Since the early 1980s, video games have been a popular pastime that continues to appeal to all age groups. The once young demographic that picked up the first hand-held console controllers also had the pleasure of watching the technology evolve over the last few decades, and with it has come the unbelievably clear graphics, next-level storylines and in-game features that everyone has come to know and love in modern-day video games.
But, as many of those once baby-faced users are now approaching their early-late forties, it’s inevitable studios would want to keep their interests up by incorporating more adult activities into these games. That’s why drinking, drugs, prostitution, and even gambling are all prevalent pastimes that you can engage in as an avatar from your TV screen or monitor.
But we’re not here to tell you where the closest AA meeting is or where to buy some AI under-the-covers action—we're a casino review site, after all! So, for those of you who are avid gamers and gamblers, here is a list of popular video games where you can have an all-around gambling experience playing in a virtual casino!
Best Gambling-Based Video Games
The Yakuza Series
As you can probably guess from the name, the Yakuza video game series is set in the underdog areas of Japan, where in true GTA fashion, crime meets redemption with a beat-up-everything-that-breathes mentality. You’ll find tons of mini-games in this one, including a range of casino game options. The series is still immensely popular, and with its critically-acclaimed 2020 entry – Yakuza: Like a Dragon, it shows zero signs of ending any time soon.
One of the unique aspects of the Yakuza video game series is how the mini gambling games all feature a set of rules specific to Japan, which only adds to the fun and makes it a great way for players to become familiar with these real-world gambling games from the orient, and enables them to have an edge over fellow players if they did have the opportunity to play for real. You’ll find games like Cee-Lo, Cho-Han, and Koi-Koi to play in the Yakuza series, all of which are rendered with the most glorious graphics and pay great attention to detail.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (and Gwent)
The Witcher has become a household franchise, most in part due to the game, but also thanks to the popularity and excellent reviews of the Netflix series—which is into its 2nd season at the time of writing this article. The game is considered to be one of the best ARPGs ever made and depicts a unique and beautifully designed medieval fantasy setting with a tremendous and memorable storyline. There's even a Witcher card game that’s become a huge smash hit on its own!
The card game, known as Gwent, is featured in the third Witcher game. Despite the rules being fairly intricate, it’s become so popular that the gaming community managed to convince the franchise to release it a few years later as a free stand-alone multiplayer CCG version. Not only is it lots of fun, but it gives players a lot of knowledge and strategy angles for card counting and odds management, which of course, serves as a great way of being able to get to grips with the math side of gambling games in the real world.
Bioshock Series
This one is pretty obscure and difficult to find if you don’t know where you’re looking. But, if you head to Fort Frolic in the fallen city of Rapture, you’ll find a few slot machines there that payout on your first spin! After that, however, winning becomes increasingly more difficult.
There are also some slot machines in Siren Alley’s Mermaid Lounge In Bioshock 2. You’ll also find slots near the Need to Know Theatre on the High Street in Bioshock’s Infinite’s DLC Burial at Sea part 1. You’ll even get to witness Elizabeth making snide comments such as “better quit while you’re ahead.”
Fun fact: the slot machine stops on 7-7-*, which you’ll notice is the numbered ball that Booker picks up in the main game.
The Watch Dogs Franchise
Next, we’re heading to Chicago to step into the shoes of Watch Dog’s Aidan Pierce. While you can play drinking games against the windy city’s residents, you can also play Texas Hold ’Em against the street’s most notorious con men, and also play a few rickety old slot machines. The best part is that you can actually hack the CCTV system to get a sneak peek at what your opponent is holding in their hand. Aside from this cheeky little hack, some real-life poker skills will give you a big advantage here (if you have any).
This is definitely one of Ubisoft's more infamous open-world bouts that is set in a futuristic era of Chicago where players use surveillance systems to hack and manipulate their enemies. Watch Dogs games give us a frighteningly accurate depiction of what society would look like 20 years from now, and the mini gambling games, coupled with their take on the future of spyware and gadgets, make the whole experience even more enjoyable.
Pokemon
This one might surprise you, but yes, you can actually play slot machines in Pokemon Blue, FireRed, HeartGold, and SoulSilver! The Pokemon franchise had to severely limit what they could include in these games, as is the case with any E-rated game. Even anime, manga, and T-type Arcade card games are all restricted as to what they can offer, but somehow Nintendo managed to get away with including the most addictive casino games in the world in their games series.
Some of the slots have better odds than real machines, which is presumably a homage to the Pachinko machines that are littered everywhere in Japan. This could well be the reason why the game’s mechanic is often missing from places like the Game Corner in the European versions of Pokemon Platinum!
Anyway, back to Pokemon Blue, the Celadon Game Counter, which also happens to be the base for Team Rocket, features a coin base where you can collect coins to use on the slots next door. You might not be able to win any real-life wins on these games, but if this doesn’t constitute gambling, we don’t know what does, kids!
GTA San Andreas
This one is a no-brainer. Particularly as the Grand Theft Auto franchise revolves around rampant exploits and rampages around the edgy underbelly of the world's most bustling cities. This is the case even more now Rockstar and many other gaming studios have advanced their technologies to give us an even more impressive and immersive experience.
San Andreas is in a league on its own in the sense that the gambling activities in the game are tied into the unique storyline of CJ, and during this portion of the game, you acquire more in casinos the more you play over time. San Andreas also offers what could only be deemed as the most robust options for gambling out of the entire franchise, which is part of the reason it’s still so fondly remembered to this very day.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Without a casino or saloon to hang out in, no setting in the Wild West would be complete—as is the case with RDR2. It’s one of many video games where gambling is incorporated into the main story and the side missions, and while you can play a few rounds of honest poker in this one, your best chance of winning is by cheating. You’re playing against other outlaws after all, so don’t feel bad about it! If you’re lucky, you might even end up in a super-fun gunslinging duel!
Word has it that the sequel hasn’t reintroduced the Liar’s Dice, which was the mini gambling dice game in the original. However, you can still spend your virtual money and time playing fun favorites like Blackjack and Five Finger Filet in any of the saloons in RDR2.
Resident Evil: Revelations
Another instance where you’re expected to cheat your way to victory is during the Bundle of Coins mission in Resident Evil: Revelations. The coins are awarded when you win/cheat the slot machine and they are required to unlock the door to the VIP room, where players need to bypass the lock's mechanism by putting down the set amount of 107 coins on the casino girl's tray. The casino is located in the Queen Zenobia and Queen Semoraris area.
The Sims 3
The developers of Sims have always tried to imitate literally every aspect of human life and incorporate this into their games, so it shouldn’t be surprising to learn that you can actually gamble in the third installment. You can find plenty of gambling options in the Lucky Simeleon content pack, which offers slots as well as table games like poker and blackjack. You’ll also find gambling options in Sims 4 via the TS3 store’s conversion modifications.
Fallout: New Vegas
And last but not least, Fallout: New Vegas also offers players the chance to partake in some gambling fun, even during a nuclear apocalypse. This game is the series’ critically-acclaimed spin-off that provides many concrete examples of video game gambling all within a beautiful RPG-style experience that is undoubtedly one of the best storyline concepts out of all the Fallout games.
