Gambling

Gambling  — is a game in which the winnings do not depend entirely or to a large extent on the skill of the player, but on chance.

The term currently has the following economic definition: the betting of money or some material value on an event with a doubtful outcome with the primary intention of making a profit or material value.  depends more on chance than on the skill of the gamblers, with the stakes determined arbitrarily and can be changed by the gamblers, and the main interest is focused not on the game process, but on its outcome.

Features

Although the outcome of  depends on chance, it is subject to certain laws on a large scale. Keepers of roulette and other  houses at continuous play always stand to gain, even if the game is not accompanied by any cheating. 

This is determined by the very conditions of play. Establishing conditions under which the game is "fair" or "harmless", i.e. giving both parties exactly the same chances of winning, as well as conditions ensuring production of games on a large scale (ie, with a very large number of repetitions) a certain win one side, is the subject of mathematical research in the field of probability theory.

History

The game of dice was known in ancient India, as well as in the whole world. The Rig Veda, a collection of Vedic hymns, contains a poem, "Gambler's Complaints", which warns against addiction: "Don't play dice, but plough your furrow! Find pleasure in your property and value it highly! Look after your cattle and your wife, you despicable gambler!" In the Bhavishya Purana there is a story related to a certain prince lost everything, including his wife, by playing dice. 

The epic Mahabharata is a game of dice, which is nevertheless described in great detail. There is evidence of a passion for dice among the ancient Greeks, especially the Corinthians. Only in Sparta it was completely banished.  is also mentioned in the mythology of ancient Greece. 

According to Greek legend, Palamedes suggested the game of dice to amuse Greek soldiers bored with waiting at the siege of Troy. The Greek biographer Plutarch mentions the Persian queen Parisatis, a passionate dice fan.

Ancient Roman law, well aware of the demoralizing influence of games of chance, treated them with all severity, and decreed that the money lost in unauthorized games (alea, as they were called in Rome in contrast to allowed, ludi, qui virtutis causa fiunt) may be wrested back to the loser.

It was unusually popular among the Germans. Ancient German lost not only their property, but also their freedom: those who lost and could not pay any more were sold into slavery. Although already in XIII century legal restrictions began to appear, and in XIV century in Germany, as well as everywhere else. 

Gambling houses began to be forbidden (first appeared in XII century in Italy); but up to modern time in small German states ouses in form of roulette and other creche were not only tolerated, but also encouraged by governments as they paid a small treasury considerable taxes. With the rise of Prussia and the unification of Germany, the police reformed this area and they disappeared from the German states. 

Until the law of July 1, 1868, closing  houses and the subsequent unification of the German Empire under common law, Germany was notorious for its  houses in Baden-Baden, Bad Doberan, Bad Ems, Wiesbaden, Hamburg and others.

From antiquity, as can be judged from the sources, was practised only in the form of betting and dice throwing. With the invention around 1423 of the art of wood and copper engraving, artists in Spain and Germany began to make cards, which served originally for fortune-telling, and later became the instrument of games based on fortune-telling, that is. 

At first, card games which were the speciality of shady elements served as a skilful form of cheating and as early as 1494 a treatise called 'Liber vagatorum' was published which exposed deceptive tricks of card shufflers. 

There was done in brothels, taverns, and in 1541 England issued the first law for the prosecution of the keepers of  brothels. So far in English common law the keepers of  houses are prosecuted as organizers of "common nuisance, creating an enticement to idleness and gathering together a considerable number of dissolute people."

But, gradually,  also finds a spread in the court and among the nobility. The heyday of  was in France during the reign of Louis XIII and XIV and at the same time  was spreading and the most noble people of high society were accused of it several times. Fashion for  from the court of Louis and goes to other courts in Europe (still most of the retain their French names), and  becomes a favorite pastime of the nobility. 

Bourgeoisie late XVIII century, strengthening its influence in society, also rushed to learn the "noble fashion", but the spread of  among the bourgeoisie takes a noticeable size only from 30-40 years. XIX century (in Germany and Russia even later). The nivelling of different classes in  games took place only with the organisation of big  houses, whose doors were open to all. Before that  was considered reprehensible if conducted outside its class circle.

Addiction

Problem gambling addiction is a widespread problem in the past as well as today. This addiction can represent both a social and a medical problem for society. One of the risk factors is personal peculiarities: emotional instability, decreased self-control.

Addictive behaviour is accompanied by depressive disorders. Researchers note signs of altered consciousness, in particular, absorption in the game, concentration on the game with simultaneous detachment from the surrounding reality.

Attitudes towards gambling

Fighting the side effects of excessive gambling has long been one of the objectives of administrative and criminal policies in almost every country in the world. The socially harmful side boils down to the development of the population's pursuit of easy, unearned income, promising sometimes rapid enrichment, but often leading to dependency and destitution.

To the temptation to take risks at someone else's expense, leading to an increase in embezzlement and theft; to the development of gambling scams, increasing the number of people living on the expense of others.

In religions

  • The Christian Church has a negative attitude towards gambling, with the excuse that it leads to an unacceptable passion for quick, unfounded profit and can have unfavourable social consequences. In the past, a gambling addiction could lead to excommunication. For a long time the Christian Church considered as gambling those games which are not considered as such in the modern world, for example, chess.
  • Gambling is forbidden in Islam. That is why gambling is illegal in most Islamic countries.
  • In Judaism, gambling is also forbidden. Although there is no mention of them in the Torah, gambling is condemned in the Talmud.

Economy

According to the reports of The Economist[9], the total amount of losses (betting minus winnings) due to , including casinos, sports betting, lotteries and the like, was about 350 billion US dollars in 2011. THE AMOUNT WAS ROUGHLY EQUIVALENT TO $350 BILLION. Meanwhile, online betting accounted for 50 billion.

The top three largest  businesses in the world are Hong Kong with 32%, Sweden with 23%, and the UK with 21%.

In the classic literature

Several works by Russian classical writers were dedicated to  and its influence on the fate of a man who got carried away by it. Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin's story "The Queen of Spades" is based on. 

Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol's comedy play The Gamblers takes up the image of swindlers. Mikhail Lermontov also used the theme of  as a plot device in "Masquerade", "Stoss" and "The Treasurer of Tambov". 

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky dedicated his novel "The Gambler" to a gambler, which tells of the spiritual blindness of a man whose raison d'être is. 

Osip Emilievich Mandelstam in his poem "Casino" imaginatively describes his condition when he finds himself surrounded by  machines. 

In the story "The Genius Gambler", Alexander Stepanovich Green introduces into the plot the idea of win-win cards, which kills the idea of the game itself; the story "The System" by Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin tells of an unbeatable player from Monte Carlo, who, because of his abilities, was denied access to his establishments by casino owners.

Gambling games:

  • Casino (Online Casino)
  • Slot machines
  • Roulette
  • Patinco
  • Dice
  • Video poker
  • Card Games
  • Poker (Hold'em)
  • Blackjack (Point)
  • Baccarat
  • Tote
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