According to Encyclopedia Britannica, loaded dice have been found in ancient tombs in North and South America, as far back as 2,000 B.C, just as they have been discovered in India, Egypt, and the Far East.

Native Americas played games of chance, with implements such as fruit stones and bones carved into dice, as part of celebrations and tribal ceremonies for hundreds of years before America was colonised by European settlers. (Library Index)

The 17th Century saw European colonists bring their own forms of gambling over to America, with horse racing, cockfighting, and bull baiting being the most popular.

As early as 1612, lotteries were also being created, with the idea of the profits benefiting the community. The first in America was created by England’s King James I, in order to provide funds for Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent British settlement in America.

This idea spread throughout the colonies, with lottery funds being used to fund hospitals, schools, roads, public services, and other philanthropic institutions.

At the same time, however, many of the early settlers were pilgrims and puritans who viewed gambling as a sin. This dichotomy of American perspectives has continued to this day.

In October 1774, the Continental Congress of the American colonies stated that gambling, along with other forms of entertainment, including plays, was to be discouraged.

During the 18th and 19th Centuries, gambling was ‘tolerated’ but not encouraged in many states, with New Orleans becoming North America’s leading gambling centre.

As New Orleans gaming declined, the California Gold Rush(1848–1855) sent gamblers to San Francisco.

Following the American Civil War(1861 – 1865), lotteries again became popular as a way to fun reconstruction. However, in the Prohibition Era (1920 – 1933) gambling went hand-in-hand with organised crime, with gangsters making huge profits from underground games of poker, craps, and other gambling pursuits.

Once again, it was necessity that saw forms of gambling being legalised, in order to fund recovering economies. During the Great Depression(1929 – 1933) cities were given permission to allow bingo to raise money for churches and charitable organisations.

The stock market crash of 1929 and the Hoover Dam project then led to the legalisation of other forms of gambling in Nevada.

Investment from high-profile criminals such as Bugsy Siegel in the 1950’s was followed by legitimate businessman such as aviator and business mogul Howard Hughes in the 1960’s, and Las Vegas became a Mecca for gamblers across the globe.