GTA 6 May Not Start with a Casino, But Don’t Bet Against Gambling Content

_{Grand Theft Auto 6 is one of the most highly anticipated releases of all time from video game developer Rockstar Games. (Photo: Rokas Tenys / Alamy)}

There are early signs that Grand Theft Auto 6 may not feature a playable casino, at least not when it releases on Nov. 19. But that doesn’t mean that players won’t get a chance to experience gambling in the single-player campaign.

The GTA series has almost always featured gambling-related missions and locations, and several games have featured places where the protagonists could lay down bets on a wide range of experiences. The following is a look at where GTA gambling has gone in the past, and what might be coming in GTA 6.

The Humble Beginnings: Gambling in the 2D Era

Casinos and gambling played a muted role in the early days of the GTA series. When the original Grand Theft Auto was launched in 1997, players could explore Liberty City, San Andreas, and Vice City, while expansions took the game to London and Manchester in the 1960s. But the overhead views didn’t include any references to casinos in any of these locations.

Those early games were built around a top-down, almost arcade-style structure, with missions focused on mob hits, heists and car chases rather than any kind of leisure activity. Gambling simply wasn’t part of the world Rockstar was building yet, even as the series expanded its map with the London and Manchester add-ons.

But when GTA 2 was released in 1999, gamers finally got the chance to hang out in a gambling den. Players visited the Yakuza-controlled Funabashi Casino in Anywhere City. Sure, you couldn’t place any bets, but the inclusion of a casino finally added gambling to a world that was already rife with drugs, sex, and murder.

The 3D Era Offered the Opportunity for Players to Place Their Bets

When GTA 3 came out in 2001, the switch to a 3D world was a sea change that made the game the breakout hit of the series. But the gambling content remained on par with earlier iterations, with another Yakuza-run casino, Kenji’s Casino, showing up in Torrington as a location without allowing the main character Claude to ever access the interior of the facility.

Instead, it was the next entry, 2002’s GTA: Vice City, that would finally let players start putting down in-game cash. This was a slow start, with players only able to wager by entering street races where they could earn cash by winning. But there were signs of more to come, including an Inside Track off-track betting location that wasn’t ultimately accessible in the released version of the game.

^{The Four Dragons Casino and Caligula's Palace were based on the real Imperial Palace and Caesars Palace casinos in Vegas, respectively. (Images: courtesy of Rockstar Games)}

It was GTA: San Andreas in 2004 that finally offered full casino content to players. When players visit Las Venturas (you’ll be shocked to hear this city is based on Las Vegas), they can enter three casino floors of the Four Dragons Casino and Caligula’s Palace. Users could not only enter these casinos, but could let the protagonist CJ play slots, blackjack, roulette, video poker, and a big wheel game. That was all in addition to the return of Inside Track locations, which gave players the option of betting on virtual in-game horse races as well.

That same year – in fact, on the same day – Rockstar Games also released Grand Theft Auto Advance, a throwback top-down game for the Game Boy Advance. While this version didn’t include playable casinos, users did visit yet another Yakuza casino called Pachinko World. This location involved a mission to fix a football game by attacking the Vice City Mambas' starting quarterback with a baseball bat.

Rockstar would go on to release two more standalone titles over the next two years. In Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, players were able to visit three casino locations that were key to the storyline – Leone Casino, The Dolls House, and The Big Shot Casino – though none of them contained any playable gambling. In 2006’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, the gambling content was further pared back, though a non-interactive version of Inside Track once again appeared.

^{Leone Casino, The Dolls House, and The Big Shot Casino, three non-playable gambling locations from Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. (Images: courtesy of Rockstar Games)}

Latest Generation of GTA Builds to Online Casino

The 2008 release of GTA 4 transitioned the series to what fans consider the modern “HD” era, which includes all games up to and including the coming GTA 6. GTA 4 didn’t initially feature any gambling, but Nico Bellic could visit a gambling den and see the abandoned Alderney Casino. The two 2009 expansions to this edition provided some unique options for players.

In GTA 4: The Lost and Damned, players could play a relatively simple Hi-Lo card game at The Lost MC Clubhouse, or bet against NPCs in arm wrestling matches. Meanwhile, GTA 4: The Ballad of Gay Tony brings underground cage fighting to the world, where players could watch and bet on fighters or step into the cage themselves to win money.

Also in 2009, Rockstar released Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for mobile devices, including the Nintendo DS. The game offered a new way to gamble: scratch cards that could be found across Liberty City and which gave players rewards like money, health, armor, and weapons. Unlike in real life, these scratch cards often pay out quite well, with many players using them as a cheap way to grind for armor and regain health. And there’s always the chance that you can pick up a safehouse by playing the $15 “I’m Rich” game!

Of course, this all leads up to 2013’s GTA 5, which spawned the most famous example of gambling in the Grand Theft Auto series. Interestingly, though, gambling doesn’t appear in the original offline, single-player version of GTA 5. The Diamond Casino & Resort in the game was permanently under construction, though Rockstar did consider creating DLC that would open the casino for both gambling and missions.

Why did they never go through with that plan? It was the massive success of GTA Online that changed Rockstar's game plan. GTA Online would become the exclusive arena in which players could access the Diamond Casino, with players able to bet on slots, blackjack, roulette, Three Card Poker, and a lucky wheel, not to mention horse racing via another Inside Track location. Players can even unlock VIP memberships that allow access to high-limit tables, bigger chip purchases, and a concierge.

Placing Our Bets on GTA 6 Gambling Options

That brings us to the pending release of GTA 6, one of the most anticipated video games of all time. Of all the questions about the long-awaited sequel, one has stood out: will GTA 6 have a casino?

There’s no definitive answer yet, but all signs are pointing to no when the game first launched. Perhaps the biggest hint comes from the fact that rating boards around the world don't include a gambling descriptor for GTA 6. While North America’s ESRB, Europe’s PEGI, and the Australian Classification Board have all given the game mature-level ratings and not issues like intense violence, blood, sexual content, and drug use, there’s nary a mention of gambling.

That doesn’t mean that an eventual expansion won’t include a casino, or that there won’t be gambling-based missions or some betting-adjacent way to spend your characters’ money. There’s also the fact that the base game includes only single-player content; it’s very possible that one or more casinos open to players when GTA 6 offers an online mode, something that has been suggested could happen as early as 2027.

Even that’s not a guarantee. Rockstar has to navigate regulatory issues that prevent users in more than 50 countries from accessing the GTA Online casino games, which might make a new version – at least one that includes slots and table games – less of a priority for developers. It’s also unclear how quickly the company will want to transition players away from the current GTA Online, which still generates approximately $1.3 million in daily revenue.

But given the history of this landmark franchise, it’s hard to imagine we won’t see gambling in some form or another as players explore Vice City and Leonida. Already, trailers have included a Leonida Lottery kiosk promoting a “Ballfin” lottery, along with gambling-themed flavor text. The Cyberleek leaks of GTA 6 have also discussed at least one street race, though not a full casino.

There’s a good chance we’ll see a casino in GTA 6, with associated missions and characters playing a role in the game’s sprawling open-world story. But will you be able to play games in it? That remains an open bet.

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