Gambling has existed since the Stone Age, and it might be even older than the written word.
These days, gambling is a far more sophisticated endeavor, possibly from virtually any location in the world with a few simple clicks on our smart devices. But how did it all start? What games did our ancestors play? And what gambling games is considered the oldest gambling game in the world?
Answers to these and many other questions are awaiting you in the article below. Dive into the rich history of gambling and learn all about casino game origins. Explore the gambling tapestry to understand when was roulette invented, what dice were used first, and see the oldest casino in the world.
A Short History of Gambling
Before we move onto specific games, let’s take a look at the history of gambling.
The Earliest Gambling Games
Almost every traditional gambling game uses dice, balls, or cards to determine the outcome of their respective rounds. And few modern games are inventions by themselves, as most rely on, draw inspiration, or are fully modelled on one of the ancient gambling games.
The entire history of gambling began with dice, which is a nice thought to have the next time you find yourself standing at a craps table. It’s also a great fact showcasing how, even at their earliest, humans liked to play games that involved a certain level of risk.
Here are the oldest casino games in the world and their origins.
Dice Games
It all started with dice. Dice games date back to 3000 BCE, when the first dice were discovered in Mesopotamia. Original dice looked a bit different than dice used today – they were mostly made of animal bones.
Decade by decade, or century by century, dice evolved from bones to engraved stones, to wood, and ultimately, we got to today’s plastic versions.
Some of the oldest dice games were Sic Bo and Hazard, both from Asia. Sic Bo is an old Asian game, as old as 2000 years, that is still played today. It’s currently a very popular choice in the live casino sector.
While on topic of ancient Chinese games, we must mention Keno. Keno is a lottery-style game that is from China, and it’s very old. According to the legend, keno is one of the reasons we today have the Great Wall of China! It’s merely a legend, but a fun one, nonetheless.
Baccarat
While dice and lottery games rapidly spread across the globe, card games were slowly gaining popularity in high society circles of Europe.
However, that story began in the 9th century in China (again) before it spread to Persia, Egypt, and later Europe by the 11th century. Fun fact: the earliest records of a card deck are the Mamluk cards, which had the four suits (cups, coins, swords, and polo sticks). The deck as we know it today is from the 1480s.
Now, baccarat. Baccarat was invented in Italy in the 1500s. The man that sired baccarat is reportedly Felix Falguiere, who named the game ‘baccara’ which translates to ‘zero’ in Italian.
Baccarat quickly spread to other parts of Europe, most notably France and Europe, where it became an aristocratic obsession. In France, it sprouted a new variant called Chemin de Fer, one of the two very famous baccarat variants (the other being Punto Banco).
Roulette
The ultimate classic game of roulette is a fantastic example of a traditional casino table. It’s a game built for the casino and played only there, because it is played using a ball and a wheel. And a fun fact is that the roulette wheel was invented by pure accident.
Allegedly, Blaise Pascal was working on a perpetual motion machine when his work and findings sparked the invention of a new even-odd wheel. The wheel as the wheel was not new, but the way this one worked was very unique, and so we got roulette.
Roulette would take years to consolidate and become a popular choice at casinos. In 1842, the first official roulette wheel with a single zero was presented to the King Charles III of Monaco by Francois and Lois Blanc. After that, it was a matter of years before the game found its way to America, where it picked up another zero and the American Roulette variant was born.
Blackjack
The official blackjack history is hard to devise, as the timeline is not very clear. Still, it is known that the first records of the famous card game date back to the early 1700s. Hence, we may debate the origins of blackjack, but we cannot deny the unparalleled popularity and influence the game has had on the course of casino development.
Blackjack is part of the same family of card games as Vingt-et-un, a game that was once a beloved party game played by the English nobility during the 1700s. In fact, Vingt-et-un (literally translating to ‘21’) is the precursor to today’s blackjack.
FUN FACT: The first mention of blackjack in literature is from a short story by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes.
Cervantes mentions a game called ventiuno, which in Spanish means “twenty-one”. Given that the story was written in 1601-1602, it is entirely possible that blackjack is far older than we originally thought.
Poker
The name poker was first used to describe a card game with 5-card hands in 1937. However, the game was invented much earlier, and it is a successor of the ancient Persian game As-Nas.
There’s another game that experts consider an alternative source of inspiration for Poker – the French game poque. However, poque did not exist anywhere near the USA at the time, so it’s not a probable solution.
In truth, poker is best explained as an amalgamation of several gambling games: As-Nas, primero, brelan, and bragg.
On its own, poker became widespread after 1800s in America, with various reports of gamblers playing a version of the card game near the Mississippi River between 1800 and 1850. As years went by, more and more rules and features were being added, and so the version of poker that we know today was carefully built slowly over time. For instance, one of the ‘youngest’ additions is the use of community cards which is from 1925.
Craps
Craps sounds like a game invented in Las Vegas, probably because Las Vegas immortalized this dice game. However, the game has roots dating back to 1700s, when Hazard was born. Hazard today is not something you can find at casinos, but what you can find – especially at land-based casinos – is craps.
