Gambling has been around for a long time. In the past, people used to gamble with small bones from a sheep or dog. Wall paintings and images on vases depict gods and people gambling with bones. These bones have been found in large numbers during excavations. Some are estimated to be forty thousand years old. Even today they are still used by some Arab tribes. The bones were the forerunner of the dice. The die dates from three thousand BC. In an Indian poem, we see the first warning against gambling with dice. The god Savitr warns the people and says: ‘Do not play with dice, but rejoice in your possessions, pay attention to your livestock and your wife’.
Card Games
The card game has its origins in twelfth-century China. It also quickly gained popularity in our area. The card game offers options for dozens of different games. When the card game gained popularity in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, attempts were made to limit it. In England, a tax was levied on the card game. The following system was devised: all cards could be freely sold, with the exception of the ace of spades. These had to be bought through the state. Of course, the system was widely evaded. It has not been able to stop the advance of the card game. Most card games are not seen as games of chance. With some, you can control the game better with practice. This will influence the outcome of the game. Card games that clearly have the character of a game of chance include poker and blackjack.
Lotteries
Lotteries already took place with the Romans. On holidays, the emperor scattered notes over the population. Some notes were good for prizes like grain, oil, or money. Actually, it was not yet a real lottery, because the tickets did not have to be bought. In the sixteenth century in Italy, a kind of lotto arose in the city of Genoa. In Genoa, it was customary for five of the ninety members of the city’s highest governing body, the Grand Council, to relinquish their seats to others. Every six months, fate determined which five members they were. Soon the population advised. From the list of ninety names, you had to tick five and bet an amount. To win a prize, you had to correctly predict one or more names. Later the names of the Great Council were replaced by other names and then by numbers. The lottery was born.
Roulette
The wheel of adventure as we encounter it at the fair is the forerunner of the roulette. The wheel was flattened and a house (casa) was built around it. The casino was a fact. Roulette was first played in Italian coffee houses. In 1863 the casino in Monaco was opened. Like no other, this casino contributed to an atmosphere of luxury and wealth that surrounded the roulette game for a long time. In 1861 an attempt was made in the Netherlands to start a casino. However, the permit to do so was refused. In order to still be able to play roulette, people have tried for years to this day to turn the roulette game into a game of skill. All kinds of ingenious constructions were devised to bring the ball into the roulette box via mechanisms. This should allow you to deduce where the ball will fall. Playing the game is then no longer gambling, but skill and could not be banned. Golden Ten is an example of such a game.
Gambling on horses
Horse racing gambling was very popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. But betting on horses also has a history of prohibition. In the early twentieth century, there was opposition to gambling on horses, including from the churches. It was banned in 1911. This happened again in 1945 after the German occupiers legalized it. In 1949 it was allowed again, albeit that the game was subject to strict rules. Competition from the toto and later the lotto and the casinos led to a sharp decline in interest in gambling on horses. In 1986, the British company Ladbroke was involved in the organization of betting on horses. The success of Ladbroke was less than expected. They stopped again in 1991.
Bingo
In the past, bingo or linen was mainly played on staff evenings and party evenings of associations and clubs. Even today, it is a popular pastime in many senior citizen complexes. According to the Gambling Act, bingo belongs to the small games of chance. Bingo has become more and more commercial in scope over the years. There is even an extensive ‘grey’ circuit in which very high cash prizes are played. The players are taken to the playing location by bus.
Gambling on the Internet
There are now around two thousand casinos on the internet. These casinos are illegal because they are not licensed. The threshold for gambling there is very low. It is a matter of logging in with a credit card number. In the Netherlands alone, an estimated one hundred million euros is gambled in virtual casinos.
Calling Games
Another new form of gambling is the games that come with some TV programs or เปิดยูสเซอร์. The answer to a very simple question must then be provided via a very expensive 0900 number. According to the program makers, this is not gambling, but according to the law, it actually is. It is not a matter of skill or intelligence if you win. The caller bets that he will get through first and win the nice prize. The Minister of Justice is considering restricting these phone games.