If you were asked to name a movie about gambling, chances are you would opt for something like Ocean’s Eleven with Brad Pitt, or Mark Walberg’s, The Gambler.
In fact, you could pick from any number of casino based gambling movies, but you would probably struggle to come up with one about sports betting.
We will explore why that might be a little later in the article, but first we have good news for bettors who have been looking for something to watch that uses betting as a subject or plot point.
There are quite a few, they just haven’t been box office record breakers, and a lot of them are quite old too.
That’s no bad thing, however, and it could even mean that sports betting movies are due to have their time in the sun, as genres tend to come in cycles in the movie industry.
It’s a fairly niche genre though to be fair, so maybe don’t bet on it.
See what we did there?
Sports Betting in Cinema
Here we are then, some of our favourite sports betting movies of all time.
There may be others that we haven’t heard of, or have heard of and just didn’t like much, but this is a pretty good list to get you started.
We haven’t included titles like The Hustler and White Men Can’t Jump, because although they have a betting element, they are more about hustling and street betting than proper sports betting.
So with that said, close the curtains, dim the lights, bust open the popcorn and fizzy drinks, and enjoy.
Bookies – 2003
Released just as the online gambling scene was beginning to establish itself, Bookies follows the adventures of 3 college students who set up their own bookmaking business that gets out of hand.
They are soon making more money than they know what to do with, and taking bets from people far and wide who have heard of their operation.
There is a hint of nostalgia to the film since they take bets in person and over the phone, rather than on the internet, and everyone likes seeing an underdog do well.
It’s not all plain sailing though since they get the attention of the local Mafia whose territory they are encroaching on, and this coupled with some match fixing sees things get pretty hairy for a while.
They ultimately come up with a plan to make lets of money and get out of trouble, making for a satisfying resolution all round.
No real big movie names in this one but plenty of faces you will recognise, like David Proval (Richie Aprille in The Sopranos) and a young John Galecki (Big Bang Theory).
Uncut Gems – 2019
An unexpected and outstanding performance in this one from funny man, Adam Sandler, playing a role that couldn’t be less comical.
Sandler plays Howard Ratner, a gem stone dealer who works with some pretty famous sports stars to create and sell them jewellery, watches, and the like.
He is also a gambling addict with huge debts to a loan shark, and has a pretty chaotic life all told – at one point in the movie he even ends up in a scrap with rapper, The Weekend. And somehow, it doesn’t seem far fetched.
He gets hold of an incredibly precious stone that NBA player Kevin Garnett decides he needs to hold on to for good luck in the game, but then won’t give it back. Howard has pans to sell the stone for $1 million which would solve all his problems.
The storyline gets quite complicated but ultimately he ends up with enough money to pay his debts, but instead places it all on a three way parlay, and when the loan sharks come to collect he tricks them and locks them in a safe room while he watches the game.
His bet comes in, he has won masses of money, and he lets the loan sharks out to give them the good news, but they are so angry with him for locking them up they murder him before he has a chance to.
Oh, spoilers. Soz.
Let it Ride – 1989
This is a fairly ridiculous but nonetheless thoroughly entertaining movie starring Richard Dryfuss and… Robbie Coltrane, or all people.
Anyway, the plot revolves around Jay Trotter who is a habitual gambler, and an unsuccessful one at that.
He works as a cab driver and overhears two customers talking about a doping scam, making one runner in the race a sure thing, and records the conversation.
He makes the bet and wins big, triggering a lucky streak that sees Jay put all of his winnings on the next race, and the next.
The more he wins the more he feels this is ‘his lucky day’ – he is even falsely arrested in a case of mistaken identity which stops him betting on a horse that goes on to lose, only reinforcing his belief that he is on a lucky streak.
In amongst all of this is a collection of funny interactions with his wife, and people at the racecourse who he is attracting with his success, including a female suitor.
By the end of the movie he has $68,000 and places it all on one final race.
It comes down to a photo finish, and in a brilliantly feel good ending (albeit a terrible message for gamblers everywhere) his horse is deemed the winner, and his belief that today is his lucky day is assured.
We can dream, can’t we?
Lay the Favourite – 2012
This is a film that bombed at the box office losing the producers millions, but we thought it was really quite fun, as well as giving some insight into the world of a professional gambler who is running a serious operation.
Starring Bruce Willis and Catherine Zeta Jones amongst other names, it’s based on the memoirs of Beth Rayner, an ex stripper who ended up working for a high stakes gambler in Las Vegas.
That gambler is called Dink Heimowitz, who runs Dink Inc., but the character is based on Alan ‘Dink’ Denkenson, a well known member of the gambling community who passed away in 2022.
The movie is full of drama and moments of tension, plus some interesting relationship triangles and of course lots of betting.
The story even ends up in Curacao as the cast try to avoid a potential undercover agent and pay off their gambling debts.
