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The History of Gambling Around the World
There is archeological evidence that mankind has probably been gambling since the days of cavemen. Cave drawings have been found that seem to depict people gambling. Objects that seem like dice made of animal bone from that period have been excavated.
Tiles found in China dating back to 2300 B.C. indicate that gambling was being practiced there at the time. Dice made of ivory found in Egypt dating back to earlier than 1500 B.C. also suggest that gambling was being done there. This has been supported by the mention of gambling in written accounts on a tablet found in a pyramid in Giza. In 1200 B.C., Greek soldiers were gambling with dice even if gambling was then illegal in Greece.
Later, in ancient Rome, Claudius was gambling with dice in his carriage. Roman law at the height of the empire even required that gambling with dice be taught to all children. In the bible, Roman soldiers were said to have been gambling in the time of Christ. After that, Caligula accrued gambling debts during his reign.
Some of the actual dice dating back to at least 79 A.D. taken from the ruins of Pompeii were found to be loaded. It seems that cheating surfaced along with the emergence of gambling.
At about 1000 A.D. gambling with dice was the method used by two kingdoms to determine ownership over a territory. King Olaf of Norway and King Olaf of Sweden rolled a pair of dice, resulting in a draw at first. On the second roll, Norway won the district of Hising.
In the Middle Ages, gambling was so rampant that it distracted soldiers from theirmilitary training, prompting some countries to forbid it in the ranks. King Henry the VIII was said to be addicted to gambling, but he made it illegal among his men.
Native Americans regarded gambling or games of chance as an invention of the gods. Their dice were painted plum stones.
Gambling halls and lotteries proliferated in America until the Civil War, then was banned in 1910. It was legalized again starting in 1931, leading to the rise of Las Vegas and much later, Atlantic City in New Jersey.
Casinos have multiplied around the world. Some of the leading countries operating casinos are the United States, France, England, Monaco and Canada. There are also busy casino centers in Central America, South America and the Caribbean.
China has joined the fray, coming full circle in the history of gambling. The largest casino in the world is the Sands in Macau. In 2006, some six billion dollars were wagered in Macau, surpassing Las Vegas in sheer amounts of money being bet each year.