gambling; gaming
General term for games of chance involving money or stakes.
He lost his entire fortune through gambling.
speculation; risky venture
Figurative extension: taking a big risk in business or life, as if gambling.
That investment was a kind of gamble.
professional gambler; gamester
Archaic term for a person who makes a living by gambling. Modern Japanese usually uses 博徒 or ギャンブラー.
See also: ばくち打ち (ばくちうち)
Professional gamblers in the Edo period were often called 博奕打ち.
博打 is a colloquial, slightly old-fashioned word for gambling used in everyday conversation, while 賭博 is the stiff, legal/official term for the same act.
博学 shares the kanji 博 with 博打 but means erudition, whereas 博打 means gambling and has nothing to do with knowledge.
Common kanji spelling for gambling.
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing.
Alternate kanji spelling, less common but still encountered.
The form ばくち developed by contraction and sound change from ばくうち, written 博打 and literally referring to gambling or playing games of chance.