Gambling

Gambling, although doubled in popularity over the past twenty years, is something that has been part of Human civilisation for many thousands of years. Historic records dating back as far as 2300BC show practices of gambling in China, India and Rome.

The dice, is without doubt the earliest form of gambling known to man, in the early days bone fragments were used for gambling and fortune telling, in the same way that we use dice today. Gambling was popular throughout time with the American Indians, Aztecs, Eskimo’s and even the mighty Romans; who for all their graces were known as prolific dice cheats.

Card games also have a place in history with the earliest known records dating back to 900 AD, where Chinese men shuffled paper money, which, as time moved on eventually evolved into cards, although the cards that we are familiar with today are from the French and they didn’t appear until around 1500’s, the design given to us by the French, aside from a few slight alterations, is pretty much the cards that we are familiar with today.

As gambling evolved through the centuries it wasn’t welcomed in every country, records show that in the 14th century, King Henry VIII outlawed gambling, because at the time he discovered that majority of his British soldiers were spending more time gambling than they were doing their duties. Other countries soon followed suit and gambling became illegal in lots of countries worldwide. England didn’t display any forms of legal gabling until 1934 when the first betting shops started to appear nationally. America was a little ahead of the British by this time, as 1931 saw the developers moving to build the gambling capital of the world, Las Vegas.

Gambling comes in many shapes and forms, and there are literally thousands of gambling opportunities presented to us everyday. Gambling accounts for a vast amount of the economy, 2007 saw Las Vegas gamblers place $170 Billion Dollars worth of bets in the casino’s, $7 billion of which was won by the casino.

Gambling is seen every where, from the casino’s, to lottery tickets, to betting shops even down to raffle tickets, and bingo halls, all are forms of gambling and all are enjoyed by millions of people across the globe every day. The first slot machine ever invented was by a car mechanic. Mr Charles Fey wanted to keep his customers amused whilst they waited for repairs on their cars, so invented the slot machine in 1899, little realising the phenomenon it would become today.

Las Vegas is known as the gambling capital of the world, and it holds its name proud. Las Vegas is home to around 2 million people, and it is reported that in 2005 there was one slot machine for every 8 people who lived in Las Vegas, and that is only the slots. There are many games to play in the casino’s including roulette, blackjack, poker, craps, slots; the list is endless and ever changing. The highest recorded jackpot ever won on a slot machine was in 1998, a woman player playing one of the slot machines managed to scoop a staggering $27.6 million dollars, she has wagered only $300 dollars that day, making for a very hefty profit.

Gambling what ever form is may take, is simply a game of chance, and the aim is to predict a certain outcome solely by chance. The lure of the gambling world is the ability to win big in an instant. This dream is something that is shared by millions young, old, rich or poor. Some of the most famous people in the word were profound gamblers, it is said that the infamous Groucho Marx was a avid poker player, and he carried a grouch bag at all times, which was said to hold his poker money, hence the nickname "Groucho".

Love it or hate it, the gambling industry in on the rise, the annual turnover from gambling goes in to billions world wide, and the introduction of online gambling has increased the profits by a further 3 billion in just a few years.

Gambling is more popular than it has ever been; one great example is the lotteries that are staged all over the world. The possible jackpots can run into hundreds of millions which is a direct reflection on the amount of people who play. The lottery is staged all over the world, Spain and America offering some of the largest jackpots. The increase in sale of lottery tickets world wide is phenomenal over the past twenty years, and it is now the most popular form of gambling in the world. Where gambling was restricted to the casinos and betting shops before, the lottery was a chance for everyone rich or poor to be in with an equal chance of winning millions. As the lottery winners were broadcast over the media, so the popularity grew, the media only fed the idea and shown proof, that for a very small wager, "ordinary folk" could become very rich indeed in an instant.

Gambling is enjoyed by many people the world over, for some it is even a profession. Although it is found in many forms there are still restrictions governing many aspects. There are age restrictions on gambling and in most countries the age minimum age being 18. Different countries have different laws on gambling, and the consequences for breaking these laws are said to be severe to the players and the dealers. It is still illegal to gamble in the state of Utah and Hawaii. And although Nevada is the gambling capital of the world there is one area, Boulder City which was constructed for the workers of the Dam to use, because their employers didn’t want them to squander their wages in casinos, to this day in Boulder City it is the only place in Nevada that it is Illegal to gamble.

Casinos are very strict on policies, and the rules vary from each different one, one of the best know rules are that mobile phones are not allowed at any of the tables, and it is a rule which is best remembered as it applies in all casino’s world wide.