Hazard rules are still largely obscure, so it’s not easy to explain how it’s played, but there are historical connections to the Crusades.
What is funny is that, at the same time that Hazard was being introduced to wider audiences by an English author Edmond Hoyle, the French were trying out a new variant of Hazard called Krabs.
The road from Europe to American soil helped the game blossom. Beginning with the 1805, the game was introduced to players in dusty parlors of New Orleans, Louisiana. Soon, it was widespread, but it was not until the 1890s that the game would officially become known as craps.
Andar Bahar
Andar Bahar is a traditional card game from India. Although it’s a relatively new inclusion in the live dealer section of online casinos, Andar Bahar has been in existence for centuries.
It first emerged in India during the 17th century, bearing the name Katti at first. Like many Indian games, it’s a traditional game that began its career as a family game. For decades, Andar Bahar was kept as a family tradition, something that rarely went beyond the sacred space shared by the family.
However, by the time the 1900s rolled around, it was time for a change – and so Andar Bahar became a national phenomenon shared by entire communities across India. Thanks to its highly adaptable nature, Andar Bahar is exceptionally easy to adjust to any conditions, which is why it was so easy to introduce it to live casino formats.
Games of the Past: Extinct Ancient Gambling Games
As we previously mentioned, most of the games we play today came from ancient gambling games that are largely forgotten now. What ancient games have we left behind?
- Biribi – An Italian game of chance very similar to roulette
- Tabula – a Roman precursor to backgammon
- Poque – Also known as Pochspiel, a poker ancestor
- Senet – Ancient Egyptian game of stick tosses with religious importance
- Faro – An ancient French gambling game associated with banking
- Basetta – A notorious card game from the Renaissance
- Brelan – a 17th century French game of vying
- Mehen – An Egyptian game played on a board
- Tali (Astragali) – ancient Roman game of dice similar to poker
There are many other games that you can explore, and I am certain there are many games that went extinct without us even knowing they existed in the first place. And although there is no way to find any of these games at any casino today, it’s still fun to know how they came to shape the modern casino games today.
What Is the Oldest Casino in the World?
Gambling games and casino games are mostly the same thing, but gambling existed far before casinos came to be.
Case in point – although gambling has existed for centuries, the first casino was formally opened in 1638.
The casino in question was The Ridotto, the first state-owned casino in Europe. The Ridotto was actually a wing of the Palazzo Dandolo that was transformed into a casino in 1638 at the behest of the influential nobility in Venice.
The rules of comportment were as expected for the era: very formal, with hats and masks worn by very affluent people who were the only ones who could afford to play on the premises due to high stakes at every table.
Before it officially closed its doors in 1774, Il Ridotto offered a variety of gambling games, including biribi, faro and basetta.
Oldest Online Casino Games
Online games are far from land-based casinos in terms of history, mostly because they emerged a lot later.
And although the online gambling sector is soaring right now, it’s still a relatively new invention, especially when considered against the backdrop of the entire human history.
Still, the introduction of online casino games created a major change in the gambling industry, forever changing the way we perceive and approach casino games. Today, it’s much easier to browse the lobby of an internet casino on your phone, because you don’t have to travel and waste money and time on visiting an actual casino. And in a way, that made land-based casinos even more authentic.
The earliest online casino experience began back in 1994, all thanks to Microgaming.
The First Online Casino Launched in 1994
Today, the company bears the name Apricot, and they are not making games anymore. Instead, the legendary Microgaming portfolio is over at Games Global, a company managing both the games and the independent studio network.
But in any case, Microgaming was the first company to launch OG online casino games and casino. The first-ever casino site was The Gaming Club, which is still working today.
The Gaming Club features 500+ games from the producer’s original portfolio. It’s a fully licensed casino and very proud of the fact that it’s the first-ever casino on the internet.
Soon after the invention of online casinos, game suppliers akin to Microgaming began adding other game categories to the lobbies. Among the first ones were slot machines, which were accompanied by video poker.
Blackjack, baccarat, roulette, and other games quickly followed. So, in that sense, it’s difficult to speak about the oldest online casino games as they all came in at approximately the same time – before the year 2000. The beginning of the new millennium and new century also opened new doors of opportunity for companies to expand online gaming beyond the scope of classic gambling.
As a result, modern gambling uses the latest technology, devices, and platforms to fashion a brand-new hybrid version of betting; one that relies on AI, VR, and smart devices to further bridge the gap between authentic land-based casinos and digital gambling.
Conclusion
Although gambling today may look different than what the Venetian nobility enjoyed at The Ridotto in the 1600s, the point is still entertainment.
And no matter how many years pass, gambling is never going out of fashion. It may change its look, and mechanism, but never the nature. If you want to learn more about other old casino games or explore deeper the history of the oldest casino games, check out our blog. Enjoy detailed game reviews and see where to play the best online casino games in our game guide too.
