Gambling movies are fun to watch. Some of the best titles in the genre revolve around high stakes. Some are filled with mobsters, and others include reckless thieves trying to steal money from the casino in over-the-top heists.

Are casino movies accurate?

Maybe. Some movies will stretch the truth and bluff the viewers, while others are highly accurate and will make even the world’s foremost gamblers sweat in anticipation.

If you’re a gambling fan, these are the movies you’ll want to watch.

7 Best Gambling Movies in the Last 100 Years

1. Casino (1995)

Casino the movie is one of my all-time favorites, and film critics agree: it’s one of the best ever made. The movie shows how casinos were run in the 70s and 80s when the mafia led the way with funding casinos in Las Vegas.

You’ll be able to take a look back at what was like in these casinos, understand how these hotspots grew and see what happens when cheaters enter the floor.

The Martin Scorsese film features Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro and Sharon Stone.

2. California Split (1974)

California Split is a film from 1974, so if you don’t like older movies, feel free to skip down our list for a newer flick. The film features George Segal, Elliot Gould, Gwen Welles and Ann Prentiss.

Segal and Gould play a pair of gamblers who star in what many critics call “the best gambling movie ever made.”

Gould’s character, Charlie Waters, is an avid gambler who is always looking for his next take. He wants to score big, and he will go to great lengths to win. Segal plays the role of Bill Denny who works at a magazine and loves gambling, but not to the lengths of his friend Waters.

Bill starts to spend more time with his friend and slowly becomes addicted to the game.

Once his addiction swells, he starts selling his possessions to go to Reno to gamble. He plays poker, craps, blackjack and roulette, winning over $18,000.

The two win big before the surprise ending.

3. The Gambler (2014)

The Gambler, no not the song from Kenny Rogers, is a great American crime drama released in 2014. Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman and Brie Larson star in the film. The film follows Jim Bennett.

Bennett is on the road to self-destruction and ends up $200,000 in debt. The person he is in debt to, a Mr. Lee, runs an underground gambling ring. He owes $50,000 to his loan shark. Bennett is given seven days to pay off his debt, and if he can’t come up with the money, he will be murdered.

If you like movies like Monte Carlo, this is a movie you’ll like, too.

Unfortunately for Bennett, the movie has a lot of twists and turns and he eventually has one last bet on the roulette wheel that will decide his fate.

4. Ocean’s Eleven (2001) & Thirteen (2007)

Ocean’s Eleven and Thirteen are tied together because they’re both part of the trilogy. One of the best Vegas movies of all time, the film has one of the most high-profile casts in the world, featuring George Clooney and Brad Pitt along with Julia Roberts and Matt Damon.

Like a lot of the casino films on our list, this is one of those movies that includes a lot of gambling, but it truly revolves around a heist.

Ocean’s Eleven has their team trying to pull off a $150 million heist. The film follows the charismatic Danny Ocean as he is released from prison. He meets his partner who suggests a major heist that will involve robbing three major casinos at once:

The duo assemble a team that is involved in everything from watching the casino floor to the heist.

Ocean’s 13, yes, we skipped Ocean’s 12, is the final film and features the likes of Bernie Mac, Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin and numerous other additions. The crew is at it again with the objective of stopping The Bank from winning the Five Diamond Award and to rig all of the casino’s games so that millions of payouts happen at the same time.

This is one of the movies about gambling that everyone should watch.

5. Uncut Gems (2019)

Want to watch a newer film? Uncut Gems stars Adam Sandler, but this time, he is not playing the comical role that made him a star. He’s a gambling addict who also runs a jewelry store in New York.

He owes over $100,000 to a loan shark, and he starts gambling on basketball games with his partner Kevin Garnett in the film.

The film follows a journey of luck, violence and gambling. While not one of the best poker films on the market, it does show how the world of sports gambling works.

6. 21 (2008)

An action-packed casino movie, 21 is based on Bringing Down the House. The film follows a brilliant MIT student named Ben Campbell. The mathematician was accepted into Harvard Medical School, but he has to come up with $300,000 to pay for his tuition.

Ben uses his brilliance in math to start counting cards and works with a team to have signals in place to increase their odds.

This is one of the best casino movies because a lot of the tactics are real. Card counting is extremely popular, and it has become a sophisticated way to improve the odds against casinos. The problem is that if you’re caught counting cards, there’s a good chance you’ll be tossed out of the casino forever.

Ben becomes a big player and starts to get caught in the high stakes lifestyle.

It’s a riveting movie that has a great ending.

7. Rounders (1998)

New England is the focal point of Rounders, which features Matt Damon and Edward Norton. The duo take to dark poker rooms in the northeast where they aim to eliminate their debt through high-stakes card games.

The story follows a law student who wants to be in World Series Poker. The student, played by Matt Damon, loses $30,000 to a Russian mobster, putting him in a difficult situation that seems to have cleared up until his friend, played by Norton, is released from jail.

About author

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Harry Burth
Digital Marketing Manager, Blog editor
Experience:3 years

Harry is a long-time member of our team and has been working with CasinoHEX UK for a number of years.

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Harry Burth
Digital Marketing Manager, Blog editor
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Harry is a long-time member of our team and has been working with CasinoHEX UK for a number of years.