Although video games are one of the most popular activities in the world, gambling has actually been around for a lot longer, nearly 700 years. The first ever gambling house was opened in 1638 and now online gambling is flourishing as the innovation of online casinos has kept the industry afloat.
Although it’s difficult to say just how much gambling was an integral part of human culture back in the early days when people were creating any form of games that they could place bets on, we know that it has always been an interest to the masses. So much so, that we have seen games integrate the long-lasting casino industry into their gameplay.
Now some of our keen-eyed readers may know that we have written 2 similar articles before: “Top Video Games with Exciting Casino Mini-Games” and “Popular Video Games with the Ability to Spin Slots Inside”, but the difference between this page and those pages is the end goal. While they were more informative and fun, we want this one to be a guide for people who want to learn about the history of gambling in games, while still keeping it fun.
With that being said, below, we will go through all of the best examples of casino games being mini-games for video game players including what type of gambling it is and what games they are.
Grand Theft Auto San Andreas & 5
The biggest and most popular example is most likely the Grand Theft Auto series. As arguably the biggest video game series of all time, Grand Theft Auto has been around for decades and since the first game has had a clear theme: crime. San Andreas and GTA 5 are often known as the biggest games of the series and both are known for their gambling mini-games.
In GTA 5, the casino is the Diamond Casino and Resort, this casino was brought to the online mode of the game and became a staple with one of the biggest online heists being held at the casino.
The casino itself is massive with a roof terrace, a helipad, a huge interior and a car park for its many patrons. The interior is huge and modelled after the biggest casinos that are in Las Vegas with a range of games being available for players, like slot machines, roulette and blackjack. The addition of this casino to the multiplayer allowed players to play against fellow GTA players and added an extra layer of competitiveness to the game.
The Red Dead Redemption Series
Rockstar clearly has an internal love for gambling as their other most popular series, Red Dead Redemption, is another game that gambling has a big part in.
Starting with the original Red Dead Redemption, gambling was a key part of the player experience, with there being various modes of gambling for players to delve into. In-game, players can wager money on multiple activities that you will see around the many saloons that are in-game. These activities include: horseshoes (a game where players try to throw horseshoes onto a wooden pole), arm wrestling, liar’s dice and five finger fillet.
As well as these activities you have more traditional casino games like poker and blackjack that feature more prominently in the story of Red Dead Redemption. The cash that you hold in the game can be won or lost, but, be careful as a huge loss of money could affect the story later down the line!
Gambling in Red Dead Redemption 2 was lessened as the game was set further back in time, however, games like blackjack, poker and five finger fillet (a game that involves players spreading their hands wide flat on a table and trying to strike the places in between the fingers without injuring themselves), these games are in the story mode and allow players to bolster the money that their characters have in the bank for clothes and other items that you need to buy.
Check out our guide to the Best Mounts in RDR2, if you are about to explore the 18th century Wild West.
Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegas is one of the best games of all time. The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world and the casinos in this game are a sign of hope for the world as they try to restore the world they knew before the bombs fell around 200 years before the story takes place.
This is what makes New Vegas stand out amongst its series-mates, the story taking place 200 years after the bombs fall adds a different level to the game and allows players to have a different experience compared to other apocalyptic games. Casinos are integral to the world becoming normal again and the casinos are still somehow realistic and show where the world is in the story.
Games like blackjack, slots and roulette are all available for players as they switch between the six available casinos which include: Atomic Wrangler Casino, Gomorrah, Sierra Madre Casino (which is a dead money casino), The Tops, Ultra-Luxe and Vikki and Vance Casino. All of these casinos, excluding the Vikki and Vance Casino, are available for players to bet on, and to this day, Fallout: New Vegas remains one of the best examples of video game betting.
The Final Fantasy Series
Final Fantasy is one of the biggest game series of all time and has shaped the way games are made by talented developers around the world. As an anthology game series, each game is different but they all have similar fantasy elements that flow through them even with this, gambling has been shown in the series and has been integral to the series since the fourth instalment and now as we approach the release of Final Fantasy 17 we expect this trend to continue.
The Borderlands Series
Borderlands is a massively popular game that has even spawned its own movie and like these other games, gambling is a fairly large vocal point for the game but unlike these games, there is only one main game and this is slots.
Borderlands is different because it is the only game that only uses slots and playing these slots can be really beneficial for the player as they can drop special weapons and money. This innovation is partly why Borderlands, 2 3 and Pre-Sequel are often hailed as some of the best of the series.
