History Main / TheBet

A common Romance or RomanticComedy version of TheBet is when a character is bet that they won't/can't win over/date/sex up a certain lady. The guy will almost inevitably end up [[RomanticFakeRealTurn developing genuine feelings for the girl]], and the girl will just as inevitably be pissed off when she finds out about the bet, [[WasItAllALie thinking that she is some prize or object]] (in most cases, was not completely wrong, at first). Trust is lost and she wants nothing to do with him. This may lead to TheGrovel when he asks for her forgiveness.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS2E61TheSilence The Silence]]" is about Jamie Tennyson, who makes a bet with Archie Taylor, a man who despises listening to him rant and ramble at the country club, that he can remain silent for a whole year. The terms are simple: the unused game room in the basement of the club will be refurnished with a glass-enclosed bedroom and living room. Microphones will be placed around the enclosure that will be active at all times. Tennyson will only be allowed to communicate in writing, and the bet will end if he just makes a sound, but if he manages to stay quiet until 10PM on June 3rd 1962, he'll earn $500,000. [[spoiler: By the end, despite being offered $1000 or $5000 to stop early and being told rumors about his wife cheating on him, Tennyson manages to stay quiet for the whole year. Taylor relents that he doesn't have the $500,000 to give him and that Tennyson has proven himself to be the better man...only for Tennyson to reveal that he'd secretly had an operation done to sever the nerves to his vocal cords just before the bet.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'': At one point, Peter makes a bet with Flash Thompson that he'll have a date for the upcoming school dance to show his confidence that he relly has one. However, his intended date cancels. When Peter ends up at the dance with [[HeroesWantRedheads the extremely attractive Mary Jane Watson]], Flash tries to break the two up by telling Mary Jane about the bet. However, in a subversion, MJ doesn't care in the slightest, even making a crack to Flash about the fact that he lost. Of course, it helps that she's probably aware that Peter's Aunt May set up the whole thing, plus MJ ''knows'' that she's hot and Peter would have been willing to go out with her, bet or no bet. Flash, not wanting to be the only one dressed as a cheerleader to honor the bet, forced his teammates into similar outfits.

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'': In "The Double-Down," Ryan and Espinoza made a bet that they could solve the case they were working on before Castle and Beckett could solve theirs. The bet became complicated when they discovered that [[MurderSwap both cases were linked]].

** [[CatchPhrase "Challenge accepted!"]]

* This turns out to be the reason Sei Arisaka tries to steal the magical ribbon from Hime-chan, telling her he loved her and betrayal through all of that in ''Manga/HimechanNoRibon''. The bet itself was getting [[spoiler:a bowl of ramen]] if he succeeded.

** There's also the series-long running gag about the "Slap Bet". In season two Marshall and Barney make a bet over a secret Robin is keeping from them with the winner getting to slap the loser in the face. Lily thinks the whole thing is immature until they make her "Slap Bet Comissioner" with the power to judge who wins. Technically neither of them won as they were both wrong but Lily decides to punish Barney for slapping Marshall without "Comissioner's approval". She gives Barney a choice: either ten slaps immediately or five doled out whenever Marshall feels like it for the rest of their lives. Barney chooses the five slaps which Marshall hands out over the rest of the series.

* In ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', Stan and Mabel make a bet on who could make more money: Mabel while running the Mystery Shack, or Stan while on vacation.

* An episode of ''Series/ICarly'' features a subplot of Sam and Freddie betting each other that Sam wouldn't read a chapter book by the end of the week.

* ''Series/TheAquabatsSuperShow'' episode "Cobraman!" is filled with a lot of these. The MC Bat Commander's tendency to accept these bets, despite his losing history with them, [[FlawExploitation is used against him]] in a battle against the Cobraman for the Battletram.
* Subverted in ''Series/{{Elementary}}''. Franchise/SherlockHolmes (not shown to have any particular skill at basketball) bets a suspect he can make a basket from a very long distance, and the suspect agrees to be interrogated if it happens. Holmes squats, swings the ball back and forth dramatically, and tosses it behind himself. "He wasn't going to talk anyway," says Holmes.

* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'': An arc in the first half of the first season revolves around a bet between Detectives Jake Peralta and Amy Santiago over who solves more felony cases; the loser has to do something horrible and embarrassing. Jake says he'll give up his beloved car if he loses, while Amy says she'll go on a date with him in that horrible car if she loses. When Peralta wins, he intends on using the date as an opportunity to prank and humiliate her, but it quickly becomes clear that it's actually unresolved feelings he has for her bubbling up to the surface.
* ''Series/BeringSeaGold'': Near the end of season 3, Steve Pomrenke and Shawn Schimschat bet an ounce of gold on who can get more gold during the end of the season. Shawn's excavator blows a hydraulic hose, ending his season prematurely, costing him the bet.
* ''Series/GoldRush'': During a season 5 episode, Dave Turin bets against Kevin over the quantity of gold in a particular cleanout. Dave loses and must wear an apron while making pancakes.
* ''Series/FrontierCircus'': In "The Race," a visiting nobleman bets $1,000 that his professional soldiers can beat the locals and the circus folk in a cross-country horse race. Tony becomes obsessed with winning the bet.
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS2E61TheSilence The Silence]]" is about Jamie Tennyson, who makes a bet with Archie Taylor, a man who despises listening to him rant and ramble at the country club, that he can remain silent for a whole year. The terms are simple: the unused game room in the basement of the club will be refurnished with a glass-enclosed bedroom and living room. Microphones will be placed around the enclosure that will be active at all times. Tennyson will only be allowed to communicate in writing, and the bet will end if he just makes a sound, but if he manages to stay quiet until 10PM on June 3rd 1962, he'll earn $500,000. [[spoiler: By the end, despite being offered $1000 or $5000 to stop early and being told rumors about his wife cheating on him, Tennyson manages to stay quiet for the whole year. Taylor relents that he doesn't have the $500,000 to give him and that Tennyson has proven himself to be the better man...only for Tennyson to reveal that he'd secretly had an operation done to sever the nerves to his vocal cords just before the bet.]]
* In one episode of ''Series/ILoveLucy'', Lucy makes a bet with Ricky that she can go without buying a new hat for longer than he can go without losing his temper. She loses the bet almost immediately when she goes to return a hat she bought before the bet and ends up being sweet-talked by the hat seller into buying a new one, and spends the rest of the episode trying to get Ricky to lose his temper before her hat is delivered to their home so that he'll think he lost the bet instead.
* In one episode of ''Series/ThreesCompany'', Janet and Chrissy bet Jack that [[BigEater Chrissy]] can go for longer without any food or drink other than water than [[TheCharmer Jack]] can go without flirting with or touching a woman. Neither Chrissy nor Jack take their self-imposed abstinences well and both of them try to cheat; Janet and Chrissy invite over an old girlfriend of Jack's named Grace to tempt him, and Jack brings home delicious food he knows Chrissy loves. Jack ultimately wins the bet, but it's a hollow victory as Grace storms off on him after he holds out on her one too many times while Chrissy gets to happily munch on some chocolate cake.
* An episode of ''Series/ICarly'' features a subplot of Sam and Freddie betting each other that Sam wouldn't read a chapter book by the end of the week.
* ''Series/{{Castle}}'': In "The Double-Down," Ryan and Espinoza made a bet that they could solve the case they were working on before Castle and Beckett could solve theirs. The bet became complicated when they discovered that [[MurderSwap both cases were linked]].
* ''Series/{{ER}}'': during the third season, Doug and Carol had reconciled and were having a SecretRelationship. At the company Christmas party that year, Carol had become confident enough to announce that she and Doug were together again. After a few seconds, one nurse held out her hand and said, [[EverybodyKnewAlready "Pay up!"]]
* ''Series/DropTheDeadDonkey''. After being mocked by his colleagues over being rejected by a girl, Dave snaps back that he can "pull any bird in this office," only to have an OhCrap when Damien challenges him to seduce [[CuteButPsycho Joy Merryweather]]. Surprisingly he actually looks like he might succeed, so naturally Damien tips off Joy about the bet causing her to go literally AxCrazy.
* The ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS5E21SomeoneToWatchOverMe Someone to Watch Over Me]]" has Tom Paris challenging the holographic Doctor to find a date for NoSocialSkills IceQueen Seven of Nine. The Doctor ends up falling for Seven and dating her himself -- unfortunately, Seven finds out as usual for this trope and this serves as a ShippingTorpedo for any future Doc/Seven relationship.
* In the ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'' episode "[[Recap/TalesFromTheCryptS2E3CuttingCards Cutting Cards]]", Reno and Sam, each of whom is as much TheGamblingAddict as the other and sees the other as TheRival, upon meeting each other again after years of winning and losing to the other, decide to bet against the other one more time, with the loser having to leave town for good (or dying, in the case of the Russian roulette). Unfortunately for the both of them, they keep drawing with each other[[note]]in the case of the Russian roulette, for instance, the bullet being used for it turns out to be a dud[[/note]], and it's still not resolved by the end of the episode.
* The premise of the 1974-76 game show ''Celebrity Sweepstakes'' was for two players making wagers on a panel of celebrities answering questions with betting odds posted on each celebrity by the studio audience. The final question was an all-or-nothing wager.
** ''I'll Bet'' (with its revival ''It's Your Bet'') and ''Liars Club,'' each from the same producer, had betting motifs as well but with different game rules. The former had celebrity couples wagering points on how well their spouses answered questions; the latter had contestants wagering on which panelist was telling the truth about an unusual item.
* ''Series/RadioEnfer'':
** Vincent bets that Carl couldn't spend 24 hours without insulting anyone. [[spoiler:Carl loses when he insults Jocelyne's husband Gilbert after the latter insulted Jean-Lou.]]
** Carl bets that Vincent couldn't beat [[FatIdiot Jean-Lou]] in a game of chess (in an episode where [[FlowersForAlgernonSyndrome Jean-Lou becomes smart after hitting his head during a gym class]]). [[spoiler:Carl loses when Jean-Lou becomes an idiot again.]]
** Maria mocks her grandmother for knitting and thinks it's ridiculous. Her grandma responds by making a bet about Maria being able to knit anything within a day, with Maria getting $20 if she succeeds. [[spoiler:What she ends up knitting ends up in a fire, making her lose her bet.]]
** In a Season 5 episode, Carl bets that Germain and Jean-David could build a shelf within a day. If they aren't able to, Maria could then have her new radio show. [[spoiler:The bet is cancelled when Maria manages to get a job at a fashion boutique. If the bet hadn't been cancelled, she would have won given that the shelf fell into pieces after Mr. Giroux threw a piece of paper at it.]]
* In ''Series/LockwoodAndCo2023'', Lockwood and Kipps place a bet on who manages to solve the Bone Glass case, with the loser retiring from the business. Lucy lambasts Lockwood on how stupid this is, which he eventually admits to be true. [[MakesUsEven Him and Kipps agree to drop it in the end]].
* ''Series/YoungSheldon'': In "The Wild and Woolly World of Nonlinear Dynamics", Missy bets a dollar that Sheldon won't still be watching ''Franchise/StarTrek'' and reading comic books 30 years later. Adult Sheldon notes that Missy hasn't paid him yet, and that he's wearing ''Star Trek'' underwear right now.

