Casino history

The roots of the modern casino are lost in time. The first gambling practice is recorded in China in 2300 B.C. and gambling related stories can be found in the history of Ancient Greece and Roman Empire, all the way back to Napoleon's France and the England of Queen Elizabeth.

The word “casino” is a diminutive of the Italian word “casa” which means house. So the translation of the word casino would be “little house”. In the 17th century, in Italy, the rich families had a special little house, separate from the big mansion, for amusement and gambling only. These casinos were the predecessors of the modern casino.

One of the first casinos recorded in history was established in Italy, around 1638, Casinò di Venezia, which is still in use. Another predecessor of the modern casinos is the first legal casino opened in 1765 in Baden, southwest Germany.

In United States, the early casinos were known as “saloons”. In late 19th and early 20th century, gambling was illegal, but in 1931, gambling was legalized in the state of Nevada. The first casino opened in the city that later will become the American gambling capital, Las Vegas, is El Rancho Vegas Hotel & Casino opened in 1941. Now, the city of Las Vegas has more than 20 casinos and attracts tens of millions of tourists every year.

Around 1996 the first online casinos were launched and in nearly 15 years, the number of the online gambling rooms is staggering, counting thousands of them. Another turning point in the casino history is in 2006, when the launch of The Venetian Macao took the base land casinos to another level. The Chinese Venetian Macao is the largest casino in the world, having over 3400 slot machines and 800 gambling tables. With a total of 18 casinos, Macau, is considered by many the new world capital of gambling, surpassing the old, famous Las Vegas.

 

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