How did the most popular casino games originate? How have they changed over hundreds of years of their existence? Read a brief history of gambling games you can see in every land-based or online casino: poker, slots, roulette, blackjack, and baccarat.
All the popular gambling games have a long and interesting history. It seems like we know everything about our favorite games: rules, strategies, and goals, but we hardly know anything about their roots. Centuries ago, games like poker or baccarat were new to the public and looked nothing like their modern versions. So, keep reading if you are interested in learning more about the history of casino games.
A brief history of gambling games
In this article, we decided to focus on the five most popular casino games in the world. They are poker, roulette, blackjack, baccarat, and slots. They might not be the oldest gambling games in history, but there are facts and dates you would be excited to learn about. Here we go with a brief history of gambling games, one by one.
Slots
The first slot machine was created in 1891. It was based on another game – poker – and had 5 drums with 10 cards. To play, a person needed to insert a coin, press a lever to make the drums spin and be lucky enough to get a good poker hand on the “screen”. However, the most famous version of the early slot machine came in 1895 when Charles Fey invented the five-reel game with symbols like horseshoes, spades, diamonds, hearts, and a Liberty Bell. The latter gave the machine its name.
Later on, slot machines were slightly modified until they became completely automatic in 1976. These machines didn’t require any effort from players except for placing a bet and pressing buttons. In the late 1990s-early 2000s, online slots emerged and became extremely popular thanks to the variety of themes, symbols, and special effects.
Roulette
Roulette emerged in its first form in France. It was created around the 1700s and didn’t change much since then. At least the first roulette layouts from the early 18th century strongly resemble the game we play today. The only thing that changed was the number of wheel sectors. For example, the early version of American roulette had numbers 1 to 28, plus a single zero, a double zero, and a special sector named American Eagle.
In 2022, we know at least three popular versions of roulette: American, European, and French. They all spread in the world in the 19th and 20th centuries becoming one of the most popular gambling games. Learn more about other roulette variations from our online casino game guides.
Poker
Poker is one of the casino classics, so we couldn’t skip it in our history of gambling games. According to some historians, poker is around 1000 years old. It was created in China but was initially played with dominoes. As a card game, it emerged much later in the US. The first mention of poker can be seen in the 1837 edition of Foster’s Complete Hoyle. Since then, poker has become more and more popular, reaching its peak in the 20th century.
In the 1970s, poker was the number-one casino game in the world. Around that time, the first World Series of Poker was launched. It contributed to the popularity of poker and made it the most profitable game to play. Nowadays, poker can be played in all possible ways: at online and live casinos, in brick-and-mortar casinos, at tournaments, poker clubs, free poker sites, apps, and so on.
Blackjack
Blackjack or Twenty-One is thought to be created in the 1700s. Just like roulette, it came from France. Under the name “vingt-et-un” which means “21” in French, the game was mentioned in Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote. Also, it was one of the most popular card games in aristocratic circles. All this serves as proof that blackjack already existed at that time.
The game became popular in the 19th and 20th centuries with its emergence in European casinos. It received its current name, blackjack, as well as a couple of variations. Thus, Pontoon is played in the UK and some Asian countries, Spanish 21 is widespread in Spain and Latin America, while classic Blackjack is popular in the US.
Baccarat
Baccarat has the most interesting history of gambling games. It is the oldest game on our list that was created around the 1400s. Baccarat emerged in Italy and was a game for aristocrats. Later on, the game spread in France, the UK, and the US. During its journey, baccarat has changed a bit and now we have three variants of the game: Punto Banco, Chemmy, and Baccarat Banque.
An interesting fact: women were initially forbidden to play baccarat. There is a legend that women once had to throw dice with nine sides to learn about their destiny. If they got 8 or 9, they became priestesses. If they got 6 or 7, they were exiled. And if women got 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, they were sentenced to death. Luckily, everyone can play baccarat in any way he or she likes nowadays.