* The stage show ''Are You Dave Gorman?'' was created after comedian Dave Gorman bet his roommate Danny that he could find 54 other Dave Gormans, one for every card in a standard deck, including the jokers. This eventually was adapted into a book of the same title and a six-episode TV series, ''The Dave Gorman Collection.''

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': Cartman formed a massively successful ChristianRock Band just to win a bet that he could win a platinum record before Kyle could. Cartman's band becomes wildly successful, but he loses the bet because [[spoiler: the Christian Rock industry awards ''myrrh'' records instead]] -- so he angrily denounces Jesus in front of his own fans.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hurricanes}}'': Jackson Black is [[TheGamblingAddict a gambling addict]]. Knowing about that, [[BigBad Stavros Garkos]] managed to win Black's soccer-themed resort and his eco-sphere in a rigged roulette game. Since the terms of their bet included that, every time Black lost, he'd be allowed to try to recover his losses in another bet, he decided to bet on the upcoming Hispanola Hurricanes versus Garkos Gorgons soccer game. Black would win it all back if the Hurricanes won, which gave Garkos, who owns the OpposingSportsTeam, another motive to sabotage the Hurricanes.
* In ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', Stan and Mabel make a bet on who could make more money: Mabel while running the Mystery Shack, or Stan while on vacation.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Homer and Flanders made a bet when both of their kids were competing against each other in Mini-Golf: If their kid doesn't win, they have to mow the other person's lawn in one of their wife's dresses. [[spoiler: The kids call a draw, and thanks to ExactWords, they both have to do it]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "A Day Without Tears", Squidward makes a bet with [=SpongeBob=] that he can't go the rest of the day without crying. If Squidward wins, [=SpongeBob=] will have to do his yard work for a year; and if [=SpongeBob=] wins, Squidward will have to come to his house for a sleepover. [[spoiler: [=SpongeBob=] manages to hold in all his tears for the last ten seconds and afterwards lets them all out.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'': One of the main {{Story Arc}}s for Season 2 revolves around an extreme bet by Scrooge and Glomgold; whoever has the most money at the end of the year gets the loser's company and becomes the richest duck in the world for all time.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': When Vicky bullies the younger kids at a skate park, Timmy makes a bet with her that he can beat her in a skating competition. If Timmy wins, the kids can skate on the big ramp. If Vicky wins, the kids are are banned. Unfortunately, after making the bet, Timmy finds out that Cosmo and Wanda can't help him win a contest.
* This is actually the behind point of ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'': Mr. Herriman agrees to prevent Bloo from getting adopted, but makes a condition that in order to do so, Mac must visit Foster's every day.
* A high-stakes bet between [[Myth/AztecMythology Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca]] is what kicks off the plot of ''WesternAnimation/OnyxEquinox''. Quetzalcoatl, tasked with sealing the five gates to the Underworld, declares that he'll have [[TheChosenZero a lowly human]] do it instead, before Tezcatlipoca proceeds with [[ApocalypseHow wiping out humanity]] on the Equinox. The winner will receive all the [[HumanSacrifice blood sacrifices]] meant for the loser.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' has this as the plot of several episodes, with one of these episodes having a bet being the driving force of both the A- and B- plots. In addition, only one of the bets throughout all these episodes actually end in an undisputed victory, with all the others having the winner unable to exploit the terms of the bet or having no winner at all.

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* In the ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' manga, Ruby and Sapphire made a bet to accomplish their goals in 80 days (Ruby wants to master the region's beauty-pageant Contests, Sapphire deisres to challenge the Gym Leaders). [[spoiler:It ended in a draw.]]
** Also, in the ''Emerald'' arc, Emerald made a bet with the Frontier Brains that he will beat them in seven days. [[spoiler:He succeeds. [[TournamentArc Sort of.]]]]
* This turns out to be the reason Sei Arisaka tries to steal the magical ribbon from Hime-chan, telling her he loved her and betrayal through all of that in ''Manga/HimechanNoRibon''. The bet itself was getting [[spoiler:a bowl of ramen]] if he succeeded.
* In a ChristmasEpisode of ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'', [[TheGambler Monaco]] agrees to go on a date with [[LatinLover Seborga]] if he can beat her in poker. [[spoiler: He loses, but she goes out with him anyway.]]

* At least three of the ComicBook/{{Asterix}} books are based on a bet.

* ''Avengers Assemble'' #9-11 involves a bet between Tony Stark and Bruce Banner as to who can be the first to successfully rescue a missing scientist. The loser has to walk naked from Avengers Tower to the Baxter Building and back (in downtown Manhattan). [[spoiler: In the end, they BOTH lose and end up taking the walk of shame together, Banner in his Hulk form, no less. Even better, Tony's effort to jam all electronics to prevent anyone taking pictures is defeated when Spider-Man shows up to take a picture with an old-fashioned flash camera that ends up on the front page of the Daily Bugle under the headline "Naked Justice."]]
* An issue of ''WesternAnimation/LaffALympics'' (Marvel) had the charity money from the day's events gambled away to a guy named [[PunnyName Lucky Starr]]. The three teams confront him, and Starr issues a challenge: to locate a ceramic purple pig with clues provided to them. In a conclave of millionaires, wagers are taken as to which team will find the purple pig. Starr makes the biggest wager--on the Really Rottens. Needless to say, it doesn't end well for Starr ''or'' the Rottens.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* In ''Film/TradingPlaces'', two brokers disagree on the "nature vs nurture" argument. They decide to bet "the usual amount" (eventually revealed to be ''[[spoiler: one dollar]]'') on what will happen if they ruin a rich man's life and let a poor man take his place.
** When said rich man and poor man find out, [[spoiler: they hijack the brokers' short selling scheme to take them for all they had. When confronted, the poor man said that he bet the rich man that they couldn't get rich and put the brokers in the poorhouse at the same time. The bet? ''[[IronicEcho One dollar]]''.]] The expression on the brokers' faces was ''priceless''.

