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Gambling has existed in some form or another for thousands of years. The temptation of enormous bets has captivated countless individuals over the millennia, almost as long as civilization itself. A long time ago, casinos didn't exist as we know them today, despite similar gaming enterprises being present in practically every society and civilization. The success of casinos like Betway Casino Zambia indicates that their popularity will continue in the future.
Opening its doors in 1638, “Il Ridotto” was the world's first recorded casino. The games played there might look familiar for today’s gambler – there were games similar to lotteries or keno, others involving playing cards, and most likely dice games as well. These games underwent major transformations since then, becoming the ones we know and like today.
And these are probably the ones that have been around, mostly unchanged, for the longest.
Roulette
Roulette first emerged in late 18th century France, at least this is what its first written mention shows – a novel by Jaques Lablée describing, among others, a Roulette wheel that was used for gambling at the Palais Royal in 1796. The wheel is said to be based on the work of scientist Blaise Pascal, who wanted to create a perpetual motion machine.
Roulette turned out to be the most popular casino game in the 19th century, played especially by the elites. Countless players have dreamed of cracking its “secrets” and breaking the bank around this time – unsuccessfully, we must say.
In 1843, French brothers François and Louis Blanc removed the double zero from the roulette wheel, thus slightly improving the chance of a big win – this change made their design popular among players, especially in Germany.
Blackjack
Blackjack is a popular game around the world, and a popular name for the game in every language. While it’s aname of English origin, the game itself comes from Spain.
Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote, and an avid gambler himself, was the first to mention the game ventiuna in one of his novels: two men were trying to get twenty-one points without going over in the story published in 1601.
The game got its name in the late 19th century, after making its way to the United States – the stories about its origins are contradictory, so we won’t discuss them here.
Baccarat
Playing cards come from China, where they were used more than a thousand years ago. From there, they have conquered the entire world, giving birth to countless games in every country where they arrived.
Baccarat is one of them, a game with origins in the East that emerged in France that people still play it in casinos today. Emerged in the 1400s, the game was popular in Italy and subsequently spread to France. There were several hundred years before baccarat as we know it now was born. Before casino gambling was banned in France in 1907, it was popular among the French elite and was frequently played in private rooms. From there, it spread to casinos, going full circle and becoming one of the most-played games in Macau, China.
Conclusion
Although it is difficult to determine which type of gambling is the oldest, it is quite likely that roulette is the oldest casino game. When you play a round of roulette or a hand of blackjack, it's a bizarre thought to consider that people enjoy it. That too the exact same delights and pleasures for hundreds of years and are likely to continue doing so for a good amount into the future.