The History of Ancient Gambling
Gambling was present in almost every major, ancient civilization. From the Mesolithic rolling of hucklebones, to the Mesopotamian invention of the six-sided die, and finally to the Chinese invention of the card, not only did gambling survive through countless civilizations of ancient history, it evolved into a global phenomenon. Stakes on these games could range from Quadrans, the Roman equivalent of pennies, to betting an entire estate on a simple throw of the die. Interestingly, as in modern times, ancient peoples and civilizations had varying opinions of gambling. Some ignored it, some outlawed it, and some accepted it. Despite the numerous stances on gambling, one thing held true for all civilizations, gambling was a part of its culture.
Gambling “is simply older than history,” (Schwartz, 5). It’s oldest form, divination, was introduced around the same time systematic agriculture was (circa 14000 BCE). Divination is the practice of letting the outcome of an outside object determine what a person or a group should do in a certain situation. “Some examples of modern divination systems are the tarot, I Ching, scrying and using a pendulum,” (Ward, Keith). But, “the most widespread and oldest divination game was odds and evens,” (Schwartz, 6). Evidence for odds and evens divination can be found in ancient texts, and it has survived into the modern era among some African tribes (Schwartz, 6). Hucklebones, another widespread divination tool formally known as astragali, are heel-bones found in various animals that were removed and used as primitive four-sided dice. Each astragalus had four asymmetrical sides, each side stood for a distinct outcome (Schwartz, 7). “The line between div...
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ss=69&DocCountPass=0&ImgCountPass=0&MapCountPass=0&RecPosition=9>.
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Rofe, Michael. Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. 1990.
New York: Facts on File Inc., 2003. Print.
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Saunders, Chas, and Peter A. "Macuilxochitl." Godchecker.com. N.p., 2010. Web.
30 Mar. 2010. aztec-mythology.php?deity=MACUILXOCHITL>. Book
Schwartz, David G. Roll The Bones. New York: Gotham Books, 2007. Print.
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Wallenfels, Ronald. Ancient Mesopotamia 3300-331 B.C.E. New York: A Manly Inc.,
2005. Print. Vol. 8 of World Eras.
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Ward, Keith. "What is Divination?" ezinearticles.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar.
2010. .
Breen even goes on to call this form of gambling a “ritual” amongst the colony and closely represents their own planting lifestyle as well The men who would often bet had the chance of losing all of their own material goods and also possibly their own reputation. Gambling was such an addiction to them, they went as far as risking their own reputation amongst society just for the chance of having more than they needed. Again, this cannot stress more on the concept of materialism as the author has stated and their competitive nature. It is evident that these traits that they have built over time through their independence led into their competitive gambling, and therefore the act of gambling then too represented who they truly were.
Weissman, Robert. A BAD BET Casino Economics and the Politics of Gambling [Online] Available http://prince.essential.org/monitor/hyper/mm1196.04. html,
There are many reasons why people gamble and what the advantages and disadvantages are of risking your bank account on the roll of the dice or the luck of the draw. I originally set out to try and explain why people gamble, but I realized that gambling is just as much of a business or industry as anything else. I researched Foxwoods casino, in CT, and the business behind that. From there I will attempt to explain the “cause and effect” of gambling. Gambling has made much more sense to me now, and I hope it will do the same for you.
Gambling goes way back into 1860’s in Nevada (“History of Gaming in Nevada”). The history began around 1864 to 1931, starting with the prospectors (ibid). The prospectors were the people who brought the gaming/gambling into Nevada and made it known. However, Abraham Lincoln chose Nevada Territory Governor James Nye ,who was against gambling, encouraging the legislature to ban any forms of gaming (ibid). When Nevada became a state in 1864, the first legislature tried to legalize and regulate gambling, but they failed to do that (ibid). Since then, gambling was dramatically reduced with the operators being punished and little to no players (ibid). In 1909, Progressive Movement passed legislation , banning gaming in Nevada (ibid). Later on, a bill was introduced to legalize gambling again, but soon to fail another time (“Bill That Transformed A City”). The Legislature of 1927 considered another bill that was similar, it passed the assembly, but lost by one vote in the Senate (ibid). Around the 1930s , the bill passed the Assembly and Senate. Fred Balzar, an american politician, signed the bill and gambling was finally legal in what was then the nation’s least populous state. Soon after the gambling was legalized, casinos started to build up in Las Vegas.
Gambling in the form of traditional games has always been a part of many American Indian tribes’ cultures. Though many tribes began using other forms of gambling, this continues today. However, the use of gaming to obtain profit was not as successful until the late 1970's and early 1980's. It quickly grew from an industry that made $100 million annually to over $22 billion annually. Gambling started with simple games such as bingo and continued to grow until the states the tribes were in eventually took notice. Additionally, because of the rapid growth of the gambling industry some tribes used this to better their ailing economies. As more states started to take notice of the increased amount of income the tribes were bringing in, the states’ governments began questioning whether it was a legitimate operation or not. In response states began lobbying for the Federal Government to regulate Indian gaming. The states wanting to both counter infiltration by organized crime and tax income gained by Indian gaming. Tribes fought the states to maintain tribal sovereignty and to protect gaming revenues for further economic development and support. Congress responded with the set of compromises which then evolved into what is now known as the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. The Act separated Indian gaming into three separate classes with a different regulatory scheme for each.
