History of Casinos
A brief look at the history of casinos.
The History of casinos
Casinos have come a long way. This article looks at the evolution of casinos from the time they started to present. It explains how casinos came into being and explains how the glamour that is now associated with casinos came about.
Casino gambling was first recorded by the Chinese in 2300BC. Before this however gambling and other games of chance involved small wagers among groups of commoners. The Greeks and Egyptians practiced gambling in small clusters by betting on horses and gladiator bottles. At this time there were no bookies or lines.
17th Century Changes Things
The 17th century witnessed a renaissance of the casino gambling sector. During this period Italian aristocrats used to come together for private parties in small clubs called ridotti. As the clubs gained popularity, the name ridotti was changed to casinos an Italian word for small villa.
All this while gambling was illegal in many countries. This however did not stop casinos from gaining popularity. Every once in a while, people could gather in crowds to gamble and play slot machines. Both the rich and poor took part in gambling activities in secret.
Vienna’s Role in History of Casinos
The first legal casino was opened in 1638 in Vienna. It was named ridotti, after the elite clubs where the rich of society used to gamble. Ridotti was a four storey building where different card games were played by people of different economic status. The news of Ridotti’s success spread to different parts of the world and within no time several casinos had opened allover the world and particularly in Europe.
Until the 18th century, the beauty of casinos was nothing to marvel at. This was until the Baden-Baden burst onto the scene and changed the casino world forever. The Baden-Baden which opened 1978 was an extravagant casino that featured a traditional house look with massive pillars and a plush lawn. So popular was the beauty of Baden-Baden that it became a tourist attraction. The beauty of the Baden-Baden forever changed how casinos were designed.
How the Role has Changed Today
Today however, things have changed dramatically. Yes there are still those Beautiful Casinos that one visits, many of which also offer resort type facilities. The of course there is the online gaming that is now available to most in spite of the ongoing controversy and fears of the public being exploited. Coupled with this there is also Casinos that offer Sportsbetting as well as the individual Sports Betting Sites to concentrate only on sports activities world wide.