As is the case with many of the world’s more intriguing activities, ideas and practices, the actual history of the “casino” is muddled. One could argue that in some shape or form, analogous gambling houses (yet not actually bearing the title of casino) have existed for ages, all around the world but particularly in the Orient. However, for our purposes we’ll limit the term to more familiar and largely European style establishments. In either case, the roots appear to be the same – many of these places began as hotels, brothels or structures otherwise indicated to be used for “pleasure” purposes.
The actual word “casino” (according to Wikipedia) derives from Italian origins, the front section of the term being “casa”, which means “house”. As indicated, these domiciles would typically be founded in or around much larger villas or towns, many of which might also double as a sort of central civic hub of sorts. Over time, things obviously became more specialized and entrepreneurs decided to shelter themselves in their own domiciles. One thing we do know for sure is that one of the earliest official “gambling houses” in Europe was called the Ridotto and was active in 1638.
In truth however, there have been prominent gambling establishments found in every imaginable culture stretching back to the days of antiquity. For instance, the ancient Romans and Greeks were both well known for their love of games of chance and clearly there were also specific places which hosted public competitions.
Modern casinos seemed to have largely sprung from developments taking place in the US. During the era when many of the country’s major cities were rising to prominence and blazing full speed ahead with industrialization saloons were often the centerpiece of any town, offering drinks, gambling, music, food, lodging and other forms of entertainment. It is out of this atmosphere that many feel the true origins of the modern casino were created. The capital-driven goals of the US (economically speaking) and the increased focus on competition probably contributed to the popularization of creating specialized gambling establishments which would encapsulate all of the most admired games. Fancy giving some of these casino games a go? Europalace offers great value to its players and is great place to have a little fun.
Of course that only explains how the idea of the casino was invented; if you look at all the individual games found in your typical modern day casino it’s obvious that each of them originated from a different place. For instance, card games are largely though to be of French origin, while games like craps are attributed to the British, and so on and so forth. Naturally, each offering has been refined and manipulated countless times across continents, so it’s important to remember that casinos actually have very strong “international” roots. In fact, one could easily argue that the very emergence of modern gambling establishments was due to good fortune and chance, ironically enough. After all, it’s not like the various people’s of the world sat down and decided to outline their concept for how a casino should be constructed, it just sort of happened by accident or though natural processes.