The History of Gambling

There are a lot of evidences found in ancient history that gambling has been part of human culture since thousands of years before. The oldest record of ancient gambling was traced back in Egypt. There, one pair of ivory dice has been found, obviously pointing to the fact that people were engaged to gambling. There were other proofs showing that China, India, Greece, and Rome are among the countries that discovered gambling earlier than the rest.

At the onset of the AD years, most gambling routines were connected with royalty. There were Kings in a dispute over ownership who used dice rolls to settle amicably. Gambling was also very popular among soldiers. They are often found having rounds of a game or two in their barracks. King Edward VIII of England was even forced to ban gambling when he found out that his soldiers spend more time gambling than training.

The development of the countless gambling games available today is a totally different story. Playing cards, for example, is traced back in China where the paper was first introduced. Chinese also developed the first money that is paper made. The development of cards started from the Mameluke Empire. The people of that empire were Muslims. That is the explanation behind the fact that playing cards are not decorated with human forms. When the cards made it across the Mediterranean Sea, members of the royalty were added. It was in France that the standard 52-deck card was developed.

Archeological records show that gambling is an age-old practice. Dice was the most popular gambling device used in those times. For fun or for some other purposes, the dice served great purpose. But the dice that was used before is not anything close to what we know today. In fact, the cavemen used to make their own dice from about anything -- bones, stones, etc.

Reading through history books, you will be convinced that rolling of the dice was the a favored hobby by members of the royal family and just about anyone else. The 18th and the 19th century have seen the evolution of proper gambling sites. At this point, it is no longer just about using some extra time but more of developing the proper skills to get rewards you could not earn from any kind of livelihood. People were drawn to gambling even more with the high amounts at stake. Its popularity became full-blown when the Internet was introduced. The opportunity to gamble virtually made it possible for more people to enjoy the game.