Gambling is well known throughout history as everyone from the Greeks to the Egyptians had a game of some sorts that they would bet on the outcome of. Whether it was betting on your favourite Gladiator to win or the Chariot races, it was mostly small amounts among commoners. To begin with anyway. This changed in the early 17th century when members of the Italian aristocracy got together and held parties for the privileged in small clubs known as ‘ridotti’. These ‘ridotti clubs came to be known as ‘casinos’ which means ‘small villa’ in Italian. It soon spread to the middle and poorer classes, despite being illegal.
Many of these casinos were not very popular with the local governments and gambling was looked down upon by society – not much change there then. However, casinos continued to pop up all over Italy and gambling was a popular pastime. Taking this into consideration, it was only a matter of time before the first legal casino was established.
Vienna; 1638. The Ridotti (named after the infamous clubs of the rich) was opened. This four-story building was home to various card games and anyone who had the means to spend money – probably a few who didn’t too. News of the casino’s popularity began to spread and other organisations soon appeared on the continent. These were not very awe inspiring places and continued to be merely functional until the 18th century. The first extravagant casino was named Baden-Baden and was opened in 1748. It still had the traditional house appearance, but it was complete with sprawling lawns and magnificent pillars. Even today, people still flock to see this first casino, and it is still operating today.
For those who have a fondness for just the gambling thrill, the birth of the internet and online casinos is a great thing. Online gambling started appearing in the 90′s as free to play games for fun. This expanded to the business it is today and many people choose to play on online casinos from home. Thanks to heavy investment, and due to their being cheaper to run and the generous promotions, onlinbe casinos have become real competition for more traditional casinos. Today there are thousands, and many success stories.