5 Insightful Documentaries About Gambling

Gambling is a complex subject that’s worth exploring in all its glory. It has a centuries-old history that’s waiting to be told, which is why we’re introducing five of our favourite documentaries about gambling. These documentaries primarily focus on land-based casinos and their stories but some also touch on online casino games such as online poker. Learn more about gambling professionals as well as how casinos operate today.

Now Place Your Bets

Now Place your Bets focuses on legal sports betting in Las Vegas. In addition, the film examines how sports betting has become a billion-dollar industry around the world. It shows real-life footage and interviews of some of the popular characters in the gambling industry. Sports betting enthusiasts will recognise Jimmy Vaccaro, Dennis Tobler, Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, and Bob Martin — they’re all featured in the documentary and talk about the life of a professional gambler.

Bet Raise Fold: The Story Of Online Poker

As the name suggests, the focus of this documentary is online poker. During the 2000s, online poker quickly became a multi-billion dollar industry after appearing out of nowhere. This documentary explores the challenges it faced along the way. It follows the lives of Internet poker professionals who tell their own story of fame and money along with life lessons learned from their success.

Frontline: The Fantasy Sports Gamble

This documentary focuses on the growth of fantasy sports and online sports betting and explores the behind-the-scenes of the industry as a whole. Frontline: The Fantasy Sports Gamble also interviews various professionals from the industry, including prosecutors and regulators, who ensure the business is fair. All in all, this is a fantastic documentary that demonstrates the success and challenges of the fantasy sports gambling industry. 

A Kid’s Game: The Story of Online Poker

This is another documentary that shows the history of online poker. It features various online casino players who discuss their winning strategies and things every player should pay attention to when they gamble. Follow the lives of these online poker professionals as they go through ups and downs and navigate through life. The documentary is inspiring and insightful, perfect for anyone who just can’t get enough of learning more about gambling. 

The Best of It

Following the life of a professional gambler, The Best of It explores how someone can make a living as they invest in sports betting long term. You’ll get to hear impressive stories as well as strategies professional sports gamblers take when deciding who to bet on. However, the most interesting part of this documentary is the fact that the director shot 1,400 hours of footage and managed to edit it all down to a 45-minute documentary.