It might seem like a strange assertion to make at first glance. What could the creation of pieces of art, whether painting, sculpture, or any other form, have in common with a game of chance? Surely the point of the artist is that they are in total control of their art. Everything is carefully considered and thought through – luck has no role to play.

Considering it logically, this is quite true. But dig a little deeper and more and more parallels begin to appear.

After all, pieces of art do not just materialize out of thin air. On the road between conception and creation, there are countless decisions to be made, just as there are in playing any casino game whether it’s what number to bet on in roulette or if it’s going to be a good move to take another card in a game of blackjack.

The elusive nature of success
But the ultimate gamble for any artist is whether they are producing work that will find a commercial market. After all, while Van Gogh sold more pictures in his lifetime than sometimes claimed, at least according to, https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en, even an acclaimed genius like him couldn’t bank on success.

Then there’s the question of the dealers who are the ones who really hold the secret to launching any artist’s career. The key skill is to spot an emerging artist and to have the courage of their convictions that they will become a success. Yes, the odds are quite high that any one individual will make it in this very competitive field, but it’s this chance to spot a winner that appeals to many dealers.

There’s also no doubt that both art and gambling have a steep learning curve for the beginner. This is even more true of playing in online casinos as there are numerous areas to learn alongside the rules such as the different types of welcome bonuses. However, there are sites like https://www.bonus.ca/fr/ that explain all the fundamentals and which also point out the best bonuses on offer from the wide number of sites in a particular country like Canada.

Coincidentally, the respected Canadian art dealer Leo Kamen has also explained the links that he sees between art and gambling. In his autobiography “Rolling The Bones”, whose title refers to his beloved game of craps, he outlines the many parallels between the decisions he has to make at the table and the ones that are needed when spotting new artistic talent.


"Painted poem - Lucian Freud" (CC BY 2.0) by Shakespearesmonkey

The art of gambling
Famously, many artists are themselves closely drawn to gambling. Two of the best-known examples of recent times include one-time friends Lucien Freud and Francis Bacon who, in later years, fell out so dramatically as recalled in this article from https://www.theguardian.com/uk.

Then there are the countless works of art that show the action of gambling in all of its forms and cover many genres too. From Caravaggio, we have The Card Sharps and Edvard Munch proved that there was more to his art than The Scream with the very atmospheric At the Roulette Table

So perhaps now may be the time to reassess the links between art and gambling – and with the rise in popularity of Non-Fungible Tokens including Beeple’s $69 million “The First 5000 Days", it would seem that things have even gone digital.