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History of Gambling 
"Who Started This Mess?"

The Early Days 

The Chinese get the credit for adding money into the mix, and starting gambling as we think of it today.  Somewhere around 2300 B.C., historians have noted the first accounts of gambling by the Chinese, and we can only assume accountants and lawyers weren’t far behind. Life even back then, wasn’t perfect. 

From the very first official forms of gambling, whether legal or illegal, religious beliefs, morals and ethics have always been the front line arguments in the fight against gambling.  Is it right or wrong?  Here we are, thousands of years later, and nothing has changed.  Most people who do not gamble today choose not to do so for the aforementioned reasons.

Games have been played since the earliest of times in almost all cultures.   More specifically, betting games were noted in the ancient Egyptian, Roman, and Greek civilizations.  These games included bones (dice) and spinning wheels.  Cards came with the invention of paper, again by the Chinese, and are believed to have first been dealt sometime between the 7th and 10th centuries.  Ironic that Dice, Wheels and Cards make up most table games the casinos offer, even after thousands of years. 

The First Casinos 

For centuries gambling took place in streets, fields, and homes around the world.  In the 1700’s things got a little more organized.  Early private clubs weren’t exactly the Bellagio, but they provided the groundwork for centuries to come.  These early forms of casinos had “Bankers”, and are where casinos got their name, the Italian word Casa, or “House”.   

The first such club is believed to have opened in Germany in 1748.  Other countries like Belgium and France weren’t far behind.  By the 20th Century, casinos were here to stay. 

The first legalized gambling in North America was in Nevada in 1931. 

Today 

In North America alone, there are almost 30 states that have casino style gambling, contributing to a $27 billion annual industry.  People who frequent casinos today do so for recreation, entertainment, and of course, to win cold hard cash.   

Gaming is a huge industry in the United States.  The biggest casinos in the world can be found here.  They can be found at any time since most are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Foxwoods Resort & Casino in Connecticut attracts over 15 million visitors a year, making it the largest casino in the world.   

Although other countries, such as Australia (which makes over $2 billion annually), and Canada, (it’s new found interest in gaming has it raking in it’s own jackpots) are big into gaming; Las Vegas, Nevada will always be the world gaming hot spot.  Las Vegas is the casino capital of the world, attracting 30 million visitors each year. 

However, even with Vegas’ impressive numbers, it truly can never compete with another top gaming location.  There is a larger destination for gamblers than the deserts of Nevada.  A “place” that opens itself to way more than 30 million people every single day.  How tomorrow all plays out and unfolds will make for some great writing; we are of course talking about the internet, a gambling medium of unlimited proportions.  Governments are doing their best to prevent money from changing hands, and to prevent people, gamers like you and I, from gambling over the Internet.  Their success in doing so may determine tomorrow’s hot spot in gaming.