History

A few terms

• Common Era - refers to the years after the birth of Jesus Christ
• BCE - Before the Common Era
• CE - Common Era

Content

• Gambling has been dated to exist at least the Paleolithic period (before written history (around 3.3 million to 11,650 years ago))

Note

Any sort of games were not recorded/documented from this time

• The earliest form of gambling (proper) was dated to around from Mesopotamia, a simple dice game dated from 3000 BCE

The region of Mesopotamia as shown in the picture, somewhere in the Middle East, above Saudi Arabia

China

• In the first millennium BCE, gambling houses were widespread in China and betting on animal fights were common
• Playing cards appeared in 9th century CE in China
• In 10th century CE, China, lotteries and dominoes appeared aswell

Singapore

• Big part of their history
• Strictly controlled by the government
• Mid 20th century, illegal gambling was a big thing
• In 2010, regulated casinos opened
• Government enforces strict laws to promote responsible gambling and prevent illegal activites

USA

• Popular activity
• Early 20th century it was outlawed
• Became an illegal activity, helped the growth of criminal organisations
• Late 20th century saw a softening in these regulations