The lottery began as a game initiated by merchants and enjoyed by the upper class of Babylon. As the Babylonian culture became bored with the game, the entrepreneurs of the lottery could not afford to continue. A new clandestine entrepreneur took over the lottery and became known as the Company. A negative aspect was instituted into the lottery; a fine was imposed on the owners of certain tickets. If the ticket holder refuses to pay the fine, he or she faces imprisonment.
Gambling is one of the biggest issue in society, particularly in Australia and many biggest country in the world. What is gambling? “Gambling is placing a wager or bet on the outcome of a future event with an unknown outcome” (healey, 2006, p.2,), Australia had many difference popular gambling that is lottery, gaming machine, casino, sport betting. Even worse, gambling will make other people addicted who already tried and got reward but an “unsuccessful gambling is very risk and will impact on career, family and often at a loss money and sleep” Many people who gamble excessively feel stressed, anxious and depressed, this can make sleeping, thinking and solving problem more difficult depression example: “think about suicide, lost interest in usual activity and lost interest in sex” (www.problemgambling.ca, 2014)
Gambling addiction has become very real, very quick, to me and my friends and family. My best friend’s mother, Beverly Roan, is currently incarcerated at Sandy Mush Correctional Facility in Merced, California after allegedly embezzling over $350,000.00 from her employer to fund her gambling addiction. Beverly is a 58 year old mother of three, and grandmother of eight; no one ever suspected this level of addiction or criminal activity based on our daily interactions with her. We were shocked and appalled when she was arrested at her work back in February. We were completely unaware that her penchant for going to Chukchansi to play the slot machines had evolved into a full-fledged gambling addiction. Pathological gambling has become a devastating mental illness plaguing millions of Americans.
We need to a continuous support for research on emerging challenges from gambling. In order to address the issue of gambling effectively through research, monitoring and evaluation we need to define and identify problem gamblers.
It could easily be said that gambling is as American as apple pie. Gambling has shaped American history since its beginning. Lotteries were used by the First Continental Congress to help finance the Revolutionary War. Many of our founding fathers, such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George. Washington, have sponsored private lotteries.
Gambling has been around since 2300 B.C. It has its positive and negative effects; it also has somewhat of a positive impact on the economy. It stimulates most communities by creating jobs and generates tax revenue for state and local governments. The gambling industry in “2002 and the commercial casino industry provided 350,000 jobs in the United States” (americangaming.org). Even though gambling can bring a lot of economic growth to the economy there is still an argument going on today whether it is a great choice to legalize it everywhere.
When humanity creates a system it may be for the purpose of gratifying one’s instinctual desires or for controlling one’s rather barbaric tendencies. The occurrence of events beyond an individual’s control is often determined by a higher supernatural power. In “The Babylon Lottery” by Jorge Luis Borges, the narrator introduces us to a capricious lottery that dictates the life chances of those living in Babylon. This lottery transitions in its rules and punishments because of the demands and desires from those that seek its amusement. The lottery is said to be an institution that is imperfect and done in secret. This world that the Babylonians live in is therefore, governed by contingency.
Gambling involves taking a risk. It’s something that gets our adrenaline pumping. Believe it or not, money is one of the major things that makes the world go round and some of those believe that money does indeed buy happiness in our lives. We all have heard the stories of those who have won thousands to even millions of dollars just by gambling and we instantly think that could be us. If some random person can be that one in a million, surely I can be too, right? Even though gambling is a fun thing to do, it is important to be aware of the kinds of gamblers that exist in today’s society and realize that gambling should be played in moderation. For instance, some variations of players include: The Social Gambler, The Professional Gambler, and
Gambling is described as the betting of money or property on the result of an event or game that is mainly random with the desire to win more money or gain additional property. The industry or sector created by the activity of legal gambling is referred to as gaming. Since inception, gambling and gaming has continued to develop to an extent that it worth more than $335 billion across the globe. Most of the revenues obtained in this industry are generated by casinos and lotteries. In the past few years, gambling and gaming have attracted significant concern and controversy, especially with regards to the morality of the practice and whether its financial benefits outweigh the damage. While proponents of gambling
In conclusion, many “house advantages” exist in gaming today which makes it unfair. Gaming overall has taken a great toll on American society. Recently, gambling has been made legal in several states nationwide, this will eventually cause more issues with economy and bankruptcies all across the nation. Many factors play a role in these bankruptcies, for example probability. Many people have suffered and will continue suffering from gambling. The new laws passed indirectly encourage citizens around the nation to gamble, which will cause many future problems for our nation.