The History of Ancient Gambling
Gambling was present in almost every major, ancient civilization. From the Mesolithic rolling of hucklebones, to the Mesopotamian invention of the six-sided die, and finally to the Chinese invention of the card, not only did gambling survive through countless civilizations of ancient history, it evolved into a global phenomenon. Stakes on these games could range from Quadrans, the Roman equivalent of pennies, to betting an entire estate on a simple throw of the die. Interestingly, as in modern times, ancient peoples and civilizations had varying opinions of gambling. Some ignored it, some outlawed it, and some accepted it. Despite the numerous stances on gambling, one thing held true for all civilizations, gambling was a part of its culture.
Gambling “is simply older than history,” (Schwartz, 5). It’s oldest form, divination, was introduced around the same time systematic agriculture was (circa 14000 BCE). Divination is the practice of letting the outcome of an outside object determine what a person or a group should do in a certain situation. “Some examples of modern divination systems are the tarot, I Ching, scrying and using a pendulum,” (Ward, Keith). But, “the most widespread and oldest divination game was odds and evens,” (Schwartz, 6). Evidence for odds and evens divination can be found in ancient texts, and it has survived into the modern era among some African tribes (Schwartz, 6). Hucklebones, another widespread divination tool formally known as astragali, are heel-bones found in various animals that were removed and used as primitive four-sided dice. Each astragalus had four asymmetrical sides, each side stood for a distinct outcome (Schwartz, 7). “The line between div...
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Rofe, Michael. Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. 1990.
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Saunders, Chas, and Peter A. "Macuilxochitl." Godchecker.com. N.p., 2010. Web.
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Schwartz, David G. Roll The Bones. New York: Gotham Books, 2007. Print.
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Wallenfels, Ronald. Ancient Mesopotamia 3300-331 B.C.E. New York: A Manly Inc.,
2005. Print. Vol. 8 of World Eras.
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Ward, Keith. "What is Divination?" ezinearticles.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar.
2010. .
Breen even goes on to call this form of gambling a “ritual” amongst the colony and closely represents their own planting lifestyle as well The men who would often bet had the chance of losing all of their own material goods and also possibly their own reputation. Gambling was such an addiction to them, they went as far as risking their own reputation amongst society just for the chance of having more than they needed. Again, this cannot stress more on the concept of materialism as the author has stated and their competitive nature. It is evident that these traits that they have built over time through their independence led into their competitive gambling, and therefore the act of gambling then too represented who they truly were.
Weissman, Robert. A BAD BET Casino Economics and the Politics of Gambling [Online] Available http://prince.essential.org/monitor/hyper/mm1196.04. html,
There are many reasons why people gamble and what the advantages and disadvantages are of risking your bank account on the roll of the dice or the luck of the draw. I originally set out to try and explain why people gamble, but I realized that gambling is just as much of a business or industry as anything else. I researched Foxwoods casino, in CT, and the business behind that. From there I will attempt to explain the “cause and effect” of gambling. Gambling has made much more sense to me now, and I hope it will do the same for you.
The lottery began as a game initiated by merchants and enjoyed by the upper class of Babylon. As the Babylonian culture became bored with the game, the entrepreneurs of the lottery could not afford to continue. A new clandestine entrepreneur took over the lottery and became known as the Company. A negative aspect was instituted into the lottery; a fine was imposed on the owners of certain tickets. If the ticket holder refuses to pay the fine, he or she faces imprisonment.
Gambling... Who does not like to gamble? People play lotteries, bet on sport games or try their luck on slot machines with a thought to win some amount of money. In fact, this excitement for gambling can be seen even from early ages; for example, ancient Egyptians used to play dice in 2000 BC or the first casinos opened their doors to customers during the Greeco-Roman period ( Whittaker and Cushman 1 ). Nowadays casino industry is a large business in the United States that brings high revenues and offers various entertainment that attracts people from different areas. So just recently residents and visitors of Worcester, Wicomico and surrounding counties got a great opportunity to try themselves in a new Ocean Downs casino that came into operation couple months ago. Ocean Downs casino is an excellent benefit to the community that helps to improve the economic and social status of the county and also serves as a great entertainment for the adult population.
