Casino History

According to the German research company Statista, in 2023 the general assessment of the global gaming market will be $92.9 billion. In 2021, a study by H2 Gambling Capital estimated the share taken by each gambling vertical, with already undeniable betting leadership in the global gambling market at 48.7%. Betting is followed by the online casino industry, which has a share of 26.8% in the global gaming market, lottery 8.9%, and poker at 6.2%. These statistics are showing that gambling around the world has been developing steadily for 20 years. Recently, several tendencies have emerged in the realm of gambling: online formats of live casinos are en vogue, and their varieties can change with the times and development of technology, therefore shaping what world gambling will look like in the near future. According to many experts, an equally important trend in gambling is the introduction of VR/AR technologies. Already today, VR and AR allow the extension of gaming experiences of «live» casinos by using visualisation, real sounds and tactile sensations. In a couple of years, a player will be able to feel how one holds chips and cards, click the slots buttons and so on. Artificial Intelligence technology is gaining more and more importance in recent years, making it possible to enhance the secure identification of players, to process real-time data, to integrate payment decisions into the user’s confidential accounts and open profiles in social networks, biometric identification of the user and so on. The gambling market is developing extremely fast nowadays, and barely someone can say for sure how those processes of the game will be spread in two years. It’s all the more interesting to remember how the industry developed, how it all started, and how it came to be what it is now-the fascinating evolutionary history of world gambling, its transformation into a multi-billion-dollar industry.

The advent of gambling: the first dice and cards

The whole history of gambling will not be built, because the origins from which everything began are hidden in the darkness of millennia. However, archaeologists discover various game culture objects during excavations in various parts of the world – primarily, the dice. The oldest dice were discovered in Iran during the excavation of the town of Shahre Sukhte and are about 5,200 years old. At the same time, mentions of bones are found in sources of ancient Indian culture: in «Rigveda», «Atharva-veda», «Mahabharata» and so on. Ancient Greeks, too, loved to play dice: according to one of the legends, it was played by the soldiers who waited for the battle under legendary Troy. They also played craps in ancient Rome. Officially this entertainment was banned, except for holidays of the Roman Saturnalia (winter holiday ending farming). In the ancient Germanic tribes, which live periodic raids on ancient Rome, dice had a sacred value. Through them, people have tried to learn about the favor of the higher divine forces. And it is not for nothing that people come to a casino and say that they want to test their fate by measuring their luck. Outside of the bones, certain forms of prototype roulette-discs or wheels turning on the edge of the sword-were in fashion in Antiquity. Playing cards have also been around for a long time, but their history is even more convoluted than that of playing dice. Archaeological scholars tend to believe that the first maps came into being in East Asia. The roots are to the very same dice: probably the first decks have appeared by gradual transformation from dice to dominoes, which had been transferred to cardboard – so the first cards with a scale of points appeared. It is known that the first Indian cards were round, had eight suits, had 96 cards, and the principles of the game were similar to chess. It is impossible to track how the maps moved from Asia to Europe. Most likely, they penetrated here through Persia and Egypt. So, for example, the cards of the Mamelukes-an other word for the members of the desert military aristocracy-were in many respects similar to the tarot cards though they lacked images according to the requirements of the Koran. Instead of pictures, eastern maps used geometric ornaments, so-called “arabeski”. The first mentions of cards in Europe date back to the 14th century and most often are related to game bans. However, despite all the bans, the cards quickly became popular, and by the 16th century had spread to different countries of Europe-they played absolutely everything: the commoners and kings. There is a version that playing cards were invented by Jackman Gringonner, court jester of King Charles VI of the Mad. The cards were allegedly invented by Jacqueline for the pleasure of the ruler, consisting of a deck of 54 cards which is now called French, and it’s not surprising that there is a «joker» – an omnipotent card with the image of a jester. More often than not, the pictures on these European maps were symbolic representations of a specific historical and legendary character. For example, in one deck, the jack of hearts was called «lahire» by the name of Lagira, the French commander of the Hundred Years’ War era; the jack of diamonds «hector» in honor of Hector, the leader of the Trojan Army; jack of Clubs «lancelot» in honor of Lancelot, knight of the Round Table. Among kings, for instance, were Solomon, August, Constantine the Great, and Clovis, among others in the different masters’ drawing of prototypes. Originally, the cards were designed to depict people in full size, and it was only in the 19th century that symmetrical maps were produced for ease of use.

