Online casinos and the history of gambling

WHEN we visit our favourite online casinos, it's easy to believe that gambling is a modern-day invention, perhaps dating back a mere century, associated with wartime jazz clubs and smoky boozers.

The truth, however, is very different; many of the games we enjoy today, such as online blackjack, poker and roulette have origins that date back further than many would expect.

Before the activity became to be known as gambling, societies believed that the act of predicting fortune was associated with psychic ability and was connected to a religious force determining outcomes. The activities of this time were far more basic than today's games and resembled a simple toss of luck, as we would toss a coin to decide fate.

Within many ancient cultures fortune and luck were associated with religion; both the Egyptians and the Greeks, for example, had gods that they believed governed gambling and chance. Just as today, in modern societies, we wish people luck, the ancient Egyptians would call upon their god Thoth.

As religions slowly moved away from the endorsement of gambling, the faith in supernatural influence on luck and chance began to diminish and groups started to enjoy gaming as a competitive sport. This meant that the two-sided object of fate, be it a stone, a stick or a bone, was replaced by objects we still use today, such as dice and coins.

By the 1400s playing cards were taking over the gaming scene. Playing cards opened the doors to a world of gambling opportunities. Baccarat was one of the first card games to be invented, dating from the mid-15th Century, while blackjack (the most widely-played played casino game today) dates to around 1700.

As this new recreational activity took the world by storm, and players began to wager money or goods to give the game an additional attraction, more concepts and gaming ideas were developing to feed the demand. Roulette, invented in late 18th Century France, was an innovative way of gambling. Rather than playing cards strategically, Roulette brought the aspect of luck and fortune back to the fore, adding yet another alluring quality to the past time.

Although the Chinese are said to have had a form of casino dating as far back as 2000 BC, and there were gambling houses in Venice in the 17th Century, the first recognisable modern casinos began to emerge in the 19th and 20th Centuries, when the term 'casino' came to be associated with public buildings where gaming and sports take place.

There are now casinos all over the world, situated in some of the most stunning hotels, offering the most impressive standard of service and excellent facilities. Given their popularity, it's not surprising that casinos were quick to make the transition to cyberspace.

The first online casino took to our browsers in 1994. Since then online casinos have gone on to offer more and more services and games. A standard casino now offers online blackjack, poker, roulette and slots, as well as other games such as bingo.

As demand has grown the games have developed, and there are now Internet games based on popular TV shows and board games. Online casinos continue to be extremely popular and over 15 years later there is no sign of the craze dying down.