Best Gambling Anime

Highlights

• Anime creates a thrilling world of high-stakes gambling that keeps fans on the edge of their seat with intense games and nail-biting risks.
• From Mahjong battles to shadow duels, anime series like Yu-Gi-Oh! and Saki showcase the unique blend of strategy, skill, and luck in gambling.
• Shows like Kakegurui and No Game No Life delve into the dark world of gambling, where the stakes are high, and the consequences are life-changing.

Imagine that a simple coin flip could tell you whether your future would be good or bad. Anime has a way of giving even the simplest games very high stakes. Anime has brought gambling into its world, which is full of exciting, high-risk bets and endless chances to win it all.

From the rush of adrenaline that comes with flipping a coin to the nail-biting tension of high-stakes poker, the gambling world in anime creates a world that fans can’t get enough of. Many anime series have depicted gambling experiences that have fans on the edge of their seats; however, the wheat must be differentiated from the chaff when it comes to the greatest gambling anime series.

Updated April 19, 2024, by Oluwatokiloba Folami: The world of gambling is one in which risk can sometimes equal reward. With illogical risks come illogical rewards, and little risks often birth little rewards. However, in various anime series, most characters often edge toward taking illogical risks for the chance at winning it all. Whether it be a simple card game or a car race, gambling can be incorporated into many things. As various anime series have portrayed themes of high-stakes gambling, the gambling genre of anime has become more and more popular. Whether it be series like Kakegurui, Usogui, or Kaiji, these shows have managed to portray gambling in a light that has fans excited. With that in mind, a few more gambling anime series have been added to this list in its latest update.

16 Bus Gamer

The Promise Of Money Has Three Individuals Involved In Battles For Corporate Secrets

The Bus Gamer anime series has companies battling against each other with their corporate secrets on the line. For these battles, random individuals are grouped into teams of three in which they must steal or protect a case of a company’s corporate secrets. From afar, members of the company involved gamble and place stakes as they watch the teams duke it out.

The protagonists of the series, Toki Mishiba, Kazuo Saitoh, and Nobuto Nakajyo, are recruited to participate in a bus game with the promise of being handsomely rewarded should they prevail; however, their lives and safety will not be guaranteed. While this is a risky play, all three are drawn by the promise of large amounts of money and decide to participate in a game where even their lives aren’t guaranteed.

15 Yu-Gi-Oh!

The Dark World Of Shadow Duels Portrays Gambling Themes

The Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise is widely known, with various anime and manga to its name. Of the various series in the franchise, the original Yu-Gi-Oh! portrays themes of gambling with dark and twisted high-stakes battles as its characters involve themselves in battles that rely on luck and manipulation.

The protagonist of the show, Yugi Mutou, is primarily known to be a weak boy who bullies often target. However, as the series progresses, Yugi develops an alternate personality that challenges various characters in a shadow duel with something on the line. Shadow duels often involve both players dueling in alternate dimensions, where they summon monsters via cards. The very nature of the shadow duels the characters face can be attributed to gambling, as they involve both luck and skill, and the stakes are incredibly high.

14 Joker Game

A World Of Spies, Deception, And Gambling

This anime series is more about the manipulation of people and countries from the shadows than gambling as a whole. The show portrays the D Agency, an imperial Japanese Army’s intelligence branch that focuses on raising spies to infiltrate other countries. As World War 2 is about to erupt, eight intelligence agents have been dispatched to all major countries in the world to gather intel on their social and economic situation. Operating under the motto ‘don’t die, don’t kill’, these agents must find ways to get what they want through sheer manipulation and skill rather than brute force.

While Joker Game doesn’t have gambling as a central narrative, gambling and similar themes of deception and cunning are portrayed throughout. The series portrays a world of spies, mystery, and political upheavals that make it an interesting watch.

13 Alice In Borderland

The Intense, Suspenseful Storyline Keeps Viewers On The Edge Of Their Seats

Based on the Alice in Borderland manga written by Haro Aso, this series follows the lives of Ryohei Arisu, Daikichi Karube, and Chota Segawa. These three friends are suddenly transported to another world called Borderland after they witness blinding fireworks that cause them to close their eyes. Once they open their eyes again, the trio are in a world where they must survive by playing deadly games.

