New study finds the top 21 gambling movies of all time

It is easy to understand why movies that have a gambling theme have a draw to them, especially when they have an exciting storyline to boot.

There are of course other factors that help to play a part, such as the film set, cast, special effects as well as many more. Essentially though, right at the heart of these movies though is the gambling element which is central to the main theme.

This begs the question – what is the best gambling movie that has been released over the decades and as a result, just how popular are these?

Recent research undertaken by casino comparison website newcasinosites.me.uk has led to this answer and the results may not be perhaps what you might expect. Utilising highly credible industry sources and compiling statistical data, this has led to an overall and comprehensive result of the top 21 gambling movies ever released, with each one presented as a percentage.

How many of these had titles where it was obvious what the theme was about?

This is certainly an interesting question and as you will see from the data, only seven (one third) out of the top 21 gambling movies only had titles that clearly indicated a link to gambling.

The reason why this is interesting – especially when you factor in that a lot of the remaining 14 ranked in the top 10, is because it casts intrigue over what made the audiences decide to watch these.

While many read reviews and/or watch trailers, some of these are wary about giving the plot away and, especially when you consider the older titles, trailers and reviews were not as readily available several decades ago as they are today.

A particular example of this is the result which came in at second place; Mr Lucky, which scored 86 percent. This was released in 1943, however, the obvious selling point in this case (at the time), would have been the fact that it starred Hollywood icon, Cary Grant, who at the time was considered a movie megastar and certainly a major draw for any audience. Also, though, this did have a very original storyline, was well written and Grant did have a reputation for having a great screen presence.

Interestingly, both the first and last ranked movies in the study had obvious to semi-obvious (accordingly) tie-ins to gambling. This is especially the case when you consider the first placed movie; Casino Royale, which had an overall rating of 87 percent. Perhaps the most obvious draw in this case though is that it is part of the James Bond franchise as well, which will have been a major factor why it clinched top spot. The one in last place, ‘21’ (named after the gambling game, more widely known as ‘blackjack), meanwhile was based on a true story about card counters and which starred Hollywood legend Kevin Spacey

Intriguing observation

What is also curious is that out of the top 21 movies, there were only five of these that had just one word in the title of the movie (21 being a tenuous inclusion) and three of these ranked in the top five. These were Casino, Rounders and Croupier, which were all released within three years of each other.