Appearance of the first gambling houses

Gambling in the United States

The first cards and dice appeared in America upon the conquest of the mainland by Christopher Columbus. However, gambling as such was for a long time under the official ban, as it was condemned by the rather harsh Puritan morality of the first settlers. Yet, horse racing was allowed in America during the 18th century, and the organizers of the events would take bets. The lottery also took a leading place in the United States’ soil during that period because it helped finance the construction of the first large city on the mainland – Jamestown in Virginia. In fact, lottery sponsorship was so widespread that the time it was organized in America to build roads, bridges, churches, hospitals, schools, universities; to fund military, social, cultural programs, and so on. Within 250 years of colonization, lotteries helped people get hundreds of facilities built in all the states that existed at the time. In the 18th century, the development of gambling in America gained even more momentum. Cities along the Mississippi turned into centers of all kinds of games, and enterprising businessmen organized even floating gambling cruises along the river banks. Local farmers who had large sums of money left in their hands after the sale of livestock and products used to lose everything in such casinos. Already to the 50th of the XIX century, the center of the gaming business moved to California, living at that time in the boom «gold rush». So, in 1856, in San Francisco alone there were more than 100 gambling houses. Only in the second half of the 19th century came to the American authorities realization of the threat from the rapid development of the gaming industry. Meanwhile, there have been increased reports in the press disclosing that gambling is destructive for the economy, it destroys the lives of ordinary citizens. One such pretty resonant case stirred up the public in almost all the states; it happened in 1835 when known wild temperament southerners literally lynched five card cheaters. Officially, the bans on gamble games in some states went back to the 1930s, and already in the 1960s, casinos were banned almost all over the country. Only three states- Delaware, Missouri, and Kentucky- did not restrict the lottery at that time. For many decades, America’s gambling life has gone underground and its legal blossoming is only in the first half of the 20th century.

The Gambling Industry of the 20th Century: «One Armed Bandits», the First Video Slots

In America, slot machines appeared in the late 19th century. At that time, such machines were called «slot machines» (slot machine, slots – slots for receiving coins), and the first models were both slot and commercial (they included the prototypes of modern vending machines). Starting the arcade era of this machine, the first Sittman and Pitt slot machine made an appearance in the United States in the mid-1980s. Still, the story about the first complete slot is connected with the name of German-American Charles Faye, which constructed the first slot machine in his shop. She worked exclusively for five-cent coins, and the maximum win was only ten such coins, that is, a maximum of half a dollar. The machine, invented in 1895 by Charles Faye, consisted of three reels with dozens of symbols – horseshoes, bells, card suits and so on. The inventor called his slot machine «Liberty Bell», but this name did not stick: the people called the machines «one-armed bandits». A year later, Fai showed the «lottery» version of the new slot machine called «4-11-44». Actually, the numbers 4-11-44 indicated the maximum winning combination in the new machine. In 1896, Charles Faye opened a slot machine factory, and later, when the state officially legalized the slot machine with cash payments, he developed a poker machine with a counter and cash winnings. However, the authorities later launched a legislative offensive against gambling. Under the hand got and quickly spread slot machines – numerous local and federal decrees and laws prohibiting «one-armed bandits» in the USA were issued almost every year. This forced the owners of machines to use all kinds of tricks. For example, one of the well-known producers – Mills Liberty Bell – began producing special line of devices for selling chewing gum. The trick was that such machines have been equipped with the same special handle, pulling for which people could win money. This type of machines was nicknamed fruit-machines because in the slots had fruit symbols: plums, oranges, lemons, mints, cherries and BAR packaging labels. In 1915, slot machines also appeared in Las Vegas, which was founded a decade earlier, ten years before the capital of Nevada, and was famous for relative freedom compared to other states. The first slots of Las Vegas could be won in cigar or alcohol prizes of an equivalent value. The final legalization of various types of gambling in America took place only in 1931. This helped Las Vegas flourish: local businessmen decided to turn the city into a gambling paradise to attract tourists. Thomas Hull opened the Casino Hotel in 1941 with the first such facility, El Rancho Vegas. El Rancho Vegas was immediately positioned as a solid hotel with 110 luxury rooms. Facade itself was made in the Spanish style, and interior interiors reminded visitors of the times of the harsh Wild West. In the casino room initially was equipped with two tables for playing blackjack, one for roulette and one for dice. Besides, visitors could try their luck on one of the 70 slot machines. In the following decades, Las Vegas had been growing year after year, establishing new casinos- a part of them sponsored by big representatives of American organized crime. So, Bugsy Siegel, the founder of the criminal group of killers Murder Incorporated, decided to invest a part of his criminal income in building the biggest gambling house in Las Vegas at that time: the casino club «Flamingo», which prospered long after Siegel’s tragic death. Flamingo Became the first such gambling institution, and in general, in the 50s of the last century, such casinos as Sahara, Sands, Riviera, Tropicana, and Binion’s Horseshoe were built.

The first «one-armed bandits» began to appear in Europe in the tenth years of the last century. Mills Novelty has made changes to the classic American Liberty Bell slot machine, and has launched a fruit themed slot machine. Before the outbreak of the First World War, over 30,000 such assault rifles had appeared on the continent. The first electromechanical slot machine appeared in the 1930s. The American company Jennings launches the production of Jackpot Bell machines with the movement of the slot drum started under the influence of an electric motor and instead of the classic lever «hand» a button appears. In the 1950s, this type of machine gun was further developed, with the installation of five horsepower motors. In 1964, Bally-a well-known Western-market manufacturer of pinball machines-presented Money Honey, an electric slot machine with an automatic hopper. Thus, when the jackpot falls, coins fall into a special metal tray with a characteristic sound. Meanwhile, the technological progress did not stand in one place, and after ten years, the first samples of slot machines appeared, which already can be considered prototypes of modern video slots. Upgrades of the first car Fortune Coin Co installed at the Las Vegas Hilton. They were equipped with a 19-inch Sony Trinitron screen, and game combinations were identified by an electronic random number generator.