It’s not too dissimilar to skin gambling which is one of the latest casino crazes. Skin gambling has become a popular form of casino gaming using games such as Rust and CS case opening to deposit in-game items for virtual currency and then wager that currency on a variety of casino games. From there you can trade in your coins again for skins, then sell the skins for real money.
This is backed up by the fact that 75% of gamblers say that slots are their favourite casino games to play and it’s not hard to see why, as they are the closest casino game when it comes to the gaming experience.
What started out as being very niche has grown to become a new and exciting way to play casino games. They even come with their own unique playing style and themes. Already we are seeing more casino brands trying to incorporate this gaming type into their platform. The closest we have gotten this far is Sweepstake Casinos. These sites also have a heavy focus around slot gaming, perfect for slot machine fanatics! Why not give it a try yourself? You can explore the best slot sites and games risk-free if you take advantage of one of the new sign up offers available.
Japanese Games and Their Gambling Crossovers
Despite most forms of gambling being banned in Japan, there is still a huge crossover between iconic Japanese games and the casino industry.
Yakuza
Like a Dragon or Yakuza as it is known outside of Japan, has integrated gambling since very early in the series and these games have often featured multiple casino mini-games like blackjack, poker and roulette which are all staples of casinos even to this day.
Pokemon
Despite being a family-friendly game. Pokemon has had multiple examples of gambling integrated throughout the series. The Game Corner, as it is known in the game, is a casino-like area that has slot machines, roulette wheels and other casino-like games that players can play as they run around the world.
In Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen there are around 30 slot machines and NPCs often claim these games are rigged as they struggle to win despite spending their money on them and it is these small details that have made Pokemon one of the most popular games of all time.
Super Mario Bros.
Luigi’s Casino has become synonymous with Super Mario as it always led to the question of why Luigi owns a casino. With this being said, the casino itself is iconic and features multiple types of games with blackjack being the most popular. With Luigi as the owner and the dealer, there are other love characters that you may see in the background of these casinos, like a Toad who will be in a nice suit carrying drinks to other casino patrons.
Whole Casinos In Games
Other than Grand Theft Auto and Fallout: New Vegas, there have been other games that have offered whole casinos for players with the first being Sims 3.
Sims 3
The Sims series is a life simulation series and because of this, the series needs to have all the things that people do in their spare time and visiting casinos is definitely one of them. Starting in Sims 3, and continuing in Sims 4 as a mod, whole casinos are available for players and these casinos offer all of the regular games you would find in casinos now.
Persona 5
As well as Sims, Persona 5 is another popular game that offers whole casinos for you to attend. Persona 5 is a role-playing game and Niijima’s Casinos is a part of the story as a mission takes place there, however, this doesn’t mean that you can’t stop for a gamble but you need to be careful as these games are rigged so you always lose!
Traditional Casino Games In Video Games
In games like Watch Dogs and Fable 1 and 2, there are traditional casino games that you would find in your regular casinos in real life. In Watch Dogs you can play slots and poker and try to earn some extra money and in the Fable series, you can just play Blackjack. These games are good examples of gambling being important to where and when the game is set as both of these are key to the world the developers were trying to build when making these games.
Not-So Traditional Gambling
Finally, we have 2 examples of games where gambling is different to what we know today. Although there are some similarities between the game’s idea of gambling and gambling as a whole, these games utilize the gambling medium in a different way.
The Diablo Series
In Diablo 2,3 and 4, you have examples of lottery-esque gambling where players pay money to a vendor who prices items high and you have to hope that you like it. This is very similar to the lottery as you are playing off pure luck.
Dead Rising 2
As well as Diablo, you have Dead Rising 2 and this is partly traditional and partly not as you play a traditional game like Poker but in the strip version. In the mission ‘Ante Up’ Chuck/Frank plays strip poker in the Safe House with three survivors he has rescued. Every time a player loses their money they have to remove an item of clothing. However, in this game, you also have games like slots that are played in the normal sense.
Final Thoughts
Despite this being the final paragraph, the fun doesn’t stop here, there are many other games that have gambling minigames that are inviting to players including:
- Assassins Creed Valhalla – Orlog
- The Witcher III – Gwent: The Witcher Card Game
- Stardew Valley – Calicojack
- Zelda: Breath of the Wild – All or Nothing
Overall, the gambling and video game mediums are more connected than you may think and year by year they grow together and stay on the top of the entertainment industry.
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