by Jake Lester
It is said that nearly four out of every five Australian partakes in real money gambling in one form or the other. With the advent of online casino websites, the number of Australians playing games for real money is higher than ever. In fact, there are tons of online casino Australia that are especially geared towards the Australian consumer market. While it is not clear why gambling is so popular amongst Australians, we do know that with 4/5 Australians gambling, they are number one in the world.
It is believed that one of the main reasons gambling is so popular in Australia maybe due to the readily available gambling facilities and outlets spread across the country. There are literally thousands of hotels, clubs and pubs where one can gamble and just under five thousand lottery outlets as well. Some point to the lenient gambling regulations in Australia as being the cause for gambling being so highly popular in Australia.
With such a strong affinity to gambling in the Australian culture, it is bemusing that there aren’t tons of films on this topic. On this page, we will take a look at some of the Australian gambling–themed movies that you can watch to get an understanding of gambling and its many faces with respect to the land down under. Will producers take note and come out with some gambling themed bangers in 2020? Here are some of the entertainment industry trends for 2020.
Broke
This 2016 film is a drama based on the chaos that ensures for a former National Rugby League (NRL) player and the inevitable betting that comes along with it. The movie was nominated for and clinched several prestigious awards which include an award for best screenplay.
The movie dives deep into how betting has affected rugby league in Australia and how big money wagers and odds have also led to accusations that many of the league’s games are fixed. The movie even follows some former rugby players that may be off the field now, but have gotten obsessed with betting on league games and winning money – which seldom goes as per plan.
The movie has been acknowledged by professional gambling de-addiction centers as reflecting how gambling addiction really takes over people and their lives.
Oscar and Lucinda
As the name suggests, this movie is an adaptation of a novel authored by Peter Carey. This book fetched Carey the Booker Price in 1988. The movie is based on Oscar who is a talented gambler that uses his brains and mathematical prowess to strategically gamble and make plenty of money which he even uses to pay for his tuition and even donates a lot of his winnings to charity.
On the other hand, we have the other character – Lucinda, who is born into wealth. However, once she gets a taste of casino games, Lucinda starts to enjoy gambling more than she initially planned. The two characters meet, but Oscar’s gambling goes south. Once Oscar goes broke, he takes up a job at Lucinda’s glass factory. This movie shows what full-blown gambling addiction paired with an impulsive and reckless personality can lead to.
Dirty Deeds
Another gambling-based movie filmed in Australia which is worth mentioning is Dirty Deeds directed by David Caesar. It is one of the newer gambling themed movies, however, it portrays the ’60s. It is based on a gangster named Barry Ryan and sheds light on how one can pull the strings and make the entire gambling industry in Australia dance to his tunes. However, when the Americans soldiers arrive in Australia for leisure, they have plans of their own once they grasp the magnitude of Ryan’s wealth.
What we’d like to see is Aussie producers bringing out more movies that feature the casino industry Down Under. The industry is huge Down Under, and people all over the world can only get a peek into this interesting facet if filmmakers do their bit to showcase it.
