History of Gambling

It is very difficult to say about the general history of gambling as it involves different casino games that appeared at different times and under various conditions. According to the historians, it has existed for ages because many archeological evidences state that gambling and most games have got the history of more than several centuries and even more. may artifacts revealed on the territory of ancient India, Egypt, Rome, and China are the evidence that casino gambling were popular in those cultures since 2300 B.C.. The main signs of gambling existence are the playing dice found in Thebes and dated before 1500 B.C.

It is believed that the idea of card games, for example blackjack and poker, appeared in China from the common practice of shuffling money. In 900 A.D. such practice turned into the tradition to play cards. At first all the cards didn't have any human pictures and were designed like the colorful Muslim carpets. After the cards came to Italy and Spain, the card-makers began to decorate them with the royal ranks and pictured the notorious men who had power at those times. The so-called female cards (with Queens) were produced later, when the card games reached France. The new deck of cards containing Queens was called the "French Pack".

Roulette game was made in France. As the legend states, the first roulette wheel was created by the famous mathematician Blaise Pascal. Though according to other sources, the wheel was designed in China and only then it reached European countries. Yet, the gaming instructions and the wheel were improved by Louis and Francois Blanc, who made the single zero roulette back in 1842. After the game reached the USA, it saw a new change - the double zero roulette game was created. These days most European gambling venues have the singe zero roulette that got the name "European" or "French" roulette, while the US casinos invite the gamblers to try their luck at the double zero or the so-called "American" roulette game. Nevertheless, both roulette variants may be found at most of the gambling halls all over the planet. It is not worth speaking about the fame of roulette game because it is really impressive and now roulette is the emblem of each casino and gambling.

Dice have been used for more than 2,000 years. Original they were used only by the shamans to predict the future, decide the disputes and find the answers on the questions of the locals. Later the practice of rolling dice evolved into the craps game which initially was called "Hazard". This game was the favorite amusement for the Englishmen and it was played only at the private gambling halls. Soon the game came to France where it got the name the "Craps". When it finally reached the shores of America, it was simplified and became the favorite game of people of different classes.

There are many stories dealing with different betting strategies and winning techniques used at casinos because the main task of any gambler was to find out the effective way to beat the casino. These days casino gambling is especially popular due to the fact that at any time the gambler can visit online casino and enjoy internet blackjack, slots, craps, online roulette, bingo and other games.

So, gambling made a long way to up-to-date casino halls. At all times it was used by different countries to collect money for the government and underwent various events and laws. In the United States, gambling was forbidden in Nevada from 1850 to 1910, but it was recovered in 1931 and since then Las Vegas has been considered to be the greatest gambling centre in the world. But the evolution of casino games has not finished as more and more game variations of games appear and most of them are electronic.