Chinese Gambling Has Far-Flung Influences
Macau’s Casinos are the Biggest and the Best
Gambling in China has a long and rich history. Ironically, today gambling is legal only in Macao but this situation belies the realities of gaming history in China. In fact, gambling itself dates back about 3,000 years ago to the earliest form of keno. Even all-American games like blackjack and poker have their origins in China. Today, legalized gambling can be found in the form of lotteries, but that’s about it (unless you count private and social games of mahjong as gambling). In Hong Kong and Macau, betting on the horses and casino gambling is legal; in the last few years, Macau casinos have grown to the point where the city rivals Las Vegas as the gambling center of the world.
Some Chinese Games Go Back Thousands of Years
Thousands of years ago, gambling was a form of entertainment in ancient China, crossing all social and economic lines. It dates back as early as the Xia and Shang dynasties (2000 and 1500 B.C. respectively). Keno, for instance, has its roots in the Han dynasty (200 A.D.) where it was played as a way to raise funds for the struggling army. Eventually, professional gamblers cropped up, though they cheated and deceived their way to success. In the Southern Song dynasty (1000 A.D.), a mere thousand years ago, the card game Xuan He Pai was created, which led to another game called Ma Dia Pai, which is said to be the basis for mahjong as we know it today.
Where Would the World be Without Sic Bo and Pai Gow Poker?
In the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644), gambling dens – what we would call casinos today – started to appear in big cities appeared in big cities. This trend continued until the middle of the 20th century, when the People’s Republic of China was formed and gambling was deemed illegal all over the country. Today, gambling is still prohibited and the countrywide ban is strictly enforced. The exceptions are Macau and Hong Kong, the former being the only district in which casino gambling is allowed. Today, besides the usual card games, popular table games in Chinese casinos include Pai Gow, Fan Tan, and Sic Bo. Due to online gambling, the popularity of these games has spread all over the Internet and, in fact, all over the world.