Betting on sports goes all the way back to 676 BC, when spectators at the Olympiad are believed to have bet on chariot races and gladiator battles. It is a truly ancient activity.

It has remained part of the sporting world ever since, with the emergence of professional bookmakers. Then it began to move online during the 1990s and 2000s to the point where that is now the main way that people bet on sports.

This easy availability increased its popularity and research has found that men below 35 years of age are the most enthusiastic fans. It could be that they have discovered it through movies too.

Brands like BetMGM have been a staple in films and betting on sports has been the focus of some all-time great movies. It is those sports bet classics that this article will examine.

The Hustler

This 1961 movie starring Paul Newman is certainly among the most iconic. Newman is brilliant in the role of ‘Fast’ Eddie Felson, a pool hustler who wants to play and beat the best of them all – Minnesota Fats. That is his ticket from small-time pool halls to the big leagues.

One thing that is unusual about the movie is that it depicts a face-off between Felson and Fats right at the start, with Felson getting well ahead only to end up losing after a marathon match. It then shows him learning to shed his youthful arrogance and immaturity as he tries to earn a rematch.

The drama is as much about Felson’s character as it is about the gambling and it has a downbeat ending that is unusual in Hollywood. The Hustler won numerous awards and turned Newman into one of the biggest movie stars in the world.

Two for the Money

This is another excellent drama that deals with the subject of betting on sports. Made in 2005, it stars Al Pacino as Walter Abrams, the head of a sports consulting firm.

He recruits ex-college football player Brandon Lang, who has retired due to injury but is an expert on the game and forecasting winners. Lang is played by Matthew McConaughey and the two go on to achieve enormous success hosting a sports bet show on cable television.

However their new lifestyle goes to the heads of both men, with Lang neglecting to do proper analysis, leading him to lose his winning touch. By the end both men are desperate and everything comes down to one final gamble.

It touches on the corrupting powers of wealth and fame as well as the dangers of compulsive gambling. It also captures the excitement of betting for sports fans though, while Pacino and McConaughey are both superb throughout.

The Gambler

Not many movies are based on stories by Dostoevsky, but that is the case with this 1974 drama starring James Caan. It is the tale of a middle class college professor called Axel Freed who is also addicted to betting on sports and owes $44,000 to a bookie named Hips who has mob connections.

The narrative shows Freed’s attempts to win the money he needs through more gambling, but really it is about one man’s willingness to follow his impulses all the way to the bottom if that is where they take him. Caan secured a Golden Globe nomination for his performance and few movies have captured the highs and lows of this subject more effectively.

Eight Men Out

Made in 1988, Eight Men Out tells of one of the biggest sports betting scandals in US history. In 1919, several members of the baseball team the Boston Red Sox were suspected of taking money from the Mafia to throw the World Series.

It is more about the effect that this had on everyone involved and the resultant criminal trials than the actual betting. However there have not been many more compelling depictions of corruption and the way it can destroy the lives of even those not directly implicated.

That makes it fascinating, if sad, viewing and earned it critical plaudits.

Bookies

The last on our list of the best films about sports betting is this fun 2003 movie. Lighter than the others, it combines comedy and thrills in depicting four students who set up their own small-time bookmaking business on the side.

Unfortunately for them, it goes on to become so lucrative that local mobsters begin to take an interest in them. Admittedly it is a dark comedy, but there are plenty of laughs as they try to fend off the two criminal thugs who want to muscle in.

Johnny Galecki of the Big Bang Theory is among the cast.

Sports’ betting is a great subject and can bring movies wins at industry events and the approval of the cinema-going public.