Top 5 Sports Betting Movies
By: Jack Spade
Tags: Sports, Sports Betting, Movies, Gambling

Sports betting movies may not have large-scaled casino sets to wow viewers like other gambling movies but that doesn’t mean they can’t find their own way to create a compelling story out of the subject. Here are the best films about sports betting that are well worth your time.

Uncut Gems (2019)

Uncut Gems is a creation of studio A24, the one bringing us The Witch, Moonlight, Lady Bird and others. Directed by the Safdie brothers, the movie is filled with naturalistic overlapping dialogues, which for most of the runtime add to the tension of an already adrenaline-filled story.

Sports Betting lies at the center as the addiction and ultimately downfall of Howard, the main character. It’s a brilliant character study that lets the audience follow every development of Howard’s obsession. The film manages to hang in the air a fleeting hope that Howard will somehow get out of this unscathed, which mimics the same mentality gambling addicts have when chasing their one huge win.

The Gambler (1974)

Gambling has existed for hundreds of years so let’s go back in time to visit this sports betting gem from 1974. The Gambler features James Cann as an English professor who’s haunted by his betting addiction. James Cann was having problems with controlling his cocaine usage at the time, so it adds that much more realism to his performance.

The Gambler delves deep into the psychology of a gambler, taking ideas from a novel by one of the most profound Russian authors: Fyodor Dostoevsky. The film argues that gambling addiction can stem from a subconscious desire to lose underneath the surface desire to win. While many bettors may not agree with this take, they can certainly admire the ambition of the film’s search for answers.

Let It Ride (1989)

Not every sports betting movie has to be ‘deep’ to be good, nor do they have to portray someone ruining his life with gambling. Let It Ride introduces us to Trotter, a simple-minded bettor who wins $660 from overhearing a horse racing tip. He then uses that money to bet again, and again, and you guessed it, again.

Let It Ride is comedically brilliant in the fact that it makes fun of a bettor’s naivety and impulsive tendencies yet also celebrates the simple joy of winning a bet. Therefore, in the film, Trotter ends up winning every bet he makes that day, a feat most bettors sure envy.

Eight Men Out (1988)

Eight Men Out is about one of the biggest scandals in sports and sports betting in general. In 1919, a legendary baseball team: The Chicago White Socks lost a game on purpose in conspiracy with a gambling organization.

The best thing about Eight Men Out is that it’s not one sided. The film doesn’t point fingers but presents many moral dilemmas for the viewers and its characters. On the one hand, you can criticize these players for their lack of integrity. On the other hand, however, Eight Men Out shows that the underlying reason why they agree to do this is because they are horribly treated and paid by their owner.

Bookies (2003)

Bookies is a very obscure film that few people know about, but now you do. You may even learn a thing or two about starting up a bookie business as you watch 3 college students do so. The film features clever schemes such as stuffing money into books that no one reads at the library and having a pick-up delivering those books to their clients.

Bookies offers a lot of excitement as similar businesses in the area start to get news of this and they’re not happy that a bunch of college kids are taking their job. They proceed to threaten one of the group’s members but the smart students soon find a way to outsmart all of them.