A form of lotto was played in China as early as the tenth century AD, over 500 years before it appeared in Italy.
You can learn much more about the history of Chinese gambling in Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling.
Go here to read an excerpt from the book, or learn where to buy your copy.
Internet gambling is getting bigger and bigger. The NCAA, for example, has learned that, shockingly, people are using the phrase “March Madness” to promote betting on its championship tournament. And the organization is piping hot mad: it’s issued cease and desist orders. To protect Americans from online gambling, two Congressmen have re-introduced the Internet Gambling
What will it take? Read More »
news about gamblingI like anthropomorphic animals as much as anyone. In fact, it was this image, and this image alone, that turned me on to this article: So has medicine in China really gone to the dogs? Read on and find out.
Don’t eat your friends? Read More »
haphazard worldIt’s illegal casinos, to be sure, but that headline is still pretty scary. The moral: don’t break the law in China.
Casino operator gets death sentence Read More »
news about gamblingChina is cracking down on porn, gambling, and “religious cult” sites, and I don’t have too much in the way of innovative analysis. Still, I thought this was a catchy headline: China Versus Porn: Round 2
An interesting headline Read More »
haphazard worldThis might be the coolest story I’ve discussed yet. Mooncake gambling exists, and it is a thriving recreation in a Chinese city. From China Daily: in Xiamen, a coastal city of East China’s Fujian Province, you find a pack of six dice inside after opening every gaudily-decorated box of mooncakes. Gambling? Right, but it is
In the Bible, lots were often used to make tough decisions. Joshua apportioned the land of Canaan to the Israelite tribes by lot, for example. In the Roman Empire, some official positions were filled by lot. There is something completely democratic about selecting someone for a job using nothing more than what anthropoligists call sortilege,