Women Gambling History: A Quick Overview of the Past, Present and Future

The gambling history dates back to 4,500 years ago with people betting on various games. Although gambling was not made legal in a few countries, many countries such as Rome, Egypt, India, China and Greece did encourage gambling and eventually, gambling became one of the best-loved leisure platforms worldwide. Today, there are plenty of both online and offline casinos operating around the globe which aim at providing the players with a safe, secure and a highly-engaging gaming platform. This article aims at providing you with an in-depth analysis of women gambling history.

Its Origin

Most of the historians believe that the gambling tools appeared in the primitive pre-historic societies and were the product of pagan religious rituals. The rituals were performed in a simple manner which involved the throwing of various objects such as pebbles, nuts, sticks and so on. The rituals then further involved sacrifices and people began gambling their stakes on the outcomes that depended solely on chance.

After a few years, gambling expanded and evolved as one of the popular modes of entertainment which were soon enjoyed by numerous people residing all over the globe. One of the interesting facets of gambling is that although it was widespread in quite a lot of countries, the one in Rome was truly praiseworthy as both men and women were allowed to gamble in public houses during the Bona Dea festival; an event that was exclusively meant for women. And later, during the reign of Emperor Nero, the rules were made flexible which encourage women to engage in games, sports and other leisure activities.

Casino Games Associated with Women

There a few exciting games which the casinos exclusively streamed for women. Some of the popular game genres include:

Board games: Among the various board games, Tabulae Lusoriae was one of the most popular and well-liked table games enjoyed by the majority of women across the globe. The board of this game is made up of materials ranging from wood to marble, bronze, etc. The board of Tabula Lusoriae is carved directly into the floors of public buildings. The other common games played on these boards include Tic-Tac-Toe, Duodecim Scripta (a game of twelve lines) and Latrunculi (a game similar to chess). Tic-Tac-Toe in comparison was one of the games most associated with women. Also, in the third book of Ovid’s “Ars Amatoria”, the famous ancient Roman poet recommends this game to women seeking luck in love.

Dice games: The historical evidence in ancient Greece reveals that dice games were best-loved and most preferred by women. Initially, a six-sided dice game was introduced and then the Greeks used astragali, specially marked asymmetrical dice with letters and numbers to play the dice games. There were typically two types of dice games that were played. One of the dice games required only a single dice to be tossed with the person who threw the highest result and the other dice game was played on boards.

Besides these, some of the architectural sources which date back to 4th century BC reveal that there were many gambling sessions which involves both male and female figures indulging in dice games. One of the popular artworks related to dice portrays a scene from the Trojan War in which the Greek heroes Ajax and Achilles play a dice game.

Women Gambling: Legal or Illegal?

Despite gambling not being made legal, the aristocratic women engaged in playing a diverse range of table games and socialised as they played together. But the fact remains true that women were criticised not simply because they were breaking the law but more importantly because they were women. This made their transgression extremely slow. During this time period in England, it was believed that it was unacceptable and unhealthy for women to engage in gambling, as some believed that such activities hindered a woman’s ability to produce healthy children. Also, the Roman idealists believed that the actions of the women threatened to disrupt social order and political power. They saw it as a destruction of boundaries between men and women and the classes.

1960: A Beginning of a New Era

By 1960, women began working in the gambling industry and engaged in gambling. They took part in a variety of games and placed their bets on the classic races. According to data released by International Game Technology, women in the USA bet 30% more on online social casinos than men. 6th of May 1977 marked the very first women’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) and was one of the most important and progressive turning points in women gambling history because it represented a shift in people’s attitudes toward women and gambling. Instead of being criticised for playing games of chance, women were actually motivated to take part, and would no longer felt unwelcome at a poker table.

Today, there are women who are in executive positions in the gambling industry just as men. Times are changing and the future for women in the gambling industry seems to be really bright. While women may always dominate the social casino market, it is likely that when it comes to real-money online gambling, the total number of men and women who bet via their computers or smartphones will be about 50/50.