The History of Gambling: From Ancient Dice to Online Casinos
When you think of gambling, your mind probably conjures an image of a fabulous online casino. Maybe it’s Robinroo, or perhaps a land-based casino in Vegas or Monte Carlo. You might even picture some of the flashy online video slots that millions of us enjoy every day. But gambling, believe it or not, is not a modern pastime. It may not have always looked as glamorous as it does today. But it’s something that’s been around for thousands and thousands of years.
The earliest evidence of gambling comes from the Paleolithic period. In Mesopotamia, six-sided dice, which were used for gambling, have been found dating back to about 3000 BCE.
Dice weren’t the only early gambling tools either. Across different ancient cultures, people used carved knucklebones, painted sticks and marked tiles long before standardised dice became common. Almost every civilisation we know of found its own way to test luck. Some of these tools were carved from animal bones. Others were shaped from wood, ivory or even shells, depending on what was available locally.
Gambling in Ancient China
Gambling is thought to have begun way back in ancient China. Most accounts trace it to the Xia Dynasty, before it spread to other parts of the world.
Historians have found evidence to suggest board games were popular ancient Chinese activities too. This includes early types of lottery and bingo-like games, such as Keno. Liubo, which translates to “six sticks,” saw two players race one another around a board. They used sticks to perform the same function as dice. It flourished right up until the end of the Han Dynasty, until the game of Go came along.
In Go, players move pieces, called “stones,” to try and surround more territory than their opponent. It’s a little more complicated than chess, but the rules are relatively simple. Even today, it’s still a test of luck and strategy.
The Han Dynasty also gave rise to early state-run lotteries. One of the most famous, sometimes called the “White Pigeon Game,” is said to have helped fund public projects. That reportedly included work on the Great Wall of China. This early lottery system is widely considered a forerunner of the Keno games still played in casinos today.
Gambling in Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt has its own long gambling history. Archaeologists have found ivory dice and carved gaming boards inside Egyptian tombs, some dating back to around 2000 BCE. One popular game was Senet, a board game with an element of chance. It’s often compared to a very early version of roulette.
These finds suggest gambling wasn’t just casual entertainment in ancient Egypt. It also held ceremonial and even religious significance, tying games of chance to ideas about fate and the afterlife. Egyptian board games were often buried alongside the dead. This suggests people believed they’d want to keep playing in the next life too.
Ancient Greece
Gambling was also popular in ancient Greece. References to it appear in the works of Homer, the Greek writer behind The Iliad and The Odyssey. It also shows up in other literature from the same period. The Greeks believed their gods controlled luck. There are even tales of how the rulers of Mount Olympus cast lots to divide the universe between them. Ancient gambling books say Zeus won the heavens and Poseidon won the sea. Hades drew the short straw, walking away with the underworld.
The ancient Greeks enjoyed betting on Tilia, a game similar to checkers. Heads and Tails, along with many different dice-rolling games, were popular too. Ancient artefacts reveal that bets on dog, chicken and bird fights were also common.
But despite being so popular, many ancient Greek philosophers were against gambling. They described it as a form of plague.
Ancient Rome
Gambling in ancient times was the subject of similarly mixed opinions a few hundred years later, in ancient Rome. From slaves to masters, many Romans fell prey to the addictiveness of gambling, including Emperor Caesar Augustus.
The ruler, therefore, decided to outlaw the practice, branding it a vice. However, the gambling ban was lifted during the week-long festival of Saturnalia, held in honour of the god Saturn. Many continued to engage in risk-taking games despite the threat of a fine outside of this period. Augustus himself was a frequent violator of his own ban.
Among some of the most popular kinds of Roman gambling were bets on chariot racing. It was a particularly dangerous event, and the cause of many fatalities. Even so, chariot racing flourished from around 735 BC onward.
The Circus Maximus was one of the largest arenas built for the sport. It could reportedly seat over 200,000 Roman gamblers at once, a genuinely staggering number for the ancient world.
Ancient India
Gambling shows up in Indian history too, and not always with a happy ending. In the Mahabharata, one of India’s great sacred epics, a pivotal scene revolves around a dice game. That single game leads directly to the downfall of a kingdom. It’s a striking early example of just how high the stakes of gambling could get, even in myth and legend.
Dice games in India eventually gave way to other forms of play too. This included early versions of games like Pachisi, which used shells and boards rather than pure dice rolls. Pachisi was often played on large outdoor courts. Some were even carved into palace floors, showing just how central the game was to royal life.
Gambling Through the Ages at a Glance
| Civilisation | Approximate Era | Notable Games or Practices |
|---|---|---|
| Mesopotamia | c. 3000 BCE | Six-sided dice, among the earliest known gambling tools |
| Ancient Egypt | c. 2000 BCE | Senet, ivory dice found in tombs |
| Ancient China | Xia and Han Dynasties | Liubo, Go, early Keno-style lotteries |
| Ancient India | Mahabharata era | Dice games, early Pachisi |
| Ancient Greece | Homeric period onward | Tilia, Heads and Tails, dice games, animal fight betting |
| Ancient Rome | 735 BC onward | Chariot racing, dice, Saturnalia gambling exemption |
Gambling Today
The forms of gambling popular in ancient China, Egypt, Greece, India and Rome have undoubtedly shaped the way we bet today. Thanks to dramatic advancements in technology, gambling has evolved phenomenally since then. Here are 6 rules every gambler should follow in the modern world.
The move online a few decades ago changed everything. We can now place bets with just a few taps on our smartphones. There’s no need for dealers and Vegas employees, since it’s all done online now. Online casinos give us access to hundreds of slot, table and bingo games, wherever we happen to be. As the industry continues to grow, the future only looks to get even more exciting.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the oldest known form of gambling?
The earliest evidence points to dice-based gambling. Six-sided dice found in Mesopotamia date back to around 3000 BCE. That makes them among the oldest gambling tools discovered so far.
Did ancient cultures actually approve of gambling?
Opinions were mixed even then. Some rulers and philosophers in ancient Greece and Rome viewed gambling as harmful or immoral. Ordinary citizens and even emperors often gambled anyway.
How is modern gambling connected to these ancient games?
Many modern casino games trace their roots back thousands of years. Keno developed from ancient Chinese lotteries. Dice games and board games like Senet share clear similarities with games played today.
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