Games of money and chance are entertaining activities on which people bet money or something of value and whose outcome depends partly or completely on chance. A gambler who enjoys games of chance exposes him/herself to the strong probability of losing all the money he/she has bet. Games of money and chance distinguish themselves through the following criteria:
- A gambler bets money or an object of value
- The ante isirreversible
- A gambler can either win or lose
- The outcome of the game depends partly or completely on chance
Here are some examples of games of money and chance :
- Lotteries
- Slot Machines
- Bingo
- Keno
- Sports betting
- Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs)
- Poker
- Blackjack
Some of these games do not rely 100% on chance. For example, it is possible for a poker player to gain experience through practice and have a «certain» control over the outcome. Even if skill plays a significant part in this type of game, the outcome remains partly or entirely due to chance. With this in mind, games of money and chance are classified into three categories depending on the degree of unpredictability. Please note that games of pure skill such as pool or darts are excluded here since they have no elements related to chance. In fact, the outcome of games such as those solely relies on the player’s skill.