Gambling Death Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery” is a story of a common village and at first everything seems ordinary; the lottery seems to be a good thing to win. With subtle hints that it might not be. The talks of other villages leaving this annual tradition behind start to make you wonder if it really is a good thing. With foreshadowing, we slowly realize the twisted idea that comes with winning this lottery. Jackson then exposes the dark tendencies that exist amid seemingly normal society and offers a terrifying commentary on human nature.
Gambling addiction has become very real, very quick, to me and my friends and family. My best friend’s mother, Beverly Roan, is currently incarcerated at Sandy Mush Correctional Facility in Merced, California after allegedly embezzling over $350,000.00 from her employer to fund her gambling addiction. Beverly is a 58 year old mother of three, and grandmother of eight; no one ever suspected this level of addiction or criminal activity based on our daily interactions with her. We were shocked and appalled when she was arrested at her work back in February. We were completely unaware that her penchant for going to Chukchansi to play the slot machines had evolved into a full-fledged gambling addiction. Pathological gambling has become a devastating mental illness plaguing millions of Americans.
When humanity creates a system it may be for the purpose of gratifying one’s instinctual desires or for controlling one’s rather barbaric tendencies. The occurrence of events beyond an individual’s control is often determined by a higher supernatural power. In “The Babylon Lottery” by Jorge Luis Borges, the narrator introduces us to a capricious lottery that dictates the life chances of those living in Babylon. This lottery transitions in its rules and punishments because of the demands and desires from those that seek its amusement. The lottery is said to be an institution that is imperfect and done in secret. This world that the Babylonians live in is therefore, governed by contingency.
Gambling has been around since 2300 B.C. It has its positive and negative effects; it also has somewhat of a positive impact on the economy. It stimulates most communities by creating jobs and generates tax revenue for state and local governments. The gambling industry in “2002 and the commercial casino industry provided 350,000 jobs in the United States” (americangaming.org). Even though gambling can bring a lot of economic growth to the economy there is still an argument going on today whether it is a great choice to legalize it everywhere.
The adrenaline-rushing feeling of gambling offers people the idea that opportunity lies within their hands. Unfortunately, there are far too many consequences to gambling to even begin to count. To win you must play, and to win big you must play big. As more gamblers can recall their losses rather than their winnings, gamblers are often dealt with poor hands and must play the risky game to stay alive. Even though gambling has so many faults, some still fall under its corruptions because of gambling’s deceiving fallacies.
We need to a continuous support for research on emerging challenges from gambling. In order to address the issue of gambling effectively through research, monitoring and evaluation we need to define and identify problem gamblers.
It could easily be said that gambling is as American as apple pie. Gambling has shaped American history since its beginning. Lotteries were used by the First Continental Congress to help finance the Revolutionary War. Many of our founding fathers, such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George. Washington, have sponsored private lotteries.
Gambling involves taking a risk. It’s something that gets our adrenaline pumping. Believe it or not, money is one of the major things that makes the world go round and some of those believe that money does indeed buy happiness in our lives. We all have heard the stories of those who have won thousands to even millions of dollars just by gambling and we instantly think that could be us. If some random person can be that one in a million, surely I can be too, right? Even though gambling is a fun thing to do, it is important to be aware of the kinds of gamblers that exist in today’s society and realize that gambling should be played in moderation. For instance, some variations of players include: The Social Gambler, The Professional Gambler, and
Gambling is described as the betting of money or property on the result of an event or game that is mainly random with the desire to win more money or gain additional property. The industry or sector created by the activity of legal gambling is referred to as gaming. Since inception, gambling and gaming has continued to develop to an extent that it worth more than $335 billion across the globe. Most of the revenues obtained in this industry are generated by casinos and lotteries. In the past few years, gambling and gaming have attracted significant concern and controversy, especially with regards to the morality of the practice and whether its financial benefits outweigh the damage. While proponents of gambling
In conclusion, many “house advantages” exist in gaming today which makes it unfair. Gaming overall has taken a great toll on American society. Recently, gambling has been made legal in several states nationwide, this will eventually cause more issues with economy and bankruptcies all across the nation. Many factors play a role in these bankruptcies, for example probability. Many people have suffered and will continue suffering from gambling. The new laws passed indirectly encourage citizens around the nation to gamble, which will cause many future problems for our nation.