Have you ever wondered how old is gambling? It is known as one of the earliest forms of entertainment. People in the most ancient civilizations from Greeks to Native Americans all enjoyed the thrill of games of chance.
In this GBC Time article, we are going to take a look at some of the most fascinating gambling formats of the past.
Card games in China
Known for inventing paper and paper bills, China is also praised for creating the first card games. Some say that the popular game of keno was first played in the Chinese empire roughly 2 000 years ago. And by 900 AD, the Chinese started decorating the cards with human pictures.
Native Americans used to play at cave casinos
Native nationalities of the US were also very fond of games of chance. Recently, archeologists have discovered caves in Utah that could well be the first-ever casinos in the US.
The casino caves date eight centuries back, as Native Americans were gambling there around the thirteenth century. Some of the most popular games of chance involved tossing sticks and betting on which side they would land. The game was mainly played by women, who used to gamble to allocate jobs among each other. And men would bet on the outcomes of the women’s gambling.
Games of chance in Ancient Greece
Ancient Greeks also loved to gamble a lot. The mentions of games of chance can be found in Homer’s ballads and ancient myths. For example, some of the Greek Pantheon members like Hermes and Pan placed bets. And Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon resolved some of the arguments by drawing straws. Gambling was also evident during the Olympic games.
The most common gambling games in Ancient Greece were:
- Heads and tails, which were originally plated with shells. Later, Greeks were betting on this game with coins;
- Tilia, or the game of 12 lines;
- Pitch and toss, where people threw coins at the wall;
- Par Impar Ludere, where one person would hold a number of small objects, and others would guess if this number is odd or even;
- Dice. The legend says it was the creation of Palamedes.
So, it is evident that gambling has been a huge part of people’s lives throughout history. Today, games of chance continue to develop and come in all shapes and forms.
