The history of gambling

Gambling has taken place, in some form or other, for hundreds if not thousands of years, and is inextricably linked to the history of humanity.

A brief history of gambling industry from ancient times to blockchain casinos.

Gambling has been going on since ancient times. Archaeologists have discovered prototypes of dice created thousands of years before Christ. It is believed that initially these items were used for divination and magic rituals, and only then became an attribute of gambling.

Already in antiquity, the whole mass culture of gambling was formed. Thus, in ancient Rome in the 6th century, BC the so-called Circus was created — a public place where visitors were invited to play dice and bet on money. A couple of thousand years later, the gambling sites in 2019 are implementing blockchain and even virtual reality. Let’s take a closer look at the history of this industry.

From ancient gambling places to the first casino

In the ancient states of China and India gambling also was pretty popular. Such games are mentioned in the Indian Rigveda — an ancient collection of hymns and religious rules. Since then, gambling has become a whole industry, including special gambling establishments, working by special rules.

Traditions of ancient Rome continued in Italy during the Renaissance. The development of gambling establishments has also contributed to the fact that card games became very popular. The history of the casinos began with the first gaming establishment in Europe called Il Ridotto. It was opened in Venice in 1638. The term “casino” was formed from the Italian word “casa” (in translation — “home”), so “casino” is translated as “small house”.

The origin of this word is explained by the fact that before the opening of the first legal casino gambling was organized in private homes, and often along with it, the visitors enjoyed dancing and music, as well as food and drinks. It is believed that Il Ridotto was designed to entertain people with gambling during the famous Venetian carnival.

Although legal casinos did not appear in the following years (thanks to high taxes), gambling became a serious problem for Italian society. This was largely due to the church’s negative attitude towards this kind of entertainment. The result of this attitude was the promulgation by the authorities of laws prohibiting any kind of gambling. On the basis of these laws, the first official casino in the world (Il Ridotto) was closed. Despite the many sermons of the Church denouncing the sinful nature of gambling, as well as bans by the authorities, the casinos quickly spread beyond Italy.

European casinos

The glorious days of European casinos came in the 19th century. Their interiors were becoming more and more luxurious, the service has risen to an unprecedented level of comfort and safety. Every self-respecting person had to appear in the casino, which also became a place of communication between old friends and the discussion of pressing political issues. For those gamblers who prefer particularly high stakes, separate rooms began to be set up. Despite the general passion for casinos among successful citizens, by the end of the 19th century, most casinos in Europe had to close down due to amendments to gambling laws. The only flagship left afloat was Monte Carlo, which had no restrictions on gambling.

As for the New World, at first gambling establishments there rarely boasted the same luxury and elegance as the European casinos. But over time, the experience gained in the gambling business has allowed establishing in the U.S. a new capital for gamblers — Las Vegas.

First virtual casinos

The gambling industry was developing rapidly until a new alternative appeared. The first virtual casino appeared almost immediately after the emergence of the Internet — in 1996. Over the years, the technology has been significantly improved, and the initiative has been taken up by many gambling sites in 2019. To date, there are several thousand casinos in the world, where millions of users “hang” daily.

In the last few years, more and more virtual casinos migrated on the blockchain. The decentralized technology makes the gambling experience more transparent for a gambler and the casino. It is worth noting that lotteries on the blockchain are almost impossible to rig. Do you want to make sure of that? Visit Ethex.bet.

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