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Imagine that a simple coin flip could tell you whether your future would be good or bad. Anime has a way of making even the simplest games look like they have 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.

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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.

Kakegurui

The standards of excellence at Hyakkaou Private Academy are based on how well the students can gamble and win a lot of 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.

No Game No Life

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. Well, look no further than Disboard, a realm where everything is sorted out through games with stakes.

As portrayed in the anime series No Game No Life, Disboard is a realm where the protagonists of the show were 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, the siblings Shiro and Sora get entangled in many high-stakes games.

Akagi

From the creator of Kaiji, Akagi was born. Like Kaiji, Akagi is an anime series focused on gambling; however, it only depicts Mahjong. In Akagi, the protagonist of the same name was 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.

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Because Nangō is so 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 vanished, only to reappear six years later in the realm of high-stakes Mahjong gambling.

Usogui

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.

Death Parade

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. Of the many afterlife bars, there 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 the amnesiac black-haired woman comes along, and Decim decides to learn more about human emotions.

Legendary Gambler Tetsuya

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.

Kaiji

Featuring the protagonist Kaiji Itō, the anime gambling trilogy Kaiji is filled with high-stakes gambling, dastardly betrayals, and relentless debt collectors. 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.

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