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James’ introduction to betting came when playing marbles ‘for keeps’ in the school playground, and a few years later, playing pool for money at birthday parties. He’s been in the betting industry since 2004 and...
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Nick is an ex-casino manager turned PR specialist. He began his career as a croupier in the UK, and went on to work in Europe, Russia, Africa, Asia, and the USA. Previously he has worked...
Read Full BioGambling movies account for some of the most popular films ever made, captivating audiences around the world as they wait to see how the protagonist’s next game of cards, spin of the roulette wheel, or sports bet unfolds. Here’s our list of the ten best gambling movies ever made and what makes them special.
Key Beats
- Viewers are happy to identify with characters placing high-risk bets, knowing that they wouldn’t want to do so themselves.
- The never-ending online betting boom means there are now more fans of gambling than ever before.
- Gambling scenes often occur in glamorous places such as Monte Carlo or Las Vegas, adding an aspirational element to the movie.
Why Gambling Movies Are So Popular
The best ones explore struggle — characters forced to roll the dice, literally or metaphorically, to escape desperation. It’s always chance versus control, hope versus despair, as viewers watch them battle impossible odds. Professional gamblers in such films are morally complex, charismatic yet flawed, making their journeys psychologically rich and deeply compelling.
Audiences are drawn not to their victories but to their humanity, risk-taking, and the unpredictable paths their destinies follow.
Criteria for Selecting the Best Movies About Gambling
This is a ten-film list that we’ve taken very seriously. There have been dozens of casino movies, poker movies, and films exploring all other types of gambling made over the years, so we’ve spent plenty of time narrowing it down to just ten, also deciding on the order. It doesn’t matter when they were made; two years ago, or sixty years ago.
Here are 4 key questions we needed to answer in order to include films in the list:
- Did the film have a good cast, was it well-directed, with a high-quality script, and captivating storytelling?
- Did the gambling scenes depict credible outcomes rather than ludicrously unlikely ones?
- Was the hero, or anti-hero, one whose character and fortunes we identified with?
- Does the film stand the test of time, and is it still relevant today?
Classic Gambling Movie Era Highlights
Casablanca (1942) isn’t strictly a gambling film, but Rick’s Café Américain revolves around roulette and fortune. Nearly two decades later, The Hustler (1961) defined the lone gambler’s pursuit of redemption amid smoky pool halls and shady deals. It also inspired The Cincinnati Kid and The Gambler.
Ocean’s Eleven (1960) — led by Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack — captured the glitz and spirit of Las Vegas, paving the way for its 2001 remake and other Las Vegas gambling movies such as Casino and 21.
Modern Interpretations of Gambling Films
By the late 1990s and 2000s, gambling films shifted from glamorous casinos to gritty underground joints. Rounders explored illegal poker dens, while The Cooler followed a man hired to bring bad luck. In The Gambler (2014), Mark Wahlberg’s character haunts seedy casinos chasing one last win.
Recently, gambling technology has also entered the spotlight — Runner, Runner depicted online betting empires, and the blackjack movie 21 told of the MIT Blackjack Team’s success until biometric surveillance ended their run. The era marked realism, risk, and digital-age gambling.
Character Archetypes
Like westerns with heroes and villains, gambling films feature recurring archetypes. Paul Newman’s pool shark in The Hustler and The Color of Money and Matt Damon’s poker hustler in Rounders embody the driven gambler. High rollers like Philip Seymour Hoffman in Owning Mahowny or Daniel Craig in Casino Royale risk everything for pride or desperation.
Meanwhile, con artists shine in The Sting, where Paul Newman and Robert Redford masterfully outwit a mob boss. These characters define gambling cinema’s timeless allure of risk and redemption.
Gambling Movie Themes and Storytelling Techniques
Gambling films explore the struggle between chance and control, as characters try to outsmart fate through skill, ego, or intuition. Greed or desperation drives them to risk everything, often leading to downfall or redemption — from The Hustler’s pride to The Gambler’s final reckoning. Directors heighten tension through style: Scorsese’s Casino uses elegant tracking shots, while Uncut Gems mirrors chaos and anxiety through fast pacing, close-ups, and frantic dialogue, reflecting the protagonist’s manic state.
Top 10 Iconic Gambling Movies Ranked
You’ll see familiar titles and perhaps one or two that may have eluded your watchlist but are very much worth spending a night on the couch – with a bowl of popcorn, of course!
1. Rounders (1998)
Two childhood friends attempt to negotiate loan sharks, mounting debts, and relationship pressures while also trying to keep promises. Poker provides the only way out.
Brilliant performances from an ensemble cast, with John Malkovich’s calm yet psychotic Teddy KGB character being the highlight in a film that tells the game of poker like it is.
2. The Hustler (1961)
A cynical professional gambler bankrolls a young, talented but slightly unhinged pool player as things take a turn for the worse.
