Egypt, Greece & Rome

Betting games have been played since the earliest times in virtually all cultures. In ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, people used various devices to bet on the outcome of random events. Although the Greeks had a profound understanding of mathematics they had no concept of probability, and assumed that the outcome of games of chance was due to the will of the gods. It was not until many centuries later that French mathematicians Pierre de Fermat and Blaise Pascal explored the mathematics of gambling, leading to the formulation of Pascal's theory of probability in 1654.

The first recorded betting games were played with marked disks or bones (the forerunners of dice), and spinning wheels or shields. Playing cards only came later, after the invention of paper. These three types of devices provided the basis from which modern casino games have evolved.

Dice

Dice games have existed in one form or another for over 2000 years and were originally played with dice fashioned from the knucklebones of sheep. The Romans were fervent gamblers, and gaming scenes are depicted in wall drawings at Pompeii.

Some cube-shaped dice, carved from bone, were used with markings on all six sides, much like modern versions, while other dice had marks on just four sides. A variety of games was played, some using two dice, others using three. As the Romans conquered Europe their games traveled with them and changed under the influence of different cultures.

Craps

By the 18th and 19th centuries a dice game called Hazard had become popular in England and was played by the aristocracy in private gambling houses. The lowest possible score was a pair of ones - known as crabs. When the game was introduced to France, the word crabs was misinterpreted as "craps", giving one of the most popular casino games its name.

European settlers took the game with them to America, where it was simplified and evolved into the game that is now played in casinos around the world.

Two-up is another modern game that has its origins in Roman times, when coin tossing was a popular street game. Players would bet on whether the coin would land on heads or ships (tails). In England this developed into pitch and toss, using two pennies. When Australia was settled, pitch and toss continued to be played by the new immigrants. The game was popular with Anzac (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) soldiers during World War I, when it became known as two-up. In Australia it became traditional to play two-up on Anzac Day.