, Adin Ross, and other popular streamers have influenced millions of new players to sign up with online casinos.

What’s also interesting is that the US online casino market currently sits at around $6.7 billion according to Grand View Research and will likely have doubled in size by the time 2030 arrives.

Online Casinos Are Console’s Biggest Challenger

As we head into 2026, not many people would’ve predicted that online casinos would be one of the biggest challengers facing consoles.

Recent data tells us that console sales are down and in the eyes of many, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S failed to deliver on the hype.

And with the gaming landscape changing and Gen Z admitting they no longer spend as much money on video games, it’s created a new movement where more gamers than ever are playing inside online casinos and other similar iGaming platforms.

After all, online casinos don’t require a purchase fee — and sweepstakes casinos even let you play all of their games for free — so it’s obviously going to appeal to Gen Z and even some Millennials.

Off the back of this, the likes of the FanDuel Casino and Chumba Casino all have millions of players, posing a serious threat to traditional gaming outlets.

The threat is only going to get stronger now that Gen Z have discovered slots and crash games, too, with both genres offering a level of simplicity and instant entertainment that most of today’s regular video games just can’t match.