Filmed in black-and-white to add an increasingly dark mood, Paul Newman is at the top of his game as the flawed pool genius fighting his own demons.
3. The Sting (1973)
A pair of petty criminals turned con artists concoct a complex plan to win money back from a mob boss as revenge by convincing him to bet on horse races that have already been run.
Again, Paul Newman, this time alongside Robert Redford, has contagious on-screen chemistry with his co-star, and they feed off each other. The sting itself is hard to follow, but it’s worth it when you do.
4. Owning Mahoney (2003)
A bank employee with access to its funds is also a gambling addict using that same money to fund his increasingly out-of-control addiction, so sooner or later, something’s gotta give. A lesson in responsible gambling, it is not.
Philip Seymour Hoffman was born to play the role of the loner, nice-guy gambling addict whose inability to know when to stop is one that many can relate to.
5. Uncut Gems (2019)
A New York jeweler who loves betting on basketball risks everything on one last NBA game as his debtors circle, and he’s running out of time.
The film’s frenetic pace and growing intensity are worth the admission price alone, while Adam Sandler excels in what is a rare dramatic role for him.
6. The Color of Money (1986)
The Fast Eddie Felson character from The Hustler is now in his sixties when he takes a gifted young pool player under his wing to teach him the art of hustling at the pool table.
Once again, Paul Newman plays the aging pool player to perfection. At the same time, Tom Cruise’s brashness and immaturity are a fascinating contrast to the grizzled veteran as they seek to find the answer to the only question that matters: who’s the better player?
7. Even Money (2006)
A series of characters with unhealthy relationships with gambling get involved with illegal bookies, debt collectors, and college basketball players to try to beat the odds. But those odds are inevitably stacked against them.
A lot is happening here with the many characters engaging in all sorts of gambling. As their desperation grows, so does the potential for disaster.
8. Mississippi Grind (2015)
Two strangers meet at a bar and decide to go on a gambling spree down the Mississippi, playing roulette, poker, dog, and horse racing. Each time, they know that one false move can bring their downfall.
Another example of great on-screen chemistry, this time between Ryan Reynolds and the criminally underrated Ben Mendelsohn, featuring gambling sequences any true gambler can relate to.
9. 21 (2008)
Based on the true story of MIT students who followed meticulously laid-out blackjack card-counting schemes in Las Vegas casinos, before the casinos decided that enough was enough and hit back.
This is a rare true story of punters getting the better of casinos rather than the other way around. However, the fun has to stop at some stage, making for gripping viewing.
10. Rain Man (1988)
Tom Cruise takes his autistic brother Raymond/Rain Man, played by Dustin Hoffman, on a road trip before discovering he can flawlessly count cards, so they hit the Blackjack tables in search of a fortune.
Dustin Hoffman won an Oscar for this portrayal of Raymond, so that gives you a good idea of how good he was in that role, while Tom Cruise’s nervous energy and the realistic Blackjack-playing scenes are the icing on the cake.
Honorable Mentions
Missing out on the Top 10 by a whisker are the likes of The Cincinnati Kid and The Gambler (the 1974 original version).
Steve McQueen shines as a charming poker prodigy in The Cincinnati Kid, while James Caan’s tormented professor in The Gambler exposes the reach of addiction. Both are excellent films but fall short of greatness, relying too heavily on their leads without equally compelling supporting characters.
Streaming giant Netflix has also released Ballad of a Small Player, starring Colin Farrell as a gambling addict chasing a hot streak all over Macau.
Conclusion
Cinema-goers love to see fantastic characters, moral dilemmas, risky situations, tales of fortune and disaster, and the fine line between desperation and ambition; thankfully, movies about gambling tend to provide them with all of the above.
They also love seeing characters in dangerous situations that would be nightmare scenarios for themselves in the real world, but make for great storylines in films, meaning that the popularity of gambling movies is on the up, rather than on the wane.
It will be interesting to see if VR/AR slots, Live Dealer games, crypto betting, and casino mobile betting start to play a part in gambling films going forward. Or if producers stick with the tried and trusted themes that have made gambling-related films so loved over the decades.
As always, whether watching the best gambling movies or playing for real don’t forget to gamble responsibly and have fun.
FAQs
It stands the test of time, is relevant and appreciated years after its release. It has usually influenced other films of the gambling genre.
Casino, 21, Molly’s Game, and Eight Men Out are all gambling films based on real-life events or people who lived through them.
21 shows how card counting at Blackjack can be successfully executed. Owning Mahony paints a good picture of the potential highs and lows of Blackjack.
Two for the Money is all about betting on American Football points spreads, Rounders and The Cincinnati Kid are focused on poker, while 21 and Rain Man feature scenes involving Blackjack.
The essence of gambling and the concept of risk-taking appeals to lots of cinema fans and isn’t affected by trends and fads. This may explain why gambling films will always remain popular.