* In ''Film/TheHairyBird'', a group of prep school boys make a bet concerning the young women at the all-girls school where they are attending a dance. The money goes to whichever guy whose date has the biggest boobs, but proof must be furnished by another of the guys who carries a camera. [[spoiler: The guys later meet with a [[LaserGuidedKarma karmic]] outcome]].
* The Russian comedy ''Man with a Warranty'' (or ''Man with a Guarantee'') starts with a wealthy businesswoman making a bet with her long-time rival that she can find herself and marry an ordinary man in 5 days or she loses everything (she owes him a lot of money). One of the conditions is that she must do so in one of the shopping malls she owns (of the rival's choice), the man must be of a lowly sort, and she must pretend to be a poor woman with no place of her own. Naturally, the rival isn't content to just lose. He enlists the help of the mall manager to spy on her and the security guard she's seeing. He then crashes the wedding to reveal the truth to the stunned guard. In the end, the woman is content to lose everything just to be with the security guard, but they end up registering their marriage license 1 minute before the bet deadline. She also helps her rival save his marriage.
* ''Film/{{Diggstown}}'' involves an ex-convict con man making a bet with a wealthy businessman who, effectively, owns the titular town that his friend (an almost-contender back in his glory days) can beat 10 boxers one after another in 24 hours. The size of the amount constantly increases, as the con man keeps borrowing the money from a loan shark he knows with his life as collateral.
* In a Russian musical comedy ''Film/HussarBallad'', two protagonists, Shura and Rzhevsky, makes a very plot-important bet: [[spoiler:that Rzhevsky, in case his bride gets into trouble, would not help her out. He claims to despise the girl too much; Shura is certain that he is better than that. Rzhevsky is unaware at this time that Shura and his bride are the same person.]]
* ''Film/CatsEye'': In "The Ledge" segment, a casino owner bets his wife's lover that he cannot walk around the five inch ledge that runs around the 30th floor of the building.

* In the German movie ''100 Things'', two friends and business partners have a drunken bet that they can go 100 days without all their stuff. They're each allowed to take one additional item per day. The first one to give up loses half of their share of the €4 million they have just received after selling their app to an American tech mogul. Their employees witness them making the bet and ensure they obey the rules, since the lost money will go to them. The next morning they wake up in their apartments, completely naked and with their apartments completely bare. All their stuff is in a storage locker.
* In ''Film/TheLuckOfTheIrish'', Kyle makes two bets with the far darrig Seamus, having been told by his leprechaun grandfather that far darrigs can't resist bets. However, due to ExactWords, he ends up losing the first bet. The second time, he is the one who wins the bet and uses ExactWords to trap the villain for all eternity.
cs part of his plan to smuggle Ziza into the castle so Elisabeth can kill her, Dobi bets Toth that he cannot get the girl into the castle unobserved.
* ''Film/NightOfTheDribbler'': Dean Marks of Watergate and Dean Cook of Green Bay make a bet over which college wins the champsionship game. Whoever lost the bet would have to appear in the winning school's parade, naked, with (a) tattoo(s) of the winner's choosing on any part of the loser's body the winner chooses. [[spoiler:Dean Marks wins the bet, and is seen at the end of the movie putting a tattoo on Dean Cook's exposed buttocks.]]
* In the short film''Trick Shot', On the eve of the Good Friday agreement, three IRA agents make a bet on whether one of the lads can achieve a trick shot on a pool table that may or may not be fitted... with a bomb.
* In ''Film/TheAirUpThere'', TyrannicalTownTycoon Nyaga and Winabi chief Urudu agree to a basketball game between the Mingori Pistons and the Winabi team. If the Pistons win, the Winabi give up their copper-rich lands to Nyaga. If the Winabi win, Nyaga returns all the cattle his goons have stolen, and agrees in front of the army commander to leave the Winabi alone forever.

* OlderThanRadio: In Creator/MarkTwain's story ''The Million Pound Bank Note'' and its 1954 film adaptation, ''Film/TheMillionPoundNote'', the bet is actually between two rich brothers as to what the main character will do when given the titular bank note.

