Casino games have been around far longer than casino buildings themselves. In fact, the first dice ever found date back as far as ancient Egyptian times, and cards date back to the 9th century.
The very first casino opened its doors under the name of Theatre Saint Moses in 1638, which would host games of chance in a separate gambling wing during the intermission of plays. This later became known as the Casino di Venezia, which is still standing proudly on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy, today.
In the modern day, you can play casino online anywhere you have internet access. But before this, gambling games had a rich history to become as accessible as they are today.
Join us as we travel back in time to discover some of the iconic moments throughout the history of casinos, starting with the Casino di Venezia…
Venice
As mentioned, Venice saw the world’s first casino. The popularity of the Casino di Venezia was clear when games like Blackjack – or Twenty-One as it was known at the time – found its way into the hands of players.
This sparked the start of the casino craze, and by 1744, there were more than 120 in Venice.
Europe
The rest of Europe quickly caught on to the popularity of gambling houses; and by this time, games like Blackjack and Roulette were already popular among players. France seemed to take the lead, and when French brothers Francois and Louis Blanc moved to Hamburg; Germany, they revolutionized the world of Roulette by creating the single zero wheel and lowering the house edge.
Over in Monte Carlo, the struggling royal family caught wind of this success; and struck a deal with Francois Blanc to open the first modern casino of its time; right in the heart of Monaco.
The Monte Carlo Casino still stands proudly today, marking another milestone in the world of casinos.
New Orleans
By the 1820s, many of the classic casino games we know and love today could be found in the newly legalised gambling halls of New Orleans, after having been taken over to American shores by French colonists.
The 1800s also saw famous Blackjack dealer Eleanor Dumont travel around the country, spreading the word of the game and bringing more players than ever before to the establishment she later opened in Nevada, aptly named Vingt-et-Un.
Mississippi riverboats played a huge part in helping games to spread in popularity throughout America; as well as wars and soldiers passing different games of chance on as they attempted to relax.
Las Vegas
It was when construction for the Hoover Dam started in 1931 that workers were attracted to Nevada; which was already home to some old Western-themed casinos.
In the 1940s, Bugsy Siegel, a famous mobster at the time, came up with the genius idea of casino resorts; opening the Flamingo, which completely revolutionized the scene.
This marked part of the start of the Las Vegas Strip, which later became a Hollywood hotspot; building the career of Elvis Presley and hosting plenty more famous faces over the years.
The rest is history. Las Vegas is now deemed one of the world’s casino hotspots.
Online
Until online gaming came about…
When the first online casino opened in 1996, some popular games like slot machines had already started to go electric.
As technology continued to advance, greater bandwidth, faster internet speeds; and the accessibility to computers, laptops and mobile phones increased; meaning that gaming developers had the scope to create many of the incredible games; and bonus features we know and love today.