A Guide to The Oldest Casino Games

Most people think that casinos were invented when Las Vegas grew in prominence, but that’s not the case. Casinos are actually much, much older. The first one (the first official one, anyway) was the Casino Di Venezia, which opened in Venice way back in 1638.

 And what’s remarkable about the casino industry’s near four-hundred-year history is that many of the games have remained the same. While there’s been plenty of innovation and development (most games have been adapted for the internet era, for example), the general gameplay has remained the same. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the oldest casino games that are still played. 

Roulette

The roulette wheel is nearly as old as the first casino, but note that we said ‘roulette wheel,’ not ‘roulette.’ The device was accidentally invented in 1655 by a French mathematician called Blaise Pascal, who invented a rudimentary version of the roulette wheel when he was attempting to make a perpetual motion machine. At some point in the decades that followed, someone had the bright idea to put numbers on the machine and make a game out of it, at which point it became a mainstay in casinos. Curiously, there are actually two versions of roulette, and the one you’ll play will depend on where you are; if you’re in Las Vegas, you’ll play American roulette; if you’re in France (or elsewhere on the continent), you’ll play European roulette.

Slots

Slots can seem like a relatively recent invention. After all, at an online casino you’ll typically find hundreds of colourful, digital slot games that could only have been made in the 21st century. Yet, while the latest games have the modern touch, the origins of slots date back 130 years, to 1894 San Francisco, when a man named Charles Fey invented The Liberty Bell. This ‘one-armed bandit’ was the first of its kind, and helped lay the foundation for all subsequent slot games. While the ins and outs of the game have changed and developed, the game remains relatively loyal to Fey’s original vision.

Blackjack

Blackjack, just like roulette, stems from France. We know for sure that people were playing the game by 1613 due to its mention in the novel Rinconete y Cortadillo by Miguel de Cervantes, but that clearly means that it was being played before then. How far back exactly? No one knows. A fun fact about blackjack is that it was originally called ‘vingt et un,’ which is French for ‘twenty one.’ If you’ve ever played the game, then you’ll understand why!

The ongoing appeal of blackjack is easy to understand. After all, there aren’t many games that are so easy to learn, yet are challenging enough to be engaging on a long-term basis. It’s arguably the most widely played card game in the world and is a mainstay in every online and real-world casino.

Poker

Poker has a long history. As with slots, the game was developed in the United States, in around 1815 in New Orleans. The game was originally played with a 20-card deck, but by the 1840’s it had evolved to use a 52-card deck. Despite being more than two hundred years old, poker is more popular than ever before. The transition to the internet era had a significant impact on the number of poker players, which is believed to be around 100 million people around the world.

Craps

Craps dates back to around 1775 or the 14th century, depending on who you ask. Most people go with the 18th century date, since the 14th century claim is based on a similar but different game. In any case, while craps is today a relatively obscure game, it continues to be a hit in the United States.