Many say that gambling originated in China around 2300 B.C., as there is a lot of evidence that gambling took place in Ancient China. There is also evidence that points many to believe gambling originated in Egypt as both dice and writings on the pyramids have been discovered. It’s hard to put an exact date on when gambling first originated, but it’s definitely safe to say that gambling has been apart of basically every single society in human history.
During the Middle Age, gambling of sorts had already been spread to many parts of the world and was a very popular activity during this time in history. Gambling was used as a method by which to settle disputes in many instances. There have been several documented stories about Kings gambling with one another over land disputes. Many army leaders actually needed to ban gambling from their soldiers because it was noted that soldiers were gambling more than they worked.
Most people believe that playing cards were first developed in China. The cards that were used in China were nothing like what you see today. Over the years, playing cards spread to different Empires and by the 1500’s the French created their own deck of playing cards. The deck of cards known as the “French Pack” is very similar to the playing cards that we use to this day.
In Ancient Rome, gambling became so huge in the culture that a law was passed to ensure all children would learn how to gamble. During these times in Rome, they gambled with dice and everyone from the children to the King spent significant portions of their day gambling. Native Americans have been documented as one of the first societies to gamble in the “new world” and they would gamble on various things ranging from dice to predictions of certain things.
Lotteries started operating in the USA during the Revolutionary War to fund the army. Since the Revolutionary War, lotteries have been a huge part in our culture. By the 1830’s there were hundreds of lotteries operating in the country, which helped raise funds for lots of good causes during this time. Gambling has continued to evolve in the USA and there are still plenty of new games being developed to this day ranging from flashier slot machines to new and exciting card games.
Gambling took a backwards turn during the 1900’s and it was not until 1931 that gambling became a legal activity in the United States. Only Nevada and Las Vegas were allowed to have casinos at this time and that is why there are still so many casinos concentrated in the Las Vegas area. There are now several popular regions in the USA for gambling including Vegas and Atlantic City. As gambling becomes more of an accepted part of American culture, more and more states are legalizing casino gambling within their jurisdictions as a means to fund state interests.