The World of Gambling

Interesting Facts & Details about Casinos & Gambling in general

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History & Origin of Casinos

Have you ever wondered where in the world, and when, the first casino was built?
That would be in Venice, Italy, in 1638. The famous Casanova chose that very casino as the setting for his many adventures. The word "casino" itself is of Italian origin and means "small villa" or "summerhouse", a place built for pleasure. However, the casinos back then did not include gambling.
The casino as you know it today, or similar, developed slowly and the first such casinos were opened in the 19th century. They included various pleasurable activities, with gambling as one of them. Sports was the other rather common activity in casinos.

The origin of gambling is less certain, but what is known is that it dates back more than 2000 years B.C. Another interesting thing is that it didn't originate in any one place, but was in one way or another spurred in almost all corners of the earth. Games of chance always held a fascination over humans, be it the ancient Greeks, or the ancient Chinese, or others.