Gambling has a long and storied history. It can be traced back to the ancient times, when it was widely accepted as a pastime among civilizations across the world. From the Romans to the Chinese, gambling has been used for entertainment and as a way of testing luck.
The origin of gambling is difficult to pinpoint due to its widespread presence in many cultures, but one of the earliest forms of gambling was dice games that were played by the Ancient Greeks. The first evidence of dice dates back to around 3000 B.C., though it is believed that they could have been played as early as 5000 B.C. Dice games have since evolved into some of the most popular casino games today such as craps and roulette.
In China, gambling has been popular for centuries and there are records showing that it was present during the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 B.C.). Mahjong is believed to have originated in China during this period and is still played today all over the world. Other traditional Chinese games include fan tan and keno which both date back hundreds of years and are still enjoyed today in casinos in Macau and other parts of Asia.
The Romans were also prolific gamblers with their own version of dice called “talus” which could be found in most Roman households. They also developed board games such as tabula, ludus duodecim scriptorum (twelve-liner) or nine men’s morris – all popular among royal families at the time – as well as card games like tarocchi or trionfi which would later become modern day tarot cards.
Gambling eventually spread throughout Europe with casinos popping up everywhere from Paris to London where aristocrats gathered for nights filled with high stakes betting on card and dice games like hazard, faro, basset and biribi amongst others. As technology developed so did gambling with mechanical slot machines being invented by Charles Fey in 1895 followed by electromechanical slots in 1963 followed by video slots in 1976 – all leading up to online gambling becoming available worldwide in 1994 thanks to Microgaming’s launch of an online casino platform called Gaming Club Casino.
Today we can find casinos almost anywhere with brick-and-mortar establishments located all over the world along with thousands upon thousands of online casinos offering endless opportunities for anyone looking for a good gamble – proving that even after centuries gambling remains one of humanity’s favorite pastimes!
