To gamble is to risk anything of value on a game involving chance in hopes for profit. Records of games and gambling were found in all civilizations throughout history. Gambling has become more and more popular as old games changed and new ones were invented. Many people gamble as a social activity to demonstrate their skills at a game.

However, it is possible to become dependent on the "thrill" of gambling. Gambling addicts believe that they are the ultimate winners for being persistent at a game. Objections to gambling are often based on the undesirability of the criminal classes and the addicts. Some objections are religious and are based on moral grounds. Because of those objections, restrictions had been placed on gambling ever since the Reformation by most countries. Although the attitudes and laws vary from nation to nation, most countries today have restrictions regarding gambling.

Many people are casual gamblers, but some are gambling addicts who can be harmful to the structure and well-being of the society. The addicts direct all their attention on the game and disregard all else, including their family, friends, and jobs. Losing a game does not stop these people from playing because they believe that they will eventually win all the money back and are deaf to all rational reasoning. They believe that they have been selected by fortune to be excluded from the normal laws of chance. In 1957, Gamblers Anonymous was founded in America to help those addicts to overcome their addiction and go on to live normal lives.

Games for gambling go all the way back to recorded Ancient Egyptian Civilizations. Over 4000 years ago, the Chinese began gambling with the game Wei-ki, now known as Go. Bones called astragals were used in Greece and India for gambling. Astragals are flat bones having two faces and ankle bones having four faces from cloven-footed animals like sheep. Astragals eventually evolved into today's dice and dominoes. Board games using some form of die are more than 5000 years old. Other game such as races and tossing of coins have also been used as a means of gambling. Gambling in races such as horse racing have been with us since 4000 BC. Greyhound racing is at least 2500 years old. Gambling in fight such as wrestling, boxing, dog-fighting, Japanese fish-fighting, Spanish bull-fighting, and Chines cricket-fighting had been popular throughout the world. Today, people also gamble in sports like football, soccer, golf, hockey, and tennis. Many try Their luck in lotteries, raffles, sweepstakes, and slot machines. Legal casinos came into existence about 200 years ago. They support games like Poker, Baccarat, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, and slot machines. Today, most areas have licensing laws and restrictions on where casinos can be located, how much tax they have to pay, the credits given to gamblers, and the collection of gambling funds.

1. Arnold, Peter. The Encyclopedia of Gambling. Great Britain: A Quarto Book, 1977.
2. Gambling 1998. Texas: Information Plus, 1998.