There is no shortage of sports movies that have been made over the last several decades. Some are epic and unforgettable while others have faded into the background. However, movies made about sports betting are a little harder to find. But if you look closely, there are plenty of movies out there, and some absolutely hit it out of the park when it comes to portraying the world of sports betting one way or another. That inspired us to come up with a list of the 10 best movies that fit the niche of sports betting.
10. Eight Men Out
We can’t have a list of sports betting movies without mentioning Eight Men Out. It’s based on the story of the Chicago White Sox and the 1919 World Series, the most infamous betting story in sports history. The film takes an interesting perspective, blaming the team’s owner rather than the players for the whole ordeal. Eight Men Out is perhaps the most entertaining way to learn more about the Black Sox scandal, especially with great performances from the likes of Charlie Sheen and John Cusack during their younger days.
9. Inside Game
Cinematically speaking, Inside Game isn’t exactly Citizen Kane. However, it’s a great dramatization of the 2007 NBA betting scandal that centered around referee Tim Donaghy. The audience gets to see how Donaghy found himself in such a position and how the betting scandal unfolded. Again, it didn’t come close to winning any awards for great acting performance. However, it’s a reasonably entertaining movie that does provide insight into a famous betting scandal.
8. Lucky Girl
Some people may have missed this movie, which is also called My Daughter’s Secret Life. However, it stars Elisha Cuthbert of 24 and The Girl Next Door fame. She plays a high school student in her native Canada who’s obsessed with both sports and gambling. While trying to raise money for a trip, she loses a huge sum of money betting on sports and later gets into trouble with a loan shark. It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds and is far better than the average made-for-TV movie.
Having been made in 2001, Lucky Girl is a little unrealistic in today’s world. Nowadays, there are many legal Canadian betting sites that offer a safe and trustworthy platform for placing sports bets. Then again, high school students aren’t old enough to legally bet online, so perhaps this movie is more realistic than we thought.
7. Bookies
This is another movie about young people getting involved in sports betting. Bookies follows college students Toby (Nick Stahl), Casey (Lukas Haas), and Jude (Johnny Galecki) as they start an illegal sports betting business with the hope of making some quick money. They recruit many of their classmates to place bets and things go well at first. However, things quickly spiral out of control as they become more entrenched in the bookmaking world. It has some comedic moments but also gets real. The film serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of illegal sports gambling and the potential consequences for those involved.
6. Let It Ride
Despite the serious subject matter, Let It Ride could be considered a comedy. Richard Dreyfus plays a cab driver who has some amazing luck betting on horses. However, he eventually learns that there is a downside to betting, especially once someone develops a serious addiction to it. The movie lets the audience know that while exhilarating, if betting isn’t done responsibly, there are bound to be serious consequences.
5. Lay the Favorite
This comedy-drama features Bruce Willis and Rebecca Hall in the lead roles. It centers around a struggling waitress played by Hall who transitions into a professional sports bettor in Las Vegas after meeting a charismatic gambler played by Willis. While moving deeper into the gambling scene, she gains important insights into trust, loyalty, and risk-taking. The film provides an entertaining look at the high-stakes world of sports betting while also underscoring the perils of becoming too immersed in the excitement of gambling.
4. Rounders
Obviously, poker is the main focus in Rounders, although there is a subplot that revolves around bookmaking and sports betting. Whether it’s backroom poker games or unsanctioned sportsbooks, these underground high-stakes worlds are dark and gritty, yet endlessly entertaining to watch on screen. The performances from a young Matt Damon and Edward Norton helped to make Rounders a cult hit and a movie that’s still worth talking about more than 20 years later.
3. Silver Linings Playbook
For what it’s worth, Silver Linings Playbook isn’t totally focused on sports betting. It’s more of a love story that revolves around the main character’s (played by Bradley Cooper) battle with mental illness and his inner demons. Nevertheless, we do get to see Robert De Niro’s character running an illegal sportsbook out of his living room. The movie helped introduce a lot of people to the concept of a parlay in sports betting. Plus, it’s just an all-around great movie that does have a sports betting sub-plot.
2. Two for the Money
This classic film follows the lives of two men willing to do whatever it takes for a big payday. Naturally, they choose the world of high-stakes sports betting to make that happen. Matthew McConaughey plays a former college football star who becomes a sports expert after his playing days are over due to his uncanny ability to predict the outcome of games. It seems like he should make a killing doing so until things inevitably go wrong. The movie perfectly captures the potential dangers of unchecked ambition in an industry like sports betting, which makes for a provocative and entertaining movie.
1. Uncut Gems
While some know him mostly as a comedian, Adam Sandler knocks it out of the park in a dramatic role. His character in Uncut Gems gets in over his head thanks to a gambling addiction and tries to place a high-stakes bet on an NBA playoff game with the hope that it’ll solve his problems. Between the camera work and Sandler’s performance, the audience gets sucked into the dark side of gambling and feels the anxiety that has taken over the life of the main character.