With one game after another, Arisu and his friends put their lives on the line as they try to find a way to leave the apocalyptic world they find themselves in. With each game featuring high stakes and incredible cutthroat risk, Arisu and his friends are put into a world where surviving is a blessing, thriving is non-existent, and taking risky gambles is the only option.

12 Rio: Rainbow Gate!

An Intriguing Blend Of Casino-Based Challenges

Rio Rollins is also called the Goddess of Victory. While already a skilled dealer, Rio is not satisfied and seeks to become the best dealer in the world to surpass her mother, who was a widely known legendary dealer. To do so, Rio must collect all 13 cards known as gates, as whoever has them will be recognized as the greatest dealer of all.

Dealing in the Howard Resort Hotel, Rio combats other dealers to determine who the best is as she gathers the legendary cards that will grant her what she seeks. With comedy and intense gambling, this anime series portrays a dealer who seeks to be the best. With 13 episodes of gambling and comedy, this anime series is one to check out.

11 One Outs

A Unique Story Of Baseball & Gambling

Unlike other gambling anime series, One Outscombines baseball and gambling in a story that has made it widely renowned. Produced by Madhouse Studios, this series follows the life of Toua Tokuchi, a prodigy who uses his immense baseball skills for gambling. Playing One Outs — a type of one-on-one showdown between a batter and a pitcher — Tokuchi has made a name for himself after 499 consecutive victories.

However, after joining a team under a special contract, each match can lead to immense benefits or great losses for the baseball gambler. He could gain $5,000,000 or owe $50,000,000 depending on how his throws turn out. With each episode portraying Tokuchi taking a risk with each match, fans of both gambling and sports anime will find this fascinating.

10 C: The Money Of Soul And Possibility Control

An Innovative Concept Of Using Money As Weapon

This 2011 gambling anime has high stakes at the forefront of its narrative. The series explores the life of Kimimaro Yoga, a 19-year-old boy who wants to live an ordinary, mundane life free from the high rates of violence, unemployment, crime, suicide, and financial crisis that Japan currently faces.

Despite his wish to live an ordinary life, Kimimaro’s life suddenly turns extraordinary after he gets involved with Musasaki, a mysterious man who offers him a large amount of money in exchange for his ‘future’ being held as collateral. Allowing greed and intrigue to take the lead, Kimimaro accepts the money and is suddenly drawn into an alternate world’s financial district as an ‘Entre.’ Now Kimimaro must engage other Entre’s in high-stake gambles where they bet their futures. To make the stakes even higher, whichever party loses must deal with the tragic consequences that await them or their loved ones in reality. These consequences could even mean the erasure of a loved one from reality.

9 Tomodachi Game

A Blend Of Psychological Mind Games Alongside The Value Of Friendship

While various high-stakes gambling anime series portray gambles that involve life and money, Tomodachi Game explores gambling with friendships.

Yuuichi Kokorogi cherishes his close circle of friends. However, after the money saved for the upcoming school trip gets stolen, two of Yuuichi’s friends, Shiho and Makoto, distance themselves from the rest after they are tasked with retrieving the money. Deceived into meeting up, Yuuichi and his friends are gathered by a mysterious Manabu-kun, who reveals that one of them gathered them together to clear their 20 million yen debt. However, to get the money to pay off their debt, they must participate in a series of psychological games that will test the true nature of their friendship while they are isolated from the outside world.

8 Saki

Intense, Thrilling Mahjong Matches

As an abstract strategy game that relies on skill, strategy, and luck, Mahjong is widely used in the art of gambling. While not every player of the game uses it for gambling, Saki portrays a world in which its characters strive to reach the national championships, and to get there; they must put their wits to the test.

This gambling anime series showcases Minayagi Saki, a first-year high school student who hates to stand out at Mahjong and ends up always tying with her opponent, neither winning nor losing. As going for a tie is much harder than winning, Saki is quickly introduced to her school’s Mahjong club, and her talent is discovered. After being compelled to actually defeat her opponent rather than tie against them, Saki begins to love Mahjong and the thrill that comes with putting everything at stake on the Mahjong table.

7 Kakegurui

An Exhilarating Blend Of High-Stakes Gambling

The standards of excellence at Hyakkaou Private Academy are based on how well the students can gamble and win money. The protagonist, Jabami Yumeko, attends Hyakkaou Private Academy. Yumeko attracts the attention of the top gamblers at her school due to her penchant for high-stakes games and her eagerness to test her skills against them.

