Ancient Gambling

Many of these games were created in the Tang Dynasty around A. As some of the oldest civilizations known to current scientific studies, remnants of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt contain the oldest evidence of gambling yet to be found.

Although we can make guesses as to how these certain artifacts were truly used, it is believed by a broad consensus that they were instruments for good old-fashioned wagering.

For example, a number of four-sided Astragli, also known as knucklebones, have been unearthed. As the precursor to our modern dice, the found Astragli have been made from materials as varied as wood, metal, and stone.

Initially, it is believed that they were used to communicate with Gods, or rather, that Gods were believed to have communicated through them. By asking questions and rolling them, the answer would reveal what the Gods were supposedly thinking.

In , an Astragli was found with sides, the purpose for it yet to be discovered. Perhaps they believed that four answers from the all-seeing Gods were not enough.

The Egyptians also utilized them for different games, including the board game Senet. As the first board game of its kind in known-existence, the rules of Senet are still argued about today.

Ancient Native American gamblers would throw the sticks and guess whether they land face-up or face-down. In the thorough research study, archaeologists claimed that the main users of these gambling sticks were women who used gambling as a way of assigning various tasks.

However, even though women were the ones to gamble with the sticks, men also took part in gambling activities. It has to be pointed out that ancient Emperors are known for enjoying gambling quite a lot.

For example, Emperor Augustus is believed to having suffered from heavy gambling losses; he is known as a tireless gambler who was at the verge of addiction.

Emperor Commodus also had bad gambling habits and he once even went bankrupt. Emperor Nero is another example of prominent figure that enjoyed gambling and sporting activities.

However, there is not much information about the games they were playing at the time. Most probably, they were throwing the dice, which was pretty popular those days, as well as bet on various outcomes sports events, fights and etc.

Stuart Errol "Stu" Ungar was born on September 8th in He died on November 22nd in With the advent of legal gambling houses in the 17th century, mathematicians began to take a serious interest in games with randomizing equipment such as dice and cards , out of which grew the field of probability theory.

Apart from forerunners in ancient Rome and Greece, organized sanctioned sports betting dates back to the late 18th century. About that time there began a gradual, albeit irregular, shift in the official attitude toward gambling, from considering it a sin to considering it a vice and a human weakness and, finally, to seeing it as a mostly harmless and even entertaining activity.

Additionally, the Internet has made many forms of gambling accessible on an unheard-of scale. By the beginning of the 21st century, approximately four out of five people in Western nations gambled at least occasionally.

The swelling number of gamblers in the 20th century highlighted the personal and social problem of pathological gambling, in which individuals are unable to control or limit their gambling.

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There was horse betting and gladiator bouts were very popular as well. Just like gambling today, there was a lot of cheating and to support this fact, archeologists have found loaded dice back in the Pompeii's ruins.

Then you have those who were considered experts in the games and there were on the way up through the ranks of social status faster than anyone else.

Back then gambling was an all male rule.