Types of gambling games

Casino games

"Beatable" casino games

With proper strategy, a smart player can create a positive mathematical expectation.

Poker (Also recognised as a game of skill)
Blackjack -- with card counting
Video poker -- with proper pay table and/or progressive jackpot
Pai Gow Poker and Tiles -- player-dealt
Sports betting
Horse racing (parimutuel)
Slot machines -- only linked, multi-player jackpots whose prizes have reached a certain point

"Unbeatable" casino games

These have a negative expectation, players as a group will lose in the long run (unless they cheat).

Baccarat
Craps
Roulette (unless physical prediction is used)
Keno
Casino war
Faro (All but extinct)
Pachinko
Sic Bo
Let It Ride
3-card Poker
4-card poker
Red Dog
Pyramid Poker
Caribbean Stud Poker
Spanish 21 -- without counting

Non-casino gambling games

Lottery
Mahjong
Fan-Tan
Dice-based
Backgammon
Liar's dice
Passe-dix
Hazard
Threes
Card games
Liar's poker
Bridge
Basset
Lansquenet
Piquet
Put
Coin-tossing
Head and Tail
Two-up (Australian casinos offer versions of two-up)
Confidence tricks
Three card monte
The shell game
Carnival Games
The Razzle
Hanky Pank
Penny Falls
Six-Cat
The Swinger
The Push-up Bottle
The Nail Joint
Con Games (in bars)
Put and Take
The Smack
The Drunken Mitt

Fixed-odds gambling

Fixed-odds gambling and Parimutuel betting frequently occur at or on the following kinds of events:

Horse racing (see below)
Greyhound racing
Jai alai
Football matches (particularly on Association and American football)
Golf
Tennis
Cricket
Baseball
Basketball
Ice hockey
Rugby (League and Union)
Snooker
Motor Racing
Boxing
Darts

In addition many bookmakers offer fixed odds on a number of non-sports related outcomes, for example the direction and extent of movement of various financial indices, whether snow will fall on Christmas Day in a given area, the winner of television competitions such as Big Brother, and so forth. Interactive prediction markets also offer trading on these outcomes, with "shares" of results trading on an open market.

Other types of betting

One can also bet with another person that a statement is true or false, or that a specified event will happen (a "back bet") or will not happen (a "lay bet") within a specified time. This occurs in particular when two people have opposing but strongly-held views on truth or events. Not only do the parties hope to gain from the bet, they place the bet also to demonstrate their certainty about the issue. Some means of determining the issue at stake must exist. Sometimes the amount bet remains nominal, demonstrating the outcome as one of principle rather than of financial importance.

Arbitrage betting

Arbitrage betting, deceptively advertised as no-risk or risk-free betting, is a special case of betting on events offered by betting websites which is not gambling but rather an unusual investment practice.

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