* In ''Literature/HeartInHand'', Darryl's spur-of-the-moment bet that he will sleep with Alex if the latter scores a "Mexican hat trick" (six goals in one game) kickstarts their relationship.
* The plot of ''Literature/DawnOfSteam'' is set in motion by a high stakes wager between two members of the House of Lords about the validity of a set of popular travel journals.
* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'': Aphrodite kids sometimes bet on WillTheyOrWontThey scenarios.
* ''Literature/DearDumbDiary'' has a book based entirely around this premise.
* The Baker Street Irregulars series by Creator/TerranceDicks starts when a kid who's a Sherlock Holmes fan has his copy of ''Literature/TheHoundOfTheBaskervilles'' destroyed by the school bully, who during the subsequent argument challenges him to solve a local unsolved crime. After the KidDetective and [[YouMeddlingKids his friends]] do solve the crime, he's a bit flabbergasted when the sheepish bully pays up with a brand new copy of the book he destroyed, as he'd forgotten how the whole business started.
* In ''Round Island With A Fridge,'' Tony Hawks tries to win a bar bet by hitchhiking round Ireland with a small refrigerator.
** Hawks followed this up with two other books/challenges: ''Playing The Moldovans At Tennis'', which was ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, only he played the entire Moldovan ''football'' team at tennis, and ''One Hit Wonderland'', where he attempted to have a number one hit in any European country. He succeeded.
* One of the fables in ''Literature/RWBYFairyTalesOfRemnant'' Is "The Man who Stared at the Sun" or "The Farmer and the Sun." The Farmer is upset at the sun for shining too hotly and spoiling his crops. The Sun is upset that no one appreciates its work and only complain at it. So they make a wager. If the Farmer wins, the Sun would only provide the perfect amount of sunlight for his fields so long as his family tends the land diligently. If the Sun wins, the Farmer and his family would praise and worship the Sun daily and spread said worship to the other humans. The Farmer tried to challenge the Sun to a race, but the Sun instead challenged the Farmer to a StaringContest.
* ''Literature/AnimalInn'': In book 1, after Val diagnoses Harvey Curran the rabbit, Toby doesn't believe her, so Val bets him a week's salary that she's right with her diagnosis. Toby, in turn, agrees that if she's right, he'll work at Animal Inn, without payment, for two weeks. Val, naturally, is right, and her father agrees to the conditions when he finds out. Toby stays on as a paid employee after his first two weeks, and is still there at the end of the series.
* ''Literature/TheSecretLivesOfPrincesses'': Prince S and his sister traded places over this. The first one to give up would lose. Neither have stopped.
* ''Literature/SlowLifeInAnotherWorldIWish'': Yaschis, the local slave trader, arranges a competition between Itsuki and local mob-connected fop Dardarill to decide whom he'll sell Wendy to, after the two nearly come to blows in the street when Yaschis loans her to Itsuki for the day. Whichever of them first comes up with the price--120 million nohl for Dardarill, 80 million for Itsuki since Dardarill has a head start--gets to buy her. For her part, Wendy is furious about it, since her status as a "special status" slave (aristocratic origin) legally means she can't be sold without her consent, but Yaschis tells her to believe in Itsuki. [[spoiler:Itsuki wins the bet by crafting 40 million nohl worth of jewelry and selling them to Reinrich, and comes up with the other half by [[PowerPerversionPotential inventing a magic-powered bullet vibrator with alchemy]] and selling the sales rights to Yaschis.]]

* The trope is mocked in a ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'' sketch about a 'wacky guy' who makes a bet that he can make a cup of tea for everyone in Belgium.
* The reality show ''My Obnoxious Fiance'' was essentially a bet between the network and the lead woman. She had to maintain the lie that a paid actor was her fiance until the wedding, and convince her family to attend, while he acted like a boorish loser for several days leading up to it.
* This is the entire premise of the show ''Series/KennyVsSpenny''.
* ''Series/MimpiMetropolitan'':
** In episode 22, Prima bets with Akbar that Bambang will be able to act for ''AADC'' or else Prima and Bambang will help the crew for two days. Prima loses (partly because of a facial cream rather than Bambang's acting), so Prima and Bambang spends the next two episodes working for Akbar.
** In episode 46, Bambang is ready to accept if Melani is meant to end up with someone else and Juna shows up proclaiming himself to be that someone. Bambang responds by betting that he will clean Juna's clothes for a year if Melani does love Juna. The episode then has Juna trying to get close to Melani before making a love confession at the ending. [[spoiler:Juna loses the bet, and Melani is not happy with either of them when she finds out about the bet.]]
* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfSuperman'': The HostageSituation of "[[Recap/TheAdventuresOfSupermanS1E21TheHumanBomb The Human Bomb]]" was set off by Bet-a-Million Butler making a gamble with another man that he could control Superman for thirty minutes. Of course, he lost
* ''Series/RebeldeWay''. Pablo Bustamante. Again, and again, and again...
* Subverted in ''Series/{{Scrubs}}''. Dr. Cox and Turk have a bet, Cox betting that Turk is going to kill his patient, and Turk betting the opposite. [[spoiler: The Patient makes a full recovery, Turk does a victory dance, holds out his hand for the money, and Dr. Cox calmly points out that he just wagered 20 dollars on a human being's life. Cue HeroicBSOD (despite betting on his skill as a surgeon SAVING the man's life).]]
** Another episode of ''Scrubs'' had the Janitor bet JD he couldn't learn the names of everyone in the hospital. The stakes are that if the Janitor wins, JD has to do his job for a week; if JD wins, the Janitor will do his own job for a week. JD questions this, until the Janitor explains he means he'll ''actually'' do his job for a week. [[spoiler: The Janitor wins the bet of course, by exploiting his own status as TheNameless.]]
* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' and the episode ''The Contest'', a bet of who can remain Master of [[UnusualEuphemism their domain]] the longest.
* A recurring element of Barney's character on ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' is that he is a gambling addict. This comes in two flavors. Him readily and willingly betting any amount on anything, or -- more appropriate to this trope -- going on wacky hijinks because somebody said something (normally seducing a woman) couldn't be done in some bizarre situation.
** [[CatchPhrase "Challenge accepted!"]]
** There's also the series-long running gag about the "Slap Bet". In season two Marshall and Barney make a bet over a secret Robin is keeping from them with the winner getting to slap the loser in the face. Lily thinks the whole thing is immature until they make her "Slap Bet Comissioner" with the power to judge who wins. Technically neither of them won as they were both wrong but Lily decides to punish Barney for slapping Marshall without "Comissioner's approval". She gives Barney a choice: either ten slaps immediately or five doled out whenever Marshall feels like it for the rest of their lives. Barney chooses the five slaps which Marshall hands out over the rest of the series.
* ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'':
** One episode titled "The Bet" had Drake (who's addicted to junk food) and Josh (who's addicted to video games) having a contest on who could quit their obession the longer, with the loser dying their hair pink. The parents also bet on who would win (Audrey bets on Josh while Walter bets on Drake), with the loser having to join their kid in the punishment. Long story short, [[spoiler: the contest ends in a tie, resulting in everyone except Megan dying their hair pink. However, what they don't know is that Drake doesn't go entirely through with it; he bought a pink wig instead so he wouldn't endure humiliation in school, to which he says, "Idiots."]]
** In another episode Drake and Josh bet who can get more dates in a week. If Josh wins, Drake has to give up his loft bed to him while Drake gets Josh's perfect attendance trophy if he wins. Drake ends up falling in love with the first girl he meets and stops caring about the bet so he can date her exclusively, so Josh wins this one. However, after Josh injures himself climbing out of the loft bed at night, he requests that he and Drake switch back.
* In ''Series/KenanAndKel'', Kenan bets Kel that he can't go a week without drinking orange soda. Anyone who watches the show knows how much Kel loves orange soda.
* ''Series/{{Friends}}'':
** Ross bets Chandler $50 that he can't go a week without cracking a joke. Of course, during the next days everybody does their best to screw Chandler by putting him in situations in which he would normally make jokes. In the end, Chandler ends up giving Ross $50 and [[BrickJoke tells all the jokes he would have said during the whole chapter]].
** In another episode, Chandler and Joey make a bet with Monica and Rachel that the guys know more about the girls than the girls about the guys. Monica (in her usual ultra-competitive self) raises the bet: if the girls win, the guys must get rid of the chick and the duck, but if the guys win, they have to exchange apartments. In the end, when neither Monica nor Rachel are able to remember [[RunningGag what Chandler's job is]], they lose.
** In the season seven Thanksgiving episode the gang play a game where they try to list all 50 states from memory in one minute. Ross only manages to come up with 46 during his minute and bets that he can remember the other four before dinner or he doesn't get any of the meal. In the early hours of the next morning he shows up at Chandler and Monica's to hand over his list and tuck into the leftovers...which is when Chandler tells him he still only has 49 states. Ross decides he doesn't care anymore and keeps eating while Chandler goes back to bed.
** When Rachel's pregnancy is overdue Phoebe and Monica place bets on when she'll deliver. As the days drag on they keep renewing their bets with Monica losing every time. Eventually Rachel finds out what they're doing and asks if she can get in on the action, reasoning that if she has to endure the discomfort "I can at least make some money out of it".

