Back to Top

The gambling revolution from origins to modern times

The first historical mentions of gambling are associated with ancient civilizations. The exact date of the first entertainment or a clear chronology has not been established, but archaeologists have found evidence that allows them to draw rough conclusions. Gambling leisure is an integral part of life, which allows you to add bright colors to the gray everyday life. What was the world’s first game, and how have poker, blackjack, and roulette evolved over the years? Most of them are presented in modern casinos and Jacks Casino online casinos, although they only vaguely resemble the first prototypes.

Craps

Historical information related to dice has been found on all continents. Initially, they were used for rituals and fortune-telling, and then they became entertainment for the elite.

Ancient symbolic images have been found in the tombs of Ancient Egypt and the temples of Tibet. They depict people playing dice. Confirmation of the addiction to gambling of the inhabitants of ancient India is described in the epic “Mahabharata”.

Mentions were found even in the Old Testament, Slavic chronicles, folk literature of Asian countries, and other parts of the world. Most of the rules have been preserved from the Middle Ages. It was then that the game acquired a look similar to modern craps. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, the era of globalization began. Humanity began to actively exchange knowledge, including in the gambling field.

Poker

The courtiers of France, Germany and England often played cards. The first types of such entertainment appeared in the 16th century. The rules were simple – three cards were given out, then bets were made, and the bank was taken by the one who collected the highest combination of cards. Initially, there were only three of them, later new ones appeared.

After 200 years, poker came to the USA, where it gradually came to its modern form. In 1870 it returned to Europe, but it was only during the First World War that it became popular.

The first official international poker championship was held in 1970. Other serious competitions had been organized by Thomas Moore a couple of years earlier. Today, land-based and online casinos offer a large number of types of poker. Its popularity is due to tournaments in which you can win a large sum for leadership, as well as the right combination of luck and skill required to win.

Baccarat

The history of origin is not reliably known. Mentions of it have been found in many parts of the world, implying various scenarios for the emergence of entertainment.

  • Ancient China

The Chinese game Pai Gow, which used dice instead of cards, is similar in principle to baccarat. Her goal is to score 9 points.

  • Italy

At the end of the 13th century, Marco Polo brought the technique of painting pai gow bones to Europe. The first drawn and then printed maps appeared. Felix Falgier makes changes to the rules of tarocchi and creates a prototype of baccarat.

  • France

Soldiers who returned from Italy in the 1490s showed two games to the local nobility. One of them resembled a modern version of baccarat.

  • North America

The first mention was found in a New York Times article from 1871. But it is generally accepted that baccarat has been known in the USA since 1911.

The game made its second debut in American casinos in the late 1950s. Cinema had a great influence on its popularization. In one of the films, James Bond masterfully played baccarat in one of the VIP rooms of the Monte Carlo casino.

Blackjack

Historians have found references to games similar to blackjack in French and Spanish sources. A reliable date for its appearance has not been established. In the stories of Miguel de Cervantes, dating back to the beginning of the 17th century, a description of entertainment was found where you need to score 21 points. The discipline became widespread in the 1900s, when it came to North America. In 1931, a Nevada casino introduced an innovation – a payout of 10 to 1 for a combination of blackjack and ace of spades. Since then, the name “blackjack” has been used, and its popularity has not diminished

The future of casinos and gaming

For the last 100 years, casinos have offered a standard range of gambling entertainment. But the service has improved significantly. If it is not possible to visit a land-based establishment, then access to online platforms is open to all adult users. New technologies will soon allow each client to feel present, even through the Internet.