We consider the motion of a particle subjected to the constant gravitational field and scattered inelastically by oscillating boundaries which possess the shape of parabola, wedge, and hyperbola. The linear dependence of the restitution coefficient on the particle velocity is assumed. We demonstrate that this dynamical system can be either regular or chaotic, which depends on the billiard shape and the oscillation frequency. The trajectory calculations are compared with the experimental data; a good agreement has been achieved. Moreover, the properties of the system has been studied by means of the Liapunov exponents and the Kaplan--Yorke dimension. The period-doubling bifurcation route to chaos has been found. Chaotic and nonuniform patterns visible in the experimental data are interpreted as a result of large embedding dimension.

PACS numbers: 05.45.--a, 05.45.Pq, 05.45.Df