* In the second episode of ''Series/HowToRock'', the members of Gravity 5 challenge each other to give up their signature habits. (Texting for Casey, insulting people for Stevie, checking his reflection for Zander, and a fictional version of VideoGame/AngryBirds for Kevin and Nelson.) Predictably, they all spend the entire episode trying to tempt each other into indulging their respective habits.

Compare to OnOneCondition, which is essentially a dead person betting their estate that you won't fulfill the conditions of the will. Also see HumiliatingWager.

* In ''Series/LockwoodAndCo2023'', Lockwood and Kipps place a bet on who manages to solve the Bone Glass case, with the loser retiring from the business. Lucy lambasts Lockwood on how stupid this is, which he eventually admits to be true. Him and Kipps agree to drop it in the end.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': "The Silence" is about Jamie Tennyson, who makes a bet with Archie Taylor, a man who despises listening to him rant and ramble at the country club, that he can remain silent for a whole year. The terms are simple: the unused game room in the basement of the club will be refurnished with a glass-enclosed bedroom and living room. Microphones will be placed around the enclosure that will be active at all times. Tennyson will only be allowed to communicate in writing, and the bet will end if he just makes a sound, but if he manages to stay quiet until 10PM on June 3rd 1962, he'll earn $500,000. [[spoiler: By the end, despite being offered $1000 or $5000 to stop early and being told rumors about his wife cheating on him, Tennyson manages to stay quiet for the whole year. Taylor relents that he doesn't have the $500,000 to give him and that Tennyson has proven himself to be the better man...only for Tennyson to reveal that he'd secretly had an operation done to sever the nerves to his vocal cords just before the bet.]]

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. "Someone To Watch Over Me" had Tom Paris challenging the holographic Doctor to find a date for NoSocialSkills IceQueen Seven of Nine. The Doctor ends up falling for Seven and dating her himself--unfortunately Seven finds out as usual for this trope and this serves as a ShippingTorpedo for any future Doc/Seven relationship.
* In the ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'' episode "Cutting Cards," Reno and Sam, each of whom is as much TheGamblingAddict as the other and sees the other as TheRival, upon meeting each other again after years of winning and losing to the other, decide to bet against the other one more time, with the loser having to leave town for good (or dying, in the case of the Russian roulette). Unfortunately for the both of them, they keep drawing with each other[[note]]in the case of the Russian roulette, for instance, the bullet being used for it turns out to be a dud[[/note]], and it's still not resolved by the end of the episode.

[[folder:Web Video]]
* The first season of ''WebVideo/PrettyDudes'' hinges on this trope. The titular Dudes enter a bet to see who can find their gay friend Zario a new man. The fact that the other five Dudes all seem to identify as straight (at least initially) causes much of the initial situational comedy.
* ''WebVideo/VideoGameHighSchool'' frequently has characters making wagers on video games with real-world consequences.
[[/folder]]

* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' and the episode ''The Contest'', a bet of who can remain [[ADateWithRosiePalms Master of]] [[UnusualEuphemism their domain]] the longest.

