The best gambling movies on Netflix feature famous stars and popular casino games. Many top films also involve schemes, intricate cons, and real-life personal drama.
I scanned the current Netflix catalog in the US, looking for the top movies about gambling. Keep reading to see which movies made my list! I will be updating it roughly every three months to make sure the titles are available.
| Movie | Year Released | Plot |
|---|---|---|
| The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar | 2023 | Based on the book of the same name, the short film follows a bachelor who uses meditation to cheat at blackjack. |
| Ballad of a Small Player | 2025 | Disgraced gambler Brendan “Lord Doyle” Reilly (Colin Farrell) struggles with alcohol and gambling addictions in Macau. |
| Untold: Operation Flagrant Foul | 2022 | A documentary providing an inside look at the 2007 NBA betting scandal orchestrated by former referee Tim Donaghy. |
1. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
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- Year Released: 2023
- Genre: Drama
- Director: Wes Anderson
- Runtime: 39 minutes
- IMDB Rating: 7.4/10
At the top on my list of the best Netflix movies about gambling is The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, and this one did win an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film in 2024! The film has a run time of 39 minutes and is an adaptation of a Roald Dahl short story of the same name.
Dahl’s story was originally published as part of a collection of short stories in 1977. However, the film adaptation, which Wes Anderson directed, was not released until 2023.
The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Max Engelman, a wealthy bachelor with a gambling habit. After learning about Imdad Khan (Ben Kingsley), a yogi who can see without using his eyes, Engelman masters his meditation techniques.
Engelman, working under the pseudonym Henry Sugar, then uses the skills he learned from Khan to cheat casinos while playing blackjack. This supernatural casino movie has been widely praised by audiences and film critics alike, like most of Wes Anderson’s projects.
2. Ballad of a Small Player
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- Year Released: 2025
- Genre: Dark Comedy
- Director: Edward Berger
- Runtime: 1 hour and 41 minutes
- IMDB rating: 5.9/10
The newest movie on my list is Ballad of a Small Player, a Netflix original film that debuted on the streaming service in 2025. Colin Farrell stars as Brendan Reilly, a former Irish financier who is down on his luck.
Ballad of a Small Player, directed by Edward Berger, premieres in 12 HOURS.
— Netflix (@netflix) October 28, 2025
Starring Colin Farrell, Fala Chen, Deanie Ip, Alex Jennings and Tilda Swinton.
A high-stakes gambler running from his debts meets a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation. pic.twitter.com/nffoBDezoB
Reilly, a con man on the run, poses as Lord Doyle as he moves between luxury hotel casinos and resorts in Macau. His poor luck at baccarat gets Reilly in hot water with the local casinos.
While trying to play his way out of debt, he is tracked down by British law enforcement agents investigating Reilly for embezzlement. He also meets Dao-Ming, played by Fala Chen, who could be the key to turning Reilly’s luck around.
The film was nominated, but did not win, the Golden Seashell at the 2025 San Sebastián International Film Festival. Farrell won the Golden Icon Award and Spotlight Actor Award at the Zurich Film Festival and Middleburg Film Festival, respectively.
3. Untold: Operation Flagrant Foul
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- Year Released: 2022
- Genre: Sports documentary
- Director: David Terry Fine
- Runtime: 1 hour and 17 minutes
- IMDB Rating: 6.8/10
There are also great sports betting movies on Netflix, such as Untold: Operation Flagrant Foul. The Untold series covers lesser-known sports stories, and Operation Flagrant Foul provides a look at the 2007 NBA betting scandal.
Specifically, it takes viewers through the incident from the point of view of Tim Donaghy. A former referee in the NBA, Donaghy helped fix games he was officiating. The disgraced former official was also betting on the games he fixed.
Betting on games is now commonplace in most of the US. That was not the case when Donaghy was running his point shaving scheme.
Not everyone agrees with Donaghy’s account of events. However, even if the former referee is not the most reliable of narrators, this documentary still provides a fantastic inside look at one of the biggest gambling scandals in the 2000s.
Operation Flagrant Foul was released in 2022 and is the eighth part of the Untold docuseries. While other popular gambling movies may be based on real events, this is the only entry on my list that is classified as non-fiction.
Popular Gambling Movies Not Currently on Netflix in the USA
Netflix has a massive selection of movies, but only a portion of the total catalogue is available at any given time in the United States. Some casino movies on Netflix that are not available in the US as of September 2026, but could possibly return to Netflix soon include:
- Uncut Gems (2019)
- The Gambler (1974)
- Win It All (2017)
- 21 (2008)
- Casino (1995)
- Mississippi Grind (2015)
- Molly’s Game (2017)
- Casino Royale (2006)
- Two for the Money (2005)
You can use the “Remind Me” feature on Netflix to be notified when the casino films above become available for streaming again. Many of these films can also be found on other streaming platforms besides Netflix.
Gambling Television Shows on Netflix
Full-length movies and short films are not the only way to get your gambling fix on Netflix. The streaming service also has several TV series that heavily feature gambling themes.
Some of the gambling TV shows on Netflix include:
- Kakegurui: A gambling anime on Netflix based on a manga of the same name. It follows students at a special school where the student hierarchy is based on gambling ability.
- Bet: A live-action adaptation of Kakegurui with Miku Martineau starring as the protagonist, Yumeko Kawamoto.
- Bad Sports: A docuseries detailing major scandals in sports. Episode 1, “Hoop Schemes,” discusses the 1994 betting shaving scandal involving the 1994 Arizona State men’s basketball team.
- Ozark: Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman) is forced to launder money for a Mexican drug cartel. Among his schemes to clean the money is opening a riverboat casino in Missouri.
How I Met Your Mother, Better Call Saul, and many other shows on Netflix also feature gambling scenes as subplots at one time or another. You can also find props for reality shows on entertainment betting sites.
What Are Your Favorite Netflix Movies About Gambling?
Did I miss a cool gambling movie available on Netflix? I’m sure there are more exciting titles related to casino and betting, so I’m always open to suggestions.
If you have some films or TV shows in mind, let me know in the comments below.
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