As a side note, a man with the same name as Dink took legal action against the writer of the story because he felt the character was very similar to him in description, but did not like his characteristics and felt it could damage his professional reputation in the insurance industry.
The cynical readers among us might suspect the guy was just after a quick payday…
The Day the Bookies Wept – 1939
This one is a real oldie dating right back to before the second world war, but it’s still a good watch if you like a bit of daft comedy with a sports betting twist.
The movie is about two cab drivers who get sick and tired of losing money to bookmakers, so decide to buy their own horse and make money on the racetrack as owners.
They pool their money and send a guy called Ernie, who is married to one of their sisters, Ina, to buy them a decent mare.
Ernie isn’t the brightest spark though, and gets tricked into buying a nag called Hiccup, which ends up being useless.
However they then discover that Hiccup likes a beer, and runs an awful lot better while under the influence.
The horse is entered into another race at very long odds thanks to its previous performance, and Ernie and Ina bet $2,000 (in 1939!) on the horse to win, and win it does, banking them a fortune.
A very silly story but definitely a good watch – and Betty Grable is in it too if you are into 1940s pin ups.
Eight Men Out – 1988
Eight Men Out is the true story of the 1919 Chicago White Sox scandal.
The White Sox were the best team of their time, but the owner of the club was not sharing the wealth, holding back bonuses and creating much discontent among the players.
This was long before the crazy high wages sports stars get today, so the men were understandably angry.
A couple of gamblers hear about what is going on and convince a ring leader to pick out a few players to help him throw the series by losing games.
They convince the players they can earn more by losing, with the gamblers betting against them, than they can by winning.
There is some confusion about who was directly and indirectly involved, but the match fixing definitely happened, and 8 superstar players were banned for life once it all came to light.
This is a great film with a stellar cast, featuring John Cusack, Charlie Sheen, and Michael Rooker (Merle in The Walking Dead) in fine form during their earlier careers.
Arguably the best movie on this list.
Two for the Money – 2005
Now onto arguably the worst movie on the list.
It’s not terrible and it has an incredible cast – McConaughey, Pacino, Piven – but it just doesn’t slot together all that well.
Nevertheless, sports betting is a huge part of this move since one of its lead characters run a sports betting advice type of business.
Many wealthy, and dangerous, people go to Pacino’s character, Walter, for betting tips, and when McConaughey’s Brandon joins the business things really take off.
Brandon was a college football star who sustained a career ending injury before he had even got out of the gates, but he understood the game so well he could predict outcomes with alarming regularity.
This makes everyone very happy and very rich initially, but he gets lazy, and starts making predictions on gut feelings rather than doing his research, and then things start to fall apart.
He ends up making million dollar calls on the flip of a coin.
Not a critical success by any stretch of the imagination, but still worth a watch in our eyes.
The Runner – 1999
We will end on a great little indie flick, which, if you can find it, is an absolute gem.
Indie it might technically be, but it still stars John Goodman as professional high stakes gambler Deep Throat, Ron Eldard as the lead character Edward, and Courtney Cox as his girlfriend.
Edward is a gambling addict, any kind of gambling will do, and he runs up gambling debts. To pay them off, his uncle wangles a job for him as a runner for Deep Throat.
The job involves taking large sums of money to different bookies all over town to place bets for Deep Throat, but in the words of Edward, “Asking me to be a runner is like asking an alcoholic to tend bar” – as you can imagine, he doesn’t exactly stick to his side of the bargain.
There’s plenty of old school sports betting action in this one, over the telephone and in person, plus a dramatic storyline alongside and the obligatory love sub plot.
Like a good bet, it’s hard to find, but well worth digging for.
Why Aren’t There Many Movies About Sports Betting?
Even people who have never been to one know what a casino is, even people who have never placed a bet in their life can understand what goes on in there.
The games are simple, the rewards – when they come – are instant, and the extravagance of the surroundings draws the eye for miles away.
With sports betting, however, there is more complexity.
There are different bet types to contend with, odds movements, the option to back and lay and hedging – it’s a lot to teach an audience in an hour and a half, so movies tend to shy away from it.
At least they have done in the past.
Uncut Gems gives the audience some credit here, and manages to tell the story in such a way that you know whether Sandler’s character has won or lost the bet just by the way the scene is shot for those who can’t follow the betting terminology.
Hopefully this will show Hollywood that sports betting is a subject that can be entertaining to all audiences, not just those who like a flutter.
Another reason might be that sports betting can be seen as slightly less classy and glamorous. There are no show girls, no free drinks and the slot machines or polite suited members of staff looking after high rollers.
Some guy sat in a chair crunching stats isn’t exactly catnip for a paying audience, unless the film makers have the skill to weave a good story into it of course, in which case it really can be a thrilling watch.