The History of Casino

Gambling for money or other possessions has been around for thousands of years. It is so old that it predates history itself. Cockfighting, snail races, dice, cards - the gambling possibilities are endless. While certain elements remain the same gambling has kept on evolving through all lands and ages. The worlds first casino, as we know it is usually attributed to Ridotto. Ridotto opened in Venice, 1638 and was a place where people who enjoyed playing games for money met and played. It started out as a way to limit the illegal gambling that was rampant in the city at the time, which the rulers of Venice viewed as impossible to stop. The most popular game at the time was “Basetta”, a card game reminiscent of blackjack and poker.

North America

Gambling really exploded in the North American saloons at the start of the twentieth century. The saloons were the gathering place for travellers and settlers to meet and socialise, drink and gamble. The saloons were often very violent places. When christian and reformation movements started to gain influence in the United States gambling for money was banned in all states. This ban did not mean the end of gambling but it severely limited it’s spread.

Las vegas

In Nevada this ban was lifted fairly soon and the city of Las Vegas flourished due to the legalised gambling and the subsequent stream of players coming in just for the chance to gamble. Las Vegas was not the only gambling town in Nevada but t was and remains by far the greatest.

Atlantic City

The second state in the U.S. to legalise gambling was New Jersey but that didn’t happen until 1978. Atlantic City was the center for gambling in New Jersey and has remained the second largest casino town in the U.S.

Indian Casinos

Even though gambling is illegal in most states the Indian reservations and tribal lands have “tribal sovereignty” making them exempt from these laws. This allows them to operate casinos on their land which has become one of their main sources of income. The earnings from the gambling industry is used for public works such as libraries and schools. The gambling industry brings annual revenues of around $30 billion annually to the 240 indian tribes spread across the U.S.

Asia

There are of course plenty of other casino countries other than the U.S. Even though the U.S. has the highest annual casino revenues in the world with Las Vegas being the biggest contributor, the number one city globally is Macau in China. This despite there being many times the number of casinos in Las Vegas than in Macau. Singapore also has a substantial casino sector that’s been growing steadily of late. The Casino “Marina Bay Sands” was built at a staggering cost of $8 billion and is one of the most expensive buildings in the world. If This clearly points to Singapore is investing heavily in the Asian casino market. Singapore is currently the third largest casino market in the world after Macau and Las Vegas.

Macau

Macau has a long history as a casino city. This tiny territory in southeast was a Portuguese colony up until 1999 and has been a casino centre since the 1850’s. Before the twentieth century only Chinese games were played, first and foremost Fan-Tan. Since this game was heavily regulated in China and Hong Kong (British colony until 1999) Macau became a popular destination for gamblers from Hong Kong and China. When Macau reverted back to China a four decades long contract giving the Hong Kong magnate Stanly Ho a gambling monopoly was broken. This caused a massive boom in the casino sector and in 2007 Macau overtook Las Vegas as the number one casino city in the world. Apart from the 30-something established casinos, there are dog and horse races, lotteries and betting on a vide variety of sports.

Europe

Casino Monte Carlo is possibly the most famous casino in the world, it has featured in multiple James Bond movies and plenty of other films over the years. The famous casino has existed in its current shape since 1878 but it has an even longer history. In the 1850’s the royal house of Monaco was in dire financial straits due to two important cities refusal to pay tax to it. The idea to start a casino was hatched by the princess Caroline, wife of prince Florestan I to help the kingdom get back on it’s feet.

The first casino the royal house (of the Grimaldi family) started was a combination of spa and casino resort and opened it’s gate in Villa Bellevu, 1856. But the casino was placed in a remote location which led to it being moved several times under different ownership until at last it landed in what would be called Monte Carlo. The architect Charles Garnier lent his skills to the construction and in 1878 the casino was finished and open to the world. It quickly became one of the most famed and glamorous places in the world. One interesting detail about casino Monte Carlo is that the citizens of Monaco are not allowed to play in the casino. This is not an entirely unique situation from a global perspective. Casinos tend to be aimed squarely at visitors, as they are a great tourist attraction.

Sweden

In Sweden gambling was forbidden for a long time. All this changed in 1958, gambling was legalised but only through state controlled gambling companies. The first casino was only opened in 2001 provided you discount the online versions. Swedish brick and mortar casinos can be found in Sundsvall, Malmö, Gothenburg and Stockholm and are all run by a state owned company. Swedish online casinos are illegal but in practice this law is not enforced. There are plenty of Swedish owned casino companies based in other countries that targets the Swedish market. Several of them are in fact only active in Sweden but due to the licensing regulations the definition Swedish casino can be hard to make. This has caused the Swedish regulations to come under review lately and new regulations are expected in the next few years.

Online

The casino world saw a massive boost when the internet made it’s way into the everyday life of people. At the end of the 1990’s there were a number of online casinos, with a very varied offering of games and services. Since then the number of players has grown rapidly. Since the birth of the online casino, the industry has changed rapidly with the introduction of new technologies. Today you can play from home using you computer or table, or on the move using your smartphone. The casino experience is available 24/7 and it’s available to everyone regardless of how much they gamble. From the humble beginnings of casino where only a handful of card games were available, the internet casinos of today offers hundres or even thousands of slot and card games, with an incredible spread of themes. The trend is clear, casino games are becoming more accessible, common and more fun to play.