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The Evolution Of Casinos

Greek poet Sophocles believed that dice were invented by none other than the Greeks – by one Palamedes, to be exact, during the siege of Troy. In ancient times, dice were not merely seen as a game – the outcome was thought to have been controlled by none other than the gods themselves. As such, vital decisions were made by casting a dice – from whether to engage in battle to the choice of a life partner. Fortuna, daughter of Zeus, was believed to be the driving force behind the throw of the dice.

The Romans too, were in on the action. Roman Emperors were notorious for having taken the roll of a dice into the realm of the compulsive. Not one to be left behind by the times, King Henry VIII gambled away the bells of the old St. Paul’s church by the throw of a dice.

Dice are thought to have existed as far back as 3000 B.C., with a pair having been discovered in an Egyptian tomb dating back to that era.

Dice resulted in such utter pandemonium, that the Romans were the first to ban all forms of gambling. The penalty for getting caught would typically amount to four times the stake that was played for – soon folks would gamble on what the likelihood was of being caught. Enters the birth of odds.

Before Chips Were Chips

Roman citizens eventually got so fed-up with authorities trying to spoil the fun, that they invented the gambling chip. This enabled them to claim that they were not playing for real money, but merely for chips.

Italian Gambling Houses

The Italians went on to take matters into their own hands and formalised gambling and casinos in the way of the establishment of official gambling houses. Europe soon took the cue and by the 19th Century, casinos were springing up all over the place. America followed suit at around the same time, with casinos and games offering a welcome mental break from the effects of the Great Depression.

Poker was being played in New Orleans as far back as 1829. By 1970, a Poker explosion had taken place with world Poker tournaments being played in Vegas.

The Internet – Final Frontier?

Virtual online casinos entered the scene in 1994 – with online gaming growing into a billion dollar industry within the following five years. 2003 saw the first live dealers starring online at online casino sites, and online Bingo and other popular games were already hugely in demand at this time. The dividing line between the physical and the virtual casino had completely faded and playing online was now almost better than playing in a land based establishment.

It was only a matter of time and online gambling took the next logical step – mobile casinos. After all, everything else had made the journey from desktop systems to the convenience of mobile systems. Today, gaming content is compatible with almost every conceivable hand-held device out there.

It remains to be seen what the next step will be in the evolution of casinos. Virtual reality technology is hands down the next big favourite – and after that, well, a house named infinity has many a room.