The days of heading to your favorite brick-and-mortar casino are fast being replaced with online gambling and betting sites. Still, it’s fascinating to see how the best casino documentaries bring forward intriguing insights from the old-school casino world where things ran very differently, and why online gambling may have actually brought a much-needed addition to the gambling market. 

Here’s a look at the best gambling documentaries out at the moment.  

The Player: Secrets of a Vegas Whale

These days, the gambling market has become highly diversified by the iGaming industry offering unique experiences from crypto gambling to live dealer games that gamers can enjoy from home. For example, now players can visit sites like Megadice Bitcoin live casino to play games like roulette, blackjack, and poker from home with a live dealer for an engaging and interactive experience while wagering with cryptocurrency. 

However, as most of the documentaries like The Player: Secrets of a Vegas Whale show, there was once a time when physical casinos were bastions of gambling. However, as you dive into the world of Las Vegas casinos with a high roller, take note of just how much more susceptible physical casinos were (and still are, to an extent) to vulnerabilities that could be exploited by players.  

Presented by Trish Regan, The Player: Secrets of a Vegas Whale is a fascinating documentary showing how one regular blackjack player went on to win over $15 million from Las Vegas casinos. The story of Don Johnson will have you enthralled, seeing how one man discovered weaknesses within Las Vegas casinos and used this knowledge to beat the system. Johnson caught on to what is known as casino cannibalization.

In short, desperate established casino owners looking for high rollers became susceptible to those realizing what was happening to the casino market. Over saturation of the casinos in Las Vegas meant older establishments would pull out all the stops to bring in the big guns for fear of falling to newer casinos popping up.  

The Player: Secrets of a Vegas Whale also looks into how the global recession of 2008 almost brought the entire gambling world to its knees. The interviews throughout the documentary are fantastic, with insights from top casino owners and players. This casino documentary is one for enthusiasts, giving an inside look into some of the big names of Las Vegas. 

Bet Raise Fold

Bet Raise Fold is a casino documentary focusing on the online poker boom that saw online users jumping for joy and casino owners jumping out of their skin. This fascinating casino documentary gives a first-hand glimpse into what it was really like in the early 2000s, at a time when technology truly began spreading its wings. 

What makes Bet Raise Fold an intriguing watch is seeing the similarities in how people felt about the changing gambling landscape back then. It’s not so different from what we’re seeing today. 

Much like online poker was a completely new way of gambling in the early 2000s, the same can be said for crypto gambling in the modern world. If you’re a visual learner and want a better understanding of casino games, documentaries can be an invaluable teaching aid to learn how to play better and understand the system. The online gambling world is evolving, so having all the information you need is vital to capitalizing on the craze. 

Breaking Vegas

Las Vegas is the place to be for gambling in the US, raking in more than a whopping $15 billion in gross gaming revenue in 2023. While the amount wouldn’t have been near this in the early 90s, a group of math wizzes from MIT took their chance at the blackjack tables of Las Vegas. 

Breaking Vegas documents the rise and fall of this group, providing alarming accounts of its members and how they went about cracking the system, earning millions in the process. This casino documentary is a gem for those wanting an inside look into how some have cheated the system. 

This documentary again highlights the vulnerabilities of physical casinos, and while brick-and-mortar casinos aren’t going anywhere, it’s good to know that you have options these days. Whether you’re into crypto or want to place your bet with a real money online casino, the online gambling world is opening up doors for everyone to enjoy the casino experience in new ways that enhance safety, security, and fairness for all involved.

Conclusion

Well, there we have it, three of the best casino documentaries to watch in 2024. From understanding how the online gambling landscape came about, to real-life events that sound like something out of a crime novel, these fascinating films provide hours of entertainment.