* In ''Fanfic/IfThemsTheRules'', [[OriginalCharacter Marchosias Malfoy]] bets [[PeggySue Harry]] if the latter screws up in missions, Harry will have to learn Pureblood politics and behavior. If he doesn't, Marchosias has to spend a day amongst Muggles.

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9495178/1/Return-of-the-Hero Return of the Hero,]]'' [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Hugh and Rosa]] make a bet as to whether or not Latios and Latias will appear by the time they leave Johto, Rosa betting that they won't and Hugh betting that they will. If Rosa wins, Hugh has to say that she was right, that she's awesome and fantastic and the best Trainer there is, and that Pokemon contests rule. If Hugh wins, Rosa has to say that Pokemon contests suck, and stop stalking Cheren for a month.
* The story "Come and See" from the eighth ''Fanfic/HalloweenUnspectacular'' anthology features [[{{Satan}} the Devil]] and [[spoiler:Dib]] having a bet over whether or not [[EnfantTerrible Gaz]] can be redeemed. The bet takes the form of a test of temptation, with the Devil giving her a watch which will grant her seven wishes, but for each one will unlock one of the Seven Seals of the Apocalypse, unleashing unimaginable horror on the world, with the caveat that Gaz herself won't be directly negatively affected. Gaz [[ItsAllAboutMe being who she is]], she has no problem with this and makes all the wishes, meaning the Devil wins the bet [[spoiler:and [[YourSoulIsMine claims Gaz's soul]], [[DraggedOffToHell dragging her to Hell]] and leaving her body an EmptyShell]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{ResurrectedMemories}}'': Ember as Amberline and Paulina get into a huge one, about whether or not Paulina will lose the title of Prom Queen this year. Should Paulina win, Amberline has to wear whatever Paulina wants her to, but should Ember win, Paulina has to do whatever Amberline says.
* ''Fanfic/MuchAdoAboutShakespeareLovesLaboursWon'': The plot of the fic is kicked off when Horatio Hornblower complains that his friend Archie Kennedy speaks "mostly in Shakespeare these days", and he tells him that it's annoying and excessive. Archie is amused and disagrees. The wager is on: Archie must speak only in Shakespeare's quotations for 6 straight hours and it must be relevant to the situation. Who loses pays for drinks and dinner the next day.
* In ''Fanfic/GrowingDaylight'', Jim and Claire's friends creating a betting poll on the gender of their unborn child. Mary, Darci and Toby bet on it being a girl, while their parents think it would be a boy. The betting only becomes more heated when they find out that they are having twins.
* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/21758323 Double Monkey Dare]]'' sees Marinette [[FandomSpecificPlot/MiraculousLadybug handling the Lila situation]] by taking a cue from her dare-loving classmate Kim: she wagers that she can find more evidence of Lila's deceit than Alya and Nino can find backing up any of her claims.
* ''Fanfic/TheFlashSentryChronicles'': In season 5, Rarity, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie want to exercise with the Defenders (to lose the weight they recently gained). After they ask to join them though, Lightning Blitz laughs at the idea, thinking that Rarity won't be able to handle the type of exercise he and the other Defenders do and makes a bet with her. If she can make it through an entire week of exercise without quitting then she wins, but if she quits at any point before the end of the week he wins. The loser needs to do whatever the winner says for an entire day without complaints. [[spoiler:Rarity wins the bet, and forces Lightning to ask her out on a date for Saturday, which she happily "accepts".]]
* ''Fanfic/ADiplomaticVisit'': Chapter 1 of the sequel, ''Diplomat at Large'', reveals that several changelings had one on where Luna was during the invasion of Canterlot. Pharynx wins the pool when Luna admits she was asleep at the time due to her circadian rhythm being adjusted for being up all night, a requirement for her duties with the Night Guard.
* This ends up being the set up for the ''Webcomic/Persona5AdultConfidantAU'''s depiction of [[MythologyGag Operation:]] [[RunningGag Babe-Hunt]]. During the Hawaii trip, Ohya bets the boys of the Phantom Thieves that if each of them can get a girl's number, she'll have to buy the team dinner of their choosing. If the boys fail, they have to buy a dinner of Ohya's choosing. Unlike most depictions of the event, the boys actually end up ''succeeding'', with [[TheCharmer Sojiro]] getting five numbers thanks to his [[RunningGag Max Charm]] and knowing some English from Futaba's games, Iwai getting two after instinctively [[WrestlerInAllOfUs suplexing]] a guy harassing a pair of girls with his Max Guts, and Tora getting ''twenty'' after giving a RousingSpeech to a group of dejected hula dancers with his Max Kindness.
* ''WebAnimation/{{Underverse}}'': Error negotiates a deal with Ink for "[[ExactWords no more creation, no more destruction]]", after their whole war in the multiverse. [[spoiler:Both of them end up finding ways around it, with Ink aiding [=XGaster=] in creating his Universe indirectly while Error steals the souls of the "anomalies" while not actually destroying them. Once Ink truly breaks it by bringing [=XGaster=] back, Error retaliates by finally destroying everything in the Doodle Sphere.]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' fanfic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/28642575 The Dare,]]'' Marinette has been doing bigger and bigger dares for her classmates. These include hugging [[TheStoic Gabriel Agreste]] on live television, or climbing down the drainpipe from the roof, or stealing the principal's phone. It culminates in someone daring her to steal Chat Noir's [[TransformationTrinket Miraculous]]--something which the villain Hawkmoth has been trying for months. Adrien, who secretly is Chat Noir, is very worried that she might actually try this. When he's on patrol with Ladybug, she suggests that they switch Miraculous for a couple days to get used to each other's powers. Chat agrees; he figures that Marinette might be able to steal from him, but she'll ''never'' be able to steal from Ladybug. The next day Marinette shows off the Miraculous in class. Everyone finally gives up on giving Marinette bigger dares, and Adrien finally realizes that Marinette is Ladybug.
-->'''Chat Noir:''' Wait a second--did you only have us switch Miraculouses so you could win that dare?!
* In ''Fanfic/ShipsAhoy'', Olive, Oscar and Otto decide to bet on how long it takes for O'Donnell and O'Callaghan to begin dating after Olive spots the two eyeballing each other in a romantic manner. Oscar bets two weeks, Olive bets two days and [[ARoundOfDrinksForTheHouse a round of drinks at Club 24,]] and Otto bets two hours. Directly after, O'Donnell and O'Callaghan walk by them with their arms linked and ask about the states of Olive and Otto (having gotten stranded in Sector 21 shortly before) before walking away. Olive, Otto and Oscar are all crushed to realize that they all lost the bet and it only took a mere two minutes for the tube operators to hook up.

