Want, hope, sorrow, and joy are all human. To survive, every species must be able to predict events. Risk-reward balancing is a daily task. Or do you walk 200 meters to the zebra crossing?
Since Caveman A and Caveman B sat in their caves, watching their companion Dave struggle a sabre-toothed tiger, and said, “dave is in danger. Betting on the tiger has become a reality. It’s one of our oldest pastimes.
Asia’s oldest Sanskrit epics, the Ramayana and the Mahbhrata, record betting games. Both are millennia old. Board games are referenced in China as early as 2100 BC. Games, dice, and betting have been described from the dawn of time. Ancient dice, tiles, and games have been discovered. Before Netflix, entertainment was a dice throw and a side bet. In Asia’s major three: China, India, and Japan, the odds are split.
CHINA
In every land-based casino, you are likely to find a few Chinese players at the tables. Gambling is a big element of Chinese society due to luck, numerology, repression, and superstition.
The Chinese imperial government has long suppressed betting, making it illegal and clandestine. If life teaches us anything, it’s that prohibition doesn’t work.
3,000 BC dice-like items were discovered in Asia. By 1000 BC, China had gambling rooms with animal fights, dice, mah jong, and lotteries. The Great Wall of China was restored in 200 BC using funds earned through a game similar to Keno dubbed the ‘white pigeon game’.
Chinese dynasties have sought to ban gambling throughout history. Problem gamblers were threatened with forced military service, 100 lashes, hand amputation, and death. It even pledged to ‘eradicate the grave social disease’.
Popular games like fan tan and pai gow are still played in Macau alongside blackjack, roulette, and baccarat. China’s national obsessions include lotteries and horse racing.
INDIA
India has over 1.4 billion inhabitants, second only to China. If discovered gambling illegally, both the casino owner and the gambler face fines.
Gambling was a tremendously popular past time in ancient and imperial India alike. In the Rig Veda, a 1700 BC Indian book, a gambler begs the dice to spare him. Gambling persisted throughout the Middle Ages. Satta, or ‘numbers,’ was a popular form of betting on opium, gold, cotton, and rainfall.
The British allowed gambling. The colonial authorities made a lot of money from it. However, political pressure and gaming addiction led to the 1867 Public Gambling Act. The law forbids both visiting and operating a casino. Only three Indian states now have casinos. That’s a lot of people for such a big
JAPAN
Compared to India and China, Japan’s earliest known gambling reference dates from approximately 635 AD. Emperor Temmu adored the game of sugo-roku (double sixes). But not all family members agreed. When his daughter Empress Jito came to power, she outlawed it.
During the following two centuries, people bet heavily on cockfights, horse races, and cricket bouts (not the sport!). Gamblers, or bakuto, were the forerunners of the yakuza. They would hustle their cards and dice from town to town.
Cho-han is a popular Japanese bet. A shirtless dealer kneels with two dice. cho (even) or han (odd). Yes. Popular Japanese game Pachinko is one of the few legal gambling games in Japan today.
Throughout conclusion, gaming has a bad history in Asia. Gambling is still severely controlled in all three nations. Taxation is now seen as a valuable tool by governments. Responsible regulation seems to be the way forward.
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