There is no specific date when one can pinpoint and say that gambling begun at this point in history. But various civilizations of the world are believed to have their own share of playing the games of chance in one form or another, whether for entertainment purpose or for making a living.

The first European Casino in the real sense of the word:

The first casino which allowed the gambling that is mostly associated with the way casinos run today was the Ridotto which is in Venice in 1638. This was also the time that the favorite government was against of the vices of gambling and advocated restrictive gambling mostly allowing it during the carnival season alone.

But within a short span of time, the government had it closed citing reasons that the public were not able to control themselves and that the men were spending more at such houses than on their homes.

Gambling in America:

Earliest gambling houses in America were called Saloons. Saloons were typically a bigger version of motels where a lot of weary travelers could stop by for a quick drink and accompanying snack. Gambling was another attraction and a lot of people used to socialize at these joints.

Early twentieth century saw gambling banned in America by the then social reformers who thought that gambling was only ‘taking the country to the dogs’.

In the 1930s, America opened up to the idea of having legalized places where gambling was legal and the state of Nevada was the first one to get a legal license to operate a casino in the right sense of the word that it is used today for.