The first historical references to gambling are associated with ancient civilizations. The exact date of appearance of the first entertainment or a clear chronology is not established, but archaeologists have found evidence that allows you to make approximate conclusions. Gambling leisure – an integral part of life, which allows you to dilute bright colors gray everyday life. What was the world’s first game, and how have poker, blackjack, roulette evolved over the years? Most of them are represented in modern casinos, although they only remotely resemble the first prototypes.

• Craps
• Poker
• Baccarat
• Blackjack
• Roulette
• Slots
• The Future of Casino and Gaming

Craps

Historical information related to dice has been found on all continents. They were originally used for rituals and divination, and afterwards they became entertainment for the elite.

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

The oldest hexagonal dice was found on the territory of Mesopotamia. It was made about three thousand years before our era

The oldest hexagonal cube is found in Mesopotamia. It was made about three thousand years before Christ.

Mentions are 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 since the Middle Ages. It was then that the game acquired a similar look to modern craps. In the late XIX – early XX century began the era of globalization. Mankind began to actively share knowledge, including in the gambling sphere.

During World War II, a simple version of the rules was popular among soldiers, which was later spread by the residents of Las Vegas. In modern land-based and online casinos are presented tables with craps, which are no longer quite similar to the original format.

Poker

The courtiers of France, Germany and England often played cards. The first varieties of such entertainment appeared in the XVI century. The rules were simple – three cards were issued, 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 United States, where it gradually came to the modern form. In 1870 it returned to Europe, but only during the First World War it became popular.

The first official international poker championship was held in 1970. Other serious competitions were organized by Thomas Moore a couple of years before that. Today there are many types of poker in land-based and online casinos. Its popularity is due to the tournaments, where you can get a large sum of money for the leadership, as well as a competent combination of luck and skill required to win.

Baccarat

The origin story is not reliably known. In many parts of the world are found references to it, implying different scenarios of the appearance of entertainment. Here are the most famous and widespread theories, which, however, have never been documented.

Country of origin	Assumptions
Ancient China	The Chinese game “pai gow”, in which dice were used instead of cards, is similar in principle to baccarat. The goal of the participants is to score 9 points.
Italy	At the end of the 13th century, Marco Polo brought the technique of drawing dice for pai gow to Europe. The first drawn and later printed maps appeared. Felix Falgier modified the rules of tarocci and created the prototype of baccarat.Another argument in favor of the appearance of the game in Italy was given in his works by Edmond Hoyle. He described the rules of Twenty-One and compared them to baccarat.
France	Soldiers who returned from Italy in the 1490s showed the local nobility two games. One resembled a modern version of baccarat.
North America	The first mention is found in a New York Times article from 1871. But it is generally accepted that baccarat has been known in the United States since 1911.

The game experienced its second debut in American casinos in the late 1950s. A big influence on its popularization was the cinema. In one of the movies, James Bond masterfully played baccarat in one of the VIP rooms of the Monte Carlo casino.

In America, the mini variant is popular, while in Macau other rules are used. In modern casinos you can find both classic and new versions of baccarat.

Blackjack

Historians have found mentions of games similar to blackjack in French and Spanish sources. No reliable date for its appearance has been established. In the stories of Miguel de Cervantes, dating back to the beginning of the 17th century, a description of the entertainment, where it is necessary to score 21 points, was found. The discipline became widespread in the 1900s when it came to North America. In 1931, Nevada casinos introduced an innovation – a 10-to-1 payout for the combination of the black jack and the ace of spades. Since then, the name “blackjack” has been used, and its popularity has not diminished.

Roulette

No documentary evidence has been found about the creator of roulette, but we know something of its history:

• The first description dates back to 1796. In his book “La Roulette”, Jacques Lablé detailed the rules.
• Previously, sector 0 was red and 00 was black. In 1980, the zero got the modern look.
• Whereas in Europe only one zero sector was used, in the US they decided to add a double sector to it. In the American rules, the casino has a higher advantage.
• Since 1848, the tables began to be actively arranged across the United States. They were placed even on the streets.
• In Paris, roulette has retained its appearance since 1796, along with all the inscriptions.

Part of historians claim that the inventor of roulette is Blaise Pascal. The French mathematician and physicist invented not the game itself, but a device with a rotating ball. And already the casino owners adapted it to their needs. Also part of the researchers believe that the roulette mechanism is a hybrid combination of the Italian entertainment Biridi and the wheel of Fortune.

The spread of the game around the world leads to the emergence of different varieties. In modern casinos there are three types of roulette: French, European and American.

Slots

The first slot machine, which had three reels and one payline, appeared in 1895. It became the progenitor of all slots. The image created by Charles Fey, in modern casinos is associated with the classics. The first mechanical devices quickly gained popularity. In the 1940s, improved slots from the Bally company appeared. Electromechanical machines had many innovations, including coin drives that automatically dispensed winnings.

In 1976, people saw video slots for the first time. They had special screens instead of mechanical drums. Developers improved slots and used various innovations. And since 1995, the era of rapid development of the gambling industry began. Slots became available in online casinos, and their number increases every day.

The future of casinos and games

For the last 100 years, casinos have offered a standard set of gambling entertainment. But the service has improved considerably. If it is not possible to visit a land-based institution, then in online venues access is open to all adult users. New technologies will soon allow each client to feel the presence even over the Internet. After all, VR- and AR-tools are already being developed and implemented.