Casino: Facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities

Casinos are places for gambling.

Gambling has been a part of human history for a very long time. It seems that in every society, even in ancient times, people have enjoyed games that involve luck. Famous places and times in history, like Ancient Mesopotamia, the time of the Greeks and Romans, and the eras of Napoleon in France and Queen Elizabeth in England, are known to have had gambling.

The first known place in Europe that was like a modern casino was called the Ridotto. It opened in Venice, Italy, in 1638. The government started it to control gambling, especially during the festive carnival season. It was closed in 1774 because it was thought to be causing financial problems for the wealthy people of the city.

In the United States, early places for gambling were called saloons. These saloons were important in cities like New Orleans, St. Louis, Chicago, and San Francisco. In saloons, people could meet to talk, have a drink, and gamble. For a while, gambling was illegal in the US, but in 1931, Nevada made it legal again. This is where America's first legal casinos started. Later, in 1976, New Jersey also allowed gambling, making Atlantic City a major gambling destination.

There are lots of casinos in the US state of Nevada and especially in the area of Las Vegas called the "Strip". Other places famous for their casinos is Monte Carlo in Monaco and Macau in China.

In Mexico, gambling is regulated by the Gaming Regulations. These regulate all gambling games and are governed by the law. The National Lottery is ruled by its own regulations.

Gambling in Canada is regulated on the Federal level by the Criminal Code of Canada whose Section 201-207 gives the laws relating to betting and gambling.

 

In the most casinos gambling halls are divided into two types: a hall of traditional games and a games room. Games that have gained the most popularity in casinos around the world: roulette, blackjack, poker, baccarat, punto-banko, craps, slot machines etc.

In 1994 the internet brought forth the web's first online casino named the Gaming Club. It was developed by Microgaming software and is still operating with active players today. Microgaming became one of the internet casino industry's largest providers of online gambling software early on. Internet casinos are currently legal and regulated in the United Kingdom and some parts of the United States.