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Gambling Facts and History You Can Bet On
Depending on your age, your nationality, and the location in the US where you have grown up, your experience with gambling and your knowledge of gambling facts versus gambling fiction will vary. You may not have realized gambling was a common activity until you were a young adult. Or you might have grown up playing poker on family game night, like I did.
For still more of you, gambling would have been considered an "illicit" activity that you were told to stay away from. But whatever your personal experience with gambling, as an activity, it's nothing new. Gambling facts show that for thousands of years, people have made wagers based on their perceptions of what was most likely to happen. From sports to games of chance to even another person's behavior, people have bet money or other valuables on the outcome of a random event.
Your perception of popular gambling facts might come from Vegas or Atlantic City casinos. But the fact is that the first dice date to more than 3,000 years B.C.E. A 5,000 year old backgammon game was discovered in Iran, which archaeologists believe came from India. So not only was gambling occurring, but games were sold in the marketplace as well.
The first dice are believed to have been made from the ankle bones of different hoofed animals, which led to the name "knucklebones." They were also often made of nuts, ivory, wood, stone, or metal (and in modern times, plastic). The Bible refers to gambling as "casting lots."
The ancient Romans were fervent gamblers, and even had a number of laws to regulate "throwing dice." In the years since then, gambling has continued to evolve and spread across the globe. It seems that no matter what era, people found a way to create dice and make wagers.
Here are some additional interesting gambling facts:
- Gambling casinos worldwide are estimated to pull in as much as $30 billion each year.
-It is estimated that, in modern countries, 65% of the adult population has gambled in some form in the past year.
- The first state to officially legalize gambling was Nevada in 1931. Casinos began to appear in the 1940s, but the Nevada Gaming Commission was'nt created until 1959.
- Gambling is legal in the United States under federal law, although it is prohibited to use the telephone to place bets per the Interstate Wire Act of 1961. States are allowed to regulate gambling in their own jurisdictions. Most states have some form of legalized gambling, even if it is limited to state-run lotteries or non-profit run bingo nights.
- Two of the world's major religions, Judaism and Catholicism, each have traditional designated days for gambling.
- Online gambling is legal in the United States, but in 2006 a law passed which made it illegal for financial institutions to transfer money to online gambling casinos. However, there are currently proposed laws in Congress to overturn this law.
- The Supreme Court determined in 1987 that Native American tribes could legally build their own casinos on their lands. Since then, it is estimated that over 300 Indian tribal casinos have been built.
- The most popular online gambling venues are online casinos. Gaming software that randomly generates results, independent verification of the random number generators, licensing requirements, and regulation by the eCommerce Online Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA) group all make it safe and fair for gamblers to play online.
Of course, the most important gambling fact is that gambling is simply enjoyable! The more you learn about gambling facts, games, and online casinos, the more fun you can have.
About the Author Jean Asta is a full-time writer & management analyst for clients on several continents. Now a featured columnist for Casino Affairs.com, an online casino guide; where you'll find the latest gambling news, reviews of the top 10 online casinos, best payout online casinos and sports betting. |
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