Let’s make a little bet – you tell me a form of gambling that is currently existing in casinos today, and I’ll prove to you that it originated hundreds, even thousands of years ago in China. Don’t believe me? Okay, let’s start off with the simplest one, a simple deck of cards. Cards are used in half a dozen casino games, from poker to blackjack, and they’re more or less one of the two faces of the casino as an industry. Well, what if I told you that they originated from China at least two thousand years ago (most likely more) as part of a game called “Keno”, which involved participants selecting two cards among eighty, each with a number on it, and then a certain amount of numbers are drawn randomly to determine a winner. China was the very first country to invent paper, so naturally, it makes sense that they’d be the first to also invent card games and lotteries, too. Once contact was made, the Europeans liked the idea of playing cards so much that they created their own version and placed kings and queens on the faces, designs that have continued being used to this day.

But that’s not all! How about the other face of casino, namely, the chips being used to measure the size of a bet? Well, guess what, China did that one first too, and admittedly, way better. It’s a common misconception that chips are made to resemble the coins that many Westerners used to gamble with, but that’s actually not true at all. The Chinese, being a more refined society as far as gambling was concerned, used tiny circles they called gaming counters (which, by the way, continue to be manufactured and sold even today). They were typically made out of pearls, but other materials such as porcelain were also used. First introduced to the Western world in the early 18th century, these counters immediately became a hit, with traders making a killing out of importing them from China and into Europe. Over hundreds of years, the counters gradually evolved into the chips we all know and love to nervously fiddle with today.

Okay, it’s cool, I can still see that you’re not convinced. “Chips and cards aren’t the symbols of casino, you idiot, it’s the roulette!” You may be yelling loudly at your inanimate computer screen like a weirdo. Well, fine, fair point, but guess what, the roulette ALSO originated in China. While most people know that the version of roulette that is commonly played today originated in France during the French Revolution, THAT version was inspired by an old Tibetan game that also involved a circle and numbers, the goal being to arrange 37 different anima statuettes on a “magical circle” in order to form the number 666 (no relation to the Bible, I promise). And while this game was more of a puzzle than a gambling experience, it was, after all, what directly inspired French roulette… And, in turn, the Tibetan version of roulette was inspired by yet another Chinese variant, whose rules were, unfortunately, lost to time.

So the next time President Trump yells angrily about China, just remember that without them, literally none of the things you know and love about casino gaming would have existed, at least not in their current form. Who knows how different modern casinos would have been had the ancient Chinese not felt a particularly strong urge to gamble one day?

There are certain needs that all humans have collectively shared since the very dawn of civilization, regardless of their culture or location. And I’m not talking about biologically necessary needs that are absolutely mandatory for survival, like feeding and breeding, I’m talking about things that various cultures, ancient and prehistoric alike, have shared which don’t actually contribute much to the continuation of the species. For example, there’s the need to wear clothing, which serves very little practical purpose outside of protection from extreme weather. Then there’s the need for mastery, to be the best at something, to be recognized, even when it’s a position that gives no additional benefits other than prestige and bragging rights. And finally, there’s the need to engage in behavior with an equal amount of risk and reward. For whatever reason, humans have never particularly liked playing it safe – winning some kind of cool item from a competition has always felt sweeter than receiving the exact same thing as a gift from your parents, hasn’t it? Well, ancient folks felt the exact same way, and when they weren’t fighting for power, territory or wealth, they often satisfied the need to take risks and be rewarded for it through, what else, gambling?

As a result, countless cultures across the globe individually invented various forms of gambling, be it through games or through placing bets with each other, to the point where the oldest evidence of gambling ever discovered dated back to over 4000 years ago. Think about it – that’s about as old as the Sphinx! Well, I don’t know about you, but I personally find that little human quirk extremely fascinating, and have been looking into it for quite a while. And now I get to share my knowledge with you, should you stick around! Welcome to Kasteel Limbricht, the blog where we look at gambling throughout history. I hope you have fun and learn something new!