The first mention of gambling establishments can be found in the description of almost any world culture. In China, for example, such institutions existed in 2300 BC. e. However, to become what we know now, the casino took centuries to go the way of development.

The first European casino «Il Ridotto» was opened in 1638 in Venice. The high level of interest rates and a strict dress code restricted the range of visitors of this institution exclusively to members of the aristocracy. Access to such entertainment in those days was the privilege of the upper classes.

In the mid-18th century in the gambling houses in France there is a new game - roulette. According to one legend, the principle of this game was invented by mathematician Blaise Pascal, trying to invent a perpetual motion machine. The novelty has rapidly spread across Europe, and by 1780 without it there could not be practically no casino.

Over time, the casinos are gaining popularity and in the first half of the 19th century in the UK, Germany and Italy opened a lot of big casinos, but at the same time, the governments of some countries have introduced a law prohibiting the carrying of gambling. So by 1873, virtually all of the casinos of the Old World are outside the law, and only a few areas remain free from the ban. As a result, the capital of European gambling becomes unconditionally famous Monte Carlo.

In the early 19th century, the first casinos are beginning to appear in the United States. Coming out of the saloons and brothels, gambling begins to develop rapidly, thus becoming very popular card poker and blackjack. Gambling centers of American life at the time become New Orleans, St. Louis, Chicago and San Francisco.