Commemorating China's Dominance over Gambling in the Lunar Year of the Snake
Yo! It's Chinese New Year, and we're stepping into the Year of the Snake! But before we celebrate, let's take a minute to appreciate how China has shaped the world of gambling. Despite a nationwide ban on gambling except in Macau, China has been the cradle of numerous gambling traditions that are still popular today in casinos around the globe.
Curious about the history? our website News has dug up all the dirt on how China has influenced gambling dating back to the 2300 BCE.
Casino Gambling
Gambling isn't just a recent fad—it's been a part of Chinese culture for over 3000 years, albeit with a mix of positives and negatives. Initially, the nobility played cognitive, mind games like Luibo. With time, quicker games like Pitch Pot and an early version of Mahjong emerged, primarily due to the monetary risk they posed. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, card games and Mahjong as we know it today were rocking the scene. People were gambling day and night, making China look like one big casino!
Fast forward to the present day, and Macau, known as the Vegas of Asia, is where all the casino action takes place. Despite comparisons to Las Vegas, Macau trumps its American counterpart in terms of revenue. Even though Las Vegas beat Macau in gross gaming revenue in 2022 due to COVID-19 restrictions, Macau regained its throne in 2023, beating Vegas by $6.8 billion. The gap widened even more in 2024!
Sports Betting
China's love for gambling didn't just stop at casinos. The rich were betting on horse racing as early as 770 BCE to 221 BCE. Things heated up during the Han Dynasty with Han Xin inventing Kickball for war soldiers. This marked the first recorded instance of gambling on a type of soccer.
In rural communities, gambling on animals like dogs and insects became common. The most brutal of these games was cockfighting, which still exists in some areas around Asia. During the Tang Dynasty, cricket fighting was the thing. Even powerful figures like Jia Sidao, the "Cricket Prime Minister," and Emperor Xuande of the Ming Dynasty were big fans!
Wild Tales
If these tales have piqued your curiosity, wait till you hear more. You'll be amazed by the crazy stories that come with China's love affair with gambling. Betting in cockfights led to rivalries and invasions, while gambling debts led to lives being sold off!
From the eighth to the fifth centuries BCE, gambling tales from China will leave you spellbound and wondering if the fascination with gambling will ever fade!
- The influence of China on global gambling extends beyond casinos and casino-games, reaching as far back as 2300 BCE, where Chinese nobility played cognitive games like Luibo.
- In the realm of sports betting, China's history is equally intriguing; horse racing was a popular activity for the rich as early as 770 BCE to 221 BCE, and gambling on games like Kickball and cricket fighting became common during the Han and Tang Dynasties, respectively.
- The gambling trends, casino-culture, and the personalities involved in these activities paint a vivid picture of China's enduring love for gambling, with stories of rivalries, invasions, and lives being sold off due to gambling debts in the past.
