Music is inseparable from humanity. We’ve been listening to, and producing music since the prehistoric era. From the banging of drums, to the chirping of birds, and of course, singing, music has played a significant role in the development of human culture.

In a similar manner, gambling has endured over millennia, and remains a popular pastime today. Evidence shows that since the Ancient world, people have been placing wagers on games of chance and skill. So, what do these two, seemingly unrelated entertainment forms have in common?

Music in Gambling

One of the most impressive ways that music impacts gambling is in the very games themselves. If you’ve played slots or video poker for any period of time, you’ve almost certainly heard music. Game developers carefully select music to include in their slots. They look for melodies that will get you excited and keep you playing. The same is true for the sound effects that slot games often feature.

When you are in a land-based casino, it is easy to miss the music that slot games produce. However, if you are playing online, the music is much more apparent. Indeed, a lot of online slots players tend to look for games that have high-quality music, such as the Mega Moolah slot, whose history in the iGaming market is well-known. The upbeat tunes of the slot accentuate the Safari aesthetic. But of course, in-game music is not the only way gambling has benefited from the art.

Music in Casinos

Land-based casinos constantly use music to attract an audience and make them feel at ease. The most obvious way they do so is by incorporating pop music in their playlists. The most popular pop artists of the period tend to be present in casinos. Which means that, if you were to visit a casino in 2024, you would undoubtedly hear pop music like Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Drake, and more. 

Of course, some casinos pride themselves on a more traditional approach. Back in the day, casinos used to be darkly lit, almost lounge-like environments, that would consistently set the tone with jazzy music. On the other hand, Rock’n’Roll is a big part of casino culture. So, there are also plenty of casinos that create a rocking atmosphere with classic rock and heavy metal songs.

In all of these cases, the goal of incorporating music into the establishment is to attract as broad an audience as possible. “Pop” music does stand for popular, after all. By playing music that makes players feel good, the casino ensures that their customers will feel comfortable and safe, and will be much more likely to wager on certain games. 

Gambling in Music

Lest you think that only casinos benefit from music, we would like to bring up all the ways that gambling has influenced the music industry. The most obvious influence gambling has on music is all of the numerous songs that we’ve heard over the years about gambling, gamblers, casinos, and Las Vegas. These songs are always so memorable, and invoke different feelings in the audience.

There is a surprisingly high amount of songs that deal with the topic of gambling and casinos. Many of them most people have likely already heard of. However, it is still worth going over them, and discussing what makes these songs effective and appealing to a large audience. So, in the next few sections, we’d like to explore the different songs that are heavily inspired by gambling and casinos. 

Kenny Rodgers’s The Gambler

In 1976, Don Schlitz wrote one of the most iconic gambling songs ever, The Gambler. The song has been covered by several musicians, singers, and artists, including the legendary Johnny Cash. However, it isn’t Cash’s version that has received a legendary status. 

The person who we most associate with The Gambler is Kenny Rodgers, who recorded a version of the song in 1978, two years after its initial writing. Rodgers gives the song a sense of gravitas and emotion that no other singer has been able to replicate. 

The Gambler is a narrative song, telling the story of a young man on a train. He shares a compartment with an old Gambler, who asks for a drink. After downing what is left of the young man’s whiskey, the Gambler shares a few words of advice, before passing away. 

Motorhead’s Ace of Spades

There is a deep connection between Rock ‘n’ Roll and gambling. We briefly touched on it when we talked about the music present in casinos, but nowhere is that more exemplified than in Motorhead’s discography. The band has released several songs that deal with casinos, gambling, and poker. But, the most iconic one is the ode to all things casino, Ace of Spades. 

In 1980, Motorhead had just attained their peak. Their previous album, Overkill invented the thrash metal genre, and inspired bands like Metallica, Megadeth, and more to begin playing music. It was also their most commercially successful output at the time. What was left to do but follow up with an instant classic.

The album “Ace of Spades,” was a fast-paced, thrashy affair, which still holds many of the band’s biggest hits to day. But, of course, their biggest hit is the title song, which talks about how fun gambling is. The narrator in the song doesn’t seem to care whether he is going to win or lose. He just wants to live life to the fullest and risk it all on the next roll of the dice.

While not necessarily an anthem of responsible gambling, Ace of Spades is a fun song that many metalheads remember to this day. The song has even attained an audience outside of metal, much like the Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne, who was a long-time collaborator with Motorhead’s leader, Lemmy. 

Final Thoughts

Gambling and music have developed together through the years, and there are indeed a lot of ways in which the two have interacted with each other. Music about gambling has been popular throughout history, with poets and bards writing songs about savvy gamblers who outwit Death or the Devil. Today, that practice remains, with rock stars, pop stars, and musical artists in general creating music for and about casinos and gambling.