Gambling is not something of today or yesterday, it has been around for more than 2,300 years

It’s fashionable to be ANTI something. To protest, especially anonymously, from behind a smartphone, against carnivores, against those who wear fur, or, why not, against gambling. It’s fine to do that as long as you remain decent, but history shows us that anything that has been banned has reappeared with much more strength. There was a time when alcohol was banned in the USA (1920–1933), yet it could be found in any tavern. From 1937 until the end of the 20th century marijuana was banned, but there wasn’t a concert or club in America where you couldn’t get hold of a joint.

History is sometimes amusing simply because new and interesting things about our ancestors always come to light. Thus, one thing becomes clear: when you say HUMAN you also say GAME.

It is often said that gambling is older than any known culture. And it’s no surprise. Think about what a child does from birth. Even before speaking or walking, they seek entertainment through games that distract their attention.

In this way, archaeologists already speak about the existence of play in the Paleolithic era, since playing is something inherent in primates. After long periods of physical activity out of necessity, humans sought pleasure through games.

The first gambling games in history are found in Sumer and Assyria, where as early as 2600 BC these civilizations used a bone taken from the heel of animals, called the talus, which they carved so it would fall into four different positions—being the precursor of dice.

Around 2000 BC, the Egyptians were the first to carve a six-sided die, according to archaeological discoveries and hieroglyphs, and this was quite a common pastime for their civilization.

Very interesting is the discovery that the word chance comes from Az-zahr, which in Arabic means “dice game.”

In Greek culture, its origin goes back to mythology. For the ancient Greeks, chance came from the daughter of Tyche, a goddess who invented games to seduce human minds. The passion for such activities often appears in Homer’s texts. In antiquity, rolling a double six was called the “Aphrodite’s throw.”

In Rome, in antiquity, most bets were placed at the Colosseum, on gladiator games; in fact, the Romans were the ones who introduced this type of game in Spain in 218 BC. There are also references to archery competitions in the Middle Ages, although those contests were mostly reserved for nobility, while dice games were far more common among the lower classes. Around 1440, with the invention of the printing press, card games and their rules could reach the wider population.

The attraction to chance has always been present, even up to the point of dividing land between kings, as in the case of King Olaf of Norway, who challenged his Swedish counterpart to a dice game to decide who would receive a large piece of land.

Up until the 15th century, gambling and betting were seen as something mathematical and measurable. In 1638, the first public casino, the Ridotto, opened in Italy, followed by another 100 casinos.

By the 20th century, in the United States, slot machines appeared, the first being the Liberty Bell, designed by Charles August Fey in San Francisco, which used the three-reel system still in use today.

And the last thing from this short history lesson: according to Greek mythology, Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon played dice to divide the Universe! That’s definitely something Einstein didn’t take into account when he came up with all the theories that made him famous. :)