Brief history of playing cards and gambling in general
The earliest card games are believed to have originated in China around 900 A.D. when the Chinese began shuffling and dealing paper dominoes and paper money into new games and various combinations. The belief of the Chinese being the inventors of early card games is supported by the fact that paper was invented in China as well.
In the Moslem world the four-suited decks with court cards evolved. Europeans later imported them around the year 1370. Thus the earliest authentic references to playing cards in Europe date from 1377. At this time, the cards were hand-painted and consequently only the wealthy part of the population could afford them. Later, though, the invention of woodcuts made it possible for the Europeans to mass-produce the popular game cards.
The cards we use today are derived from French designs; the suits of spades, diamonds, clubs and hearts. The French also began using simple shapes and flat colors, which helped facilitate manufacture. Thus French cards soon became very popular and were exported widely. Firstly they became the standard in England, and because of the British Colonies in North America, the knowledge and use of the playing cards expanded quickly.
The first accounts of gambling were around 2300 B.C. and just like the playing cards it is believed to have originated in China. China and the rest of the Far East, though, were not the only parts of the world where gambling was known. In Ancient Greece gambling was also very popular – though it was illegal business. Throughout history gambling always has been illegal and viewed with suspicion and disgust from the various opponents in society.
In spite of the fact that gambling worldwide had a long time been illegal, some states in the western USA made it legal in the 1850’s. Casinos were also legalized and Black Jack soon became one of the primary gambling games offered to gamblers. The rest of the States have followed ever since, but many states have only legalized gambling and casinos in the 20th century.
