A Short History of Casinos in Europe
With the Easter break behind and the weekend approaching, I have that lingering nostalgic feeling that I thought would be best expressed with some historical post. And since we all here are united by our love for casinos, what’s better than a short travel in time looking at how the game came about and developed through the years in good old Europe. Let’s have a look.
To know the exact date of casinos appearing first on the continent is pretty much impossible – the origins of gambling in general are lost somewhere between the third and fourth millennium BC. What we know for sure though, is that Europe is the pioneer in the casino business with Il Ridoto – founded back in 1638. You may find that interesting and I certainly found it quite fascinating that this Venetian “private room” (that’s the direct translation of the name) was government-owned. It also is the first official gambling house, with very strict rules applying not only to the games – dress code was very high-end and only the aristocracy at the time had access to that pleasure. The so-called Casini house at the time was the best place for business meetings as well with very…let’s call it “specific” atmosphere – girls, luxury drinks, you get the point.
In the early 19th century, French Emperor Napoleon (who was quite a gambler himself) issued a decree permitting gambling and opening gambling houses. Casinos started gaining popularity in France, promoted by people like the infamous Cardinal Mazarin. It is a little known fact that he introduced and pushed for the legalisation of casinos in order to compensate for the spending of King Louis XIV. The country’s treasury was empty and everything was spent on war. The plan worked and brought the economy back from bankruptcy by attracting upper-class players. The very term “roulette” literally means “wheel” in French. The inventor of the game is considered Pascal and it got widely popularised by another two frog-lovers – the brothers Francois and Louis Blanc. They introduced the single zero to the game. By the end of the eighteenth century roulette was present in every gambling house.
By the mid-nineteenth century, casinos were opening in Germany and England. It wasn’t all so easy though, as there were bans for any forms of hazardous games all over the place. In fact, by as far as 1873, the only legal and untouched safe haven for bookies and players alike was Monte Carlo and it became a sort of a capital for Europe’s gamblers.
In America, the first casino opened only in the early nineteenth century. Instead of luxurious appearance and guests, as we saw in the European example, there the venues were mostly conventional saloons (or pubs if you like, as we call them on this side of the pond). Their happiness didn’t last long either and soon with bans (which lasted until the mid-twentieth century) a lot of them moved over to Cuba. 1978 was marked by the beginning of the construction of the legendary Atlantic City. Some states allowed to conduct gambling only for indigenous people and many casinos began to appear on Indian lands.
Most recently, due to the active development of the Internet, online casinos are the top of the game, traveling across borders and making it much easier for players to gain access to more and better options. Most of the games are a complete imitation of the real live experience and even offer the ability for players to have live dealers and play real-time. The advantages of the online over land-based gambling are undeniable – you can play for free and practice without losing a penny and you can enjoy the games anytime, anywhere (no dress code, girls and luxury drinks, but hey, can’t have it all!).
So there, our trip is over, hope you enjoyed it, feel free to get in touch or just hang around for more of the same.