Most Common Gambling Types:

This page describes regular gambling types and list games and activities that belong to each particular type.

Although there is an enormous variety of gambling activities, most of them can be ascribed to a few gambling types, such as casino games, non-casino gambling games, lottery-like gambling and pari-mutuel (or fixed odds) gambling.

Casino Games

Such games are played against the house by a limited number of players and involve players interference in the game. Even those casino games that do not require any skills from the part of the player are normally designed to make players feel like outcome depends on their decisions. There are a few casino games that under certain circumstances can provide positive expectation to the player in the long run. These games are called Beatable games. However, most casino games are not beatable and allow players to win occasionally, but always profit the casino in the long run.

Some of the more popular casino games are:

• Blackjack (beatable with card counting strategy)
• Slots and Video Poker (beatable with a progressive jackpot of a certain size)
• Pai Gow Poker (beatable when dealt by player)
• Caribbean Stud Poker
• Let It Ride
• Red Dog
• Pyramid Poker
• Roulette
• Baccarat
• Craps
• Casino War
• Sic Bo
• Faro

Specially adapted versions of some games belonging to other gambling types can also be found in casinos.

Non Casino Gambling Games:

These are not played against the house, but against other players. These games can be played at home, on the street or in special gambling venues that, unlike casinos, are not involved in the game itself, but charge players fixed fees per game or per unit of time. Some casinos may also offer such games. In these casinos, players who win normally pay a certain percentage to the casino.

Some of the more common non casino gambling games are:

• Poker (except some variations adopted for casino play)
• Dice based games
• Head and Tail
• Two Up
• Bridge
• Basset
• Whist
• Monte
• Backgammon
• The Shell Game

Lottery Gambling

These are usually played by a large number of players, who choose a certain combination of numbers of symbols and win if all or some of these symbols match the winning combination defined by drawing lots. Some lotteries are operated by state governments and are played by thousands or even millions of people.

Some of the more common lottery games are:

• Lottery or Lotto
• Bingo
• Keno (often adapted for casino use)

Pari Mutuel or Fixed Odds Gambling

This usually involves betting on sportive competitions. A player bets on whether the event in question will happen or not or what will be its exact result e.g. whether a team will win, lose or draw the game or how many points it will score. Pari-mutuel bets are taken by bookmakers or betting exchanges and winning are paid out in accordance to odds, defined either at the moment of the betting or at the beginning of the event, when bets are no longer accepted.

Some of the more common pari-mutuel gambling types are:

• Horse Racing
• Greyhound Racing
• Sports Betting (Football, Soccer, Hockey, Basketball and others)
• Jai Alai