Arandeep Larson 
Gambling’s origins may be hard to pinpoint, but we know it has been around for centuries – even predating money itself! People were betting on events without needing money as bettors placed bets on them.
Evidences of gambling have been discovered throughout ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and China. The oldest dice date back 3000 BC while lottery games first emerged around 200 BC with Chinese games like White Pigeon Ticket.
Origins
Gambling is often associated with casino games like blackjack and roulette, but its origins date back millennia or even millennia further than that. Gambling has existed across virtually every culture on earth for millennia – as if wagering something of value were an inbuilt human instinct!
Gambling involves risking something of value – money or otherwise – on an uncertain event’s outcome, be it money or reputation. Gambling dates back to prehistoric rituals which involved casting objects such as sticks, pebbles and arrows onto the ground to predict future events and interpret their results as clues for predictions or mysteries beyond our comprehension. Over time this early form of gambling eventually evolved into modern casino games such as dice, keno bingo and slot machines.
Ancient gambling was widespread amongst all classes of society, from slave to emperor. However, due to addiction that can arise due to winning or losing games, gambling was usually severely limited or curtailed in order to prevent its euphoria or despair from leading someone away from family, community and faith altogether – creating what some viewed as moral hazards.
China recorded its first recorded gambling activity during the 9th Century, featuring card trading games that utilized trading card as both stakes and tools for gameplay. These cards featured images depicting animals, human forms, kings and queens on them and quickly spread throughout Europe after Crusades became very popular. Dice games from Middle Eastern/Asian origin also quickly caught on, with European tables adapting them for use – eventually giving rise to roulette and blackjack at this time.
Ancient peoples frequently engaged in betting on animal fights between male and female dogs or bulls for entertainment, particularly within Roman empire. There is evidence of this happening regularly as entertainment during Roman rule as well as references in ancient Egyptian records about this activity. Additionally, ancient Greeks were avid gamblers as evidenced by Homeric Epics that refer directly or indirectly to gambling activities as entertainment options.
In the 17th Century gambling took on more organized forms with lotteries and other forms of regulated gaming taking hold as interest grew in understanding chance laws among mathematicians and others. This led to the creation of modern casino games, along with probability theory as a mathematical discipline. From there, gambling grew into one of the world’s most profitable entertainment industries today. Millions of people worldwide now play casino gambling, and with the rapid development of online casinos now is an excellent time to enter this exhilarating and enjoyable pastime. So if you’re ready to try your luck then make sure that you check out our top-rated sites – who knows? Maybe one will come through!