Yumeko gets caught up in a series of gambling wars that push the limits of logic, psychology, and lying. With the cutthroat politics of the school, losing a bet could mean losing the freedom of a human being, as becoming a house pet for the academy’s wealthier and more influential students is a common occurrence.

6 No Game No Life

A World Where Everything Is Determined By Games

Imagine a world where ownership of a house or political matters could be resolved through the flip of a coin or a chess game, respectively. Look no further than Disboard, a realm where everything is sorted out through games with stakes.

In the anime No Game No Life, Disboard is a realm where the protagonists of the show are summoned due to their reputation as undefeated gamers. In Disboard, the human race, Imanity, is the lowest of the 16 races. To take Imanity to the top, siblings Shiro and Sora get entangled in many high-stakes games.

5 Akagi

The Tactical Genius Of The Protagonist Is Well-Portrayed

From the creator of Kaiji, Akagi was born. Like Kaiji, Akagi is an anime series focused on gambling; however, it centers on Mahjong. In Akagi, the protagonist of the same name is on the run from the police. Desperate to escape his pursuers, he stumbles into a mahjong yakuza parlor where Nangō, a small-time gambler, is about to lose it all.

Because Nangō is determined to win, he gives control of the game to Akagi and takes the time to teach him the ropes. The Yakuza jeer as they anticipate Akagi’s crushing defeat, yet the young prodigy manages to impress them with a stunning comeback. That night, Akagi vanishes, only to reappear six years later in the realm of high-stakes Mahjong gambling.

4 Usogui

One Man Takes Over An Impartial Gambling Organization

Betrayal and treachery go hand in hand in the high-stakes gaming world. In the anime series Usogui, the impartial organization Kagerou referees the many life-threatening and violent gambles to safeguard the integrity of the stakes. The protagonist of the anime series Bak Madarame, whose other name is “The Lie Eater” (Usogui), is a nomadic, compulsive gambler who gets tangled up in a web of high-stakes wagering to acquire control of the impartial, powerful, and influential organization Kagerou.

The strong American underground syndicate IDEAL, which employs terror to achieve its goals, shares Usogui’s desire for supremacy over Kagerou. The result is that Usogui is caught in the middle of a conflict between two formidable groups that want nothing more than to devour each other.

3 Death Parade

The Unique Concept Of Afterlife Gambling Games

After death, most humans get sent to heaven or hell. But before that, they are sent to various bars where they engage in high-stakes gambling to determine what awaits them. One of these bars is the Quindecim, a place where only individuals who died at the same time are sent. The bartender of the bar, Decim, serves as the protagonist of the series, and he passes judgment on the people who enter the bar by challenging them to a life-threatening game.

As their souls are tested, the gambling games determine if the dead individuals will be reincarnated or sent to the never-ending void. Decim unenthusiastically carries out his duties until an amnesiac black-haired woman comes along, and Decim decides to learn more about human emotions.

2 Legendary Gambler Tetsuya

The Darker Side Of The Gambling World

Legendary Gambler Tetsuya is a thrilling anime series that follows the story of a talented gambler named Tetsuya, who’s known for his unparalleled skills in playing mahjong. Set in a post-war era in Japan, Tetsuya finds himself in a world where gambling is not just a pastime but a way of life. Tetsuya’s journey starts when he loses a high-stakes game to Boushu-san, a powerful mahjong player, who cheats him out of his hard-earned money.

Devastated and broke, Tetsuya vows to become a master gambler and defeat Boushu-san, no matter what it takes. With his incredible ability to read his opponents and his deep understanding of the game, Tetsuya soon becomes a legendary gambler, feared and respected by all.

1 Kaiji

Life-Threatening Thrillers Are The Most Intense

Madhouse’s Kaiji is filled with high-stakes gambling, dastardly betrayals, and relentless debt collectors; it is the definitive gambling anime. The series shows Kaiji Itō, a man who carelessly co-signed an outstanding debt for his former co-worker. As he himself lives in perpetual poverty, Kaiji has no money and is given two options to repay the debt.

Either he does labor work for 10 years, or he boards the illustrious Espoir, where all his debts can be paid in a night. Boarding the Espoir, a simple night of gambling quickly spirals into an endless game of betrayal and strategy where his life is consistently put on the line and his determination put to the test.