A Peek through the History of Gambling in Britain

Gambling holds a crucial role in the culture of the United Kingdom as there is evidence proving its existence since 900 BC. which makes the history of gambling more fascinating here than in any other country.

People began unofficial betting based on their day-to-day life events that can be traced long back before history is ever recorded. Gambling had quite a wonderful journey from betting on which bird flew fast and betting on leaves hitting the ground to the development of modern online casino games.

Nowadays gambling is a socially accepted entertainment people depend on for fun and gaining rewards. All types of casino games are available in the online casinos such as Blackjack, baccarat, slots and you can entertain yourselves by engaging to play roulette for free online. Players have the freedom to choose their favorite game and enjoy it from the comfort of their home.

The gambling games available back then

Gambling and a jar of good ale was an inevitable combo for Britishers back in the early centuries. During that period people engaged in gambling without bothering about their financial or class status but the betting depended on the class they belonged to.

The people belonging to the lower strata of the community used to engage in gambling based on dice games, and simple card-type games using various leaves. While the gambling enthusiasts who belonged to the upper class used to have fun gambling by engaging in horse betting, and cockfighting-like games. There was no trace of roulette or any card games back then.

How Gambling was a “ God’s Act”

The prehistoric period has witnessed an array of believers and devotees who believed every action happening around their life is an act of God. They hardly believed god is behind every outcome and didn’t understand the chance of random outcomes. If you are playing an advice game and suddenly the dice rolls into a hard six they believe the god is behind that and he is trying to pass a message.

And adherent folks started crafting chance events to know the hidden messages from god which is later called the process of divination. The major equipment used for this process is dice and charts with drawing. They considered it a spiritual ceremony and often commenced the ritual in a primitive manner.

In search of messages from a higher power, they used to commence this ceremony whenever they were facing difficulties or a natural disaster. This type of ritual gambling was traced in ancient Greek, and Indian civilizations and western culture.

Early Ban

Gambling has undergone a lot of changes since its primitive applications at the end of 1190. By that time gambling has become more of an entertainment and fun-filled event. During that period King Richard I pioneered the first ban on gambling all over the region by limiting it to so-called noble men. And for centuries gambling remained in the upper-class culture.

After that, then king Henry XIII came up with another outrageous ban on gambling accusing, It is corrupting his army and soldiers from doing royal duties. There are different notions stating the hypocrisy of the ruler as he also engaged in gambling now and then and lost huge chunks of Royal belongings, creating quite a controversy back then among the commoners and ruling class.

After a few decades, Elizabeth II successor and the daughter of Henry I came up with a high tax levied lottery system and allowed her to raise a fortune and eventually paved the way for the emergence of the British Empire.