** In ''Asterix and the Laurel Wreath'', a drunken Chief Vitalstatistix bets his nouveau-riche bore of a brother-in-law that he he can serve him a stew seasoned with Caesar's Laurel Wreath; naturally it's Asterix and Obelix who are sent off to Rome to do the dirty work.
** And in ''Asterix and Cleopatra'', a furious Cleopatra, stung by Caesar's taunts, insists that Egypt is still a great country and bets him that she can build a palace for him in Alexandria within three months. An Egyptian architect is charged with it, Panoramix gets called to help, and Asterix and Obelix go with him. Unlike in a lot of stories, these bets are not just a pretext for a plot; they also represent the wider conflict between national pride and imperial arrogance.
** In ''Asterix And The Belgians'', chief Vitalstatistix [[BodyCountCompetition bets the titular Belgians on who can destroy the most Roman camps]], after Julius Caesar has stated the Belgians to be the bravest barbarians. The whole thing eventually becomes [[spoiler:a tie]], and they seek out Julius Caesar to ''judge''. HilarityEnsues.

** In ''Asterix and the Banquet'', after a Roman inspector-general attempts to contain the Gauls by building a huge wall around their village, Asterix bets him that he can not only escape, but will travel all over Gaul, collecting all the {{regional specialit|y}}ies for a banquet -- to which the general is invited, just to prove he actually did it. If Asterix wins, the wall comes down. [[spoiler:(Unsurprisingly, he does.)]]

* Avengers Assemble #9-11 involves a bet between Tony Stark and Bruce Banner as to who can be the first to successfully rescue a missing scientist. The loser has to walk naked from Avengers Tower to the Baxter Building and back (in downtown Manhattan). [[spoiler: In the end, they BOTH lose and end up taking the walk of shame together, Banner in his Hulk form, no less. Even better, Tony's effort to jam all electronics to prevent anyone taking pictures is defeated when Spiderman shows up to take a picture with an old-fashioned flash camera that ends up on the front page of the Daily Bugle under the headline "Naked Justice."]]

[[folder: Fan Works]]

-->'''Sailor 1:''' [To his friend, regarding the literal edge of the world] It's flat. Pay up.
-->'''Sailor 2:''' [Grumbles, starts handing over a massive amount of gold.]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* ''Series/{{Zoey 101}}'': This is the plot, or sub-plot, of several episodes (commonly, girls vs. boys, but also guys vs. guys, everyone vs. Logan)

[[folder: Literature]]

-->"Not ten bucks," Cal said, yanking up the comforter before she lost it.
-->Min looked up at him, appalled. "You bet ''ten thousand dollars'' you could get me into bed?"
-->"No," Cal said. "I'm going to get a T-shirt made that says, 'I did not make that bet.'"

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* In the ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' episode "My Best Laid Plans", Dr Cox learns the Janitor has a crush on Eliot, and bets his Porche against the Janitor's van that it'll never happen. The usual plot is subverted when the Janitor simply explains the situation to Eliot and she jumps at the chance to annoy Dr Cox ... and then inverted when the Janitor falsely claims Cox wants to see them on an actual date before he pays up.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderman'':
** At one point, Peter makes a bet with Flash Thompson that he'll have a date for the upcoming school dance to show his confidence that he relly has one. However, his intended date cancels. When Peter ends up at the dance with [[HeroesWantRedheads the extremely attractive Mary Jane Watson]], Flash tries to break the two up by telling Mary Jane about the bet. However, in a subversion, MJ doesn't care in the slightest, even making a crack to Flash about the fact that he lost. Of course, it helps that she's probably aware that Peter's Aunt May set up the whole thing, plus MJ ''knows'' that she's hot and Peter would have been willing to go out with her, bet or no bet. Flash, not wanting to be the only one dressed as a cheerleader to honor the bet, forced his teammates into similar outfits.
** Liz Allen's brother Mark also has a gambling problem, which leads to him becoming the Molten Man. In his second episode, Spider-Man takes advantage of his gambling weakness to taunt him.
-->'''Spider-Man''': Hey Molten Man! Bet you can't hit me from here with a lava ball!
-->'''Molten Man''': I'll take that bet!
-->'''*throws lava ball, only for Spider-Man to pull the Mysterio robot into his line of fire*'''
-->'''Spider-Man''': Sucker!