The World's Oldest Casino Games

Gambling, in one form or another, has been around for centuries. It's almost as old as civilization itself; the allure of big wagers has drawn many people over the ages. 

Casinos as we know them today didn't really exist for a long time, though there were undoubtedly similar gambling establishments in almost all societies and civilizations.

The oldest known casino in the world is the Venetian Ridotto, which was opened in 1638. But which games were people playing back then? Not video slots, that's for sure. 

Here are some of the games that were likely to have been played by punters all those centuries ago:

Roulette

While roulette, as we know it, originated in France in the 18th century, it was actually invented (in a sense) in the 17th century by physicist Blaise Pascal. 

Pascal was trying to create a perpetual motion machine, a device that would continually spin via its own energy. While his machine didn't work, it did lay the foundations for the roulette wheel.

In the 1720s, an early version of the game, with the undeniably inventive name of "roly poly," appeared in Britain and was banned by 1739. Towards the end of the 18th century, the roulette wheel we're now all familiar with took shape and started to appear in establishments across France. The numbers on the wheel were inspired by and taken from the French game of Biribi, a form of low-stakes lotto.

Blackjack

The very first reference to blackjack, or rather the early form of it called 21, is found in a book by the legendary Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. 

One of the short stories in his Novelas Ejemplares follows two card cheats who are experts at rigging games of 21 to their advantage. This particular story was written in the very early 1600s, which means blackjack had probably been enjoyed by Spanish players for quite some time before that.

Once it arrived in America, casinos began making a few changes to the game to keep players interested. Casino bonuses were found to be a great way to do just that, and one of the most popular bonus hands was the combination of a black Jack and an Ace of spades. 

Despite the fact that this bonus hand didn’t stay around all that long, the name of it did, and that's what the game came to be known as.

Keno

Almost all Las Vegas casinos (and plenty of others) offer keno these days, but it has an interesting and unexpected origin. Again, very early versions of keno weren't exactly the same—it's been refined and changed over time—but the basics were definitely there.

The game is said to have been invented around the same time as the construction of the Great Wall of China, conceived as a way to raise enough money to build the wall in the first place. 

While this could well be more legend than fact, there's no denying that the game first arrived in the Western world in the 19th century via Chinese immigrants.

Dice Games

While there are many games involving dice, especially craps, we can't really talk about the oldest casino games without mentioning the humble cubes themselves. 

The Greek poet Sophocles claimed that dice were invented in Greece. If that's true, the game of dice (and arguably all the variants that have been spawned from it that we see in casinos today) dates back to 400 BC.

There's more convincing evidence that dice were certainly in use in 6000 BC, thanks to the work of archaeologists worldwide. In Egypt, dating back to 2000 BC, were found. 

Craps itself, very common in casinos these days, is a variation of hazard, a game that originated in London. Once it reached New Orleans, it evolved over time into the craps we know today.

Summary

While it's hard to say what the oldest form of gambling might be, roulette is certainly likely to be the oldest casino game known (barring any Chinese legends, of course, in which case keno would scoop the title). 

Remember that when you play a round of roulette or a hand of blackjack, people have been enjoying the same thrills and spills for hundreds of years and will continue to do so well into the future.