In 1978, International Game Technology acquired all the rights to produce Fortune Coin Co, redesigned the machines and launched a new line of video machines with poker. The next decade has seen real growth in electronic slot machines that through the introduction of full-fledged computer technology turned into well-known slot machines. The possibility of technical improvements allowed manufacturers to let out machines for every taste, using a variety of design variations in external and symbolic design. Slot machines have changed not only in the appearance. In the competition, the slot machine manufacturers developed different variants of jackpots, bonus game systems, and payouts, and in the United States, large jackpots of winnings appeared across the country. It is the slot machines that have flooded the halls of classic casinos and brought in the cashier of each institution no less solid profit than the traditional roulette or poker room.

The development of online gambling in the 90s and 2000s

From the mid-1990s gambling began to gradually move to the Internet. The online gaming industry has been formally related to the passing in 1994 of the Antigua and Barbados Caribbean Free Trade and Services Act, regulating among others gambling licensing. The FISPAA Licensing Authority has the power to license online gaming for all companies listed under the jurisdiction. Also in 1994, the founding of Microgaming brought about what is now considered the world’s leading online casino software developer. At that time, Microgaming developers have begun to work on a particular platform that could serve for installation of special software – game simulators. At the same time, CryptoLogic Inc – today known under the brand called Amaya, International Game Technology, Playtech, and Realtime Gaming have begun to appear. So, the first full-fledged online casino Europa Casino introduced in the mid-1990s Playtech. In 1996, the so-called Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) was established as an official regulator for Quebec City, Canada. Three years later, the Kahnawake Commission adopted and approved the basic rules governing the interactive gaming industry, taking control of the licensing of online casinos, poker rooms, and betting houses. Since its inception, KGC has issued licenses to more than 50 of the largest international operators active in all types of gambling segments. In 1997, Fantastic Sevens Online Casino by Microgaming was launched-a classic legendary three-slot that was virtually styled to match the real-life Las Vegas slot machine. By this time, the number of popular online casino sites on the Internet is already several hundred, and more and more people from different countries are involved in games. In the same year, Casino-on-Net was launched. Known in the West as 888, it is one of the oldest giants in the gambling market. Based in the British Virgin Islands in 1997, 888 entered the IPO on the London Stock Exchange in the mid-zero years-a sure sign of status, as not many gambling operators can boast trading their shares. The founders of the holding, the brothers Avi and Aaron Shaked and the brothers Sheia and Ron Ben-Itzhak actively were engaged in the study of the market of the latest Internet technologies throughout the next few years. In due time they launched another Reef Club Casino and Pacific Poker room. In 1998, there appeared the world’s first progressive online slot game by Microgaming, which provided for even greater popularity of all kinds of online casinos. The same year, one more important event happened: there appeared Planet Poker-the first online poker room that offered to play for real money. Earlier, the poker fans «played» in the text mode using the IRC client (Internet Relay Chat). Paradise Poker – the second high-profile poker room with a great number of players, which developed software to keep you in the lead of professional poker players till the middle of the zero years. Actually, online poker has been developing since the beginning of Zero and new rooms have appeared, many of which still work in one form or another. Among them, for example, Party Poker, Poker Stars. A characteristic feature of all these virtual projects was that there were no poker networks yet and each poker room offered players its own software.

Online gambling continued to grow at a rapid pace in the early years of 2001 when the number of online gamblers had already overpassed 8 million (an approximate figure that gives an idea of growth of online gaming). Today, at least 25 percent of the world’s population is connected with gambling on the Internet, according to experts. Global online gambling is growing, too: already in 1998, according to a report from the international consulting company Frost & Sullivan, the profit of gaming sites exceeded $830 million. Through 2016, online gambling was making $37 billion to its owners, and total annual world revenue in 2019 was a record $4.5 trillion-analysts predict that number will almost double in 2026.

Huge in its scale, modern gambling has come a long way. Those not far away from the monkeys, the primitive community men who carved the first similarities of the dice out of the stone with primitive tools, could not even think of what their fun after millennia of intelligent history will lead to. Built by nature itself, the interest in the game still drives man, makes him fantasize, inventing a variety of variations and gambles, and developing and computer games. The huge multibillion-dollar industry of the global gaming industry – lives in excitement, breathes it, and inspires creative people in the search for new ideas because nobody knows what will happen with gambling not in the coming centuries but in the coming years. One thing is certain: there will always be money in this world, and someone will also earn this eternal human passion.

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