Hello, Dear readers, probably initially reading this article you’ll be flabbergasted about the facts about casinos, betting, gambling or even bingo games. Someone says that it could be a next fiction movie scenario, but it’s industry reality and pure history. The Official Golden Reels blog will tell you something about statistics, something about myths and of course about the facts. We are sure of this – you’ll get astounding feelings and a lot of interesting information to share with your friends and colleagues.
Let's cover the history of gambling
All right, all right, I am turning on our time machine, it's time to put on our magic crown and go into the world of exciting adventures and crazy facts. Given the size and popularity of the gambling industry as it stands today, it’s almost impossible to believe that it didn’t even exist just a couple of decades ago. In any case, games of chance in one form or another have been around for centuries. For instance, around 3000 BC, dice games were played in Mesopotamia. Gambling houses were common in China about 200 BC and pottery scenes from Ancient Greece and Rome suggest that betting on animal fights happened on a regular basis. Likewise, various card games are known to have been around for more than a millennium.
Things have changed significantly over the years, but it seems human beings always have been and always will be a species of risk-takers.
The most interesting facts and myths about gambling
So without further rush, here’s a quick rundown of some things you probably never knew about online gambling – some of which you might find at least slightly interesting:
- Slots Are the Most Popular Game
A fun fact about slot machines – they used to dispense chewing gum, which could be traded for money! This is precisely why many of the machines still use fruit symbols, just in case you ever wondered. Incredibly, the vast majority of revenues generated by casinos worldwide (online and offline) come from penny slots – i.e. those with the lowest stakes of all. What’s more, 90% of regular slot gamblers play online, rather than at real-life casinos.
- 84% of online gamblers are men
The ratio of online men gamblers to online women gamblers clearly shows that men are much fonder of online gambling than women. For men, one of the most popular ways to gamble online is sports betting, followed by poker. Men generally tend to prefer games like roulette and blackjack while women usually prefer to play online bingo and slots.
- Beware the Devil’s Game
Roulette is often called ‘the Devil’s game’ because the sum of all the numbers on the wheel adds up to 666 – aka “the number of the beast”. Foreboding as it may sound, Roulette is actually one of few casino games where players stand almost even odds of winning. For example, betting on red or black reduces the odds (almost) to 50/50, though there is a slight edge in favour of the house. That is, unless you decide to play American roulette, which has a “0” and a “00”.
- Blackjack is the only game where knowing the numbers will give you a huge advantage.
Unlike some other casino games, blackjack requires more than just luck. Blackjack players should consider statistics, probability and game theory when they sit down at the table to play. Most of the practical winning strategies they come up with are based on knowing the changing composition of the deck of cards.
Online gambling is growing steadily and has become an industry with $ 40 billion in revenue per year. Whether it's playing slots for fun or using mathematical strategies to win at blackjack, gambling today is the entertainment of thousands of people.
- Bingo
How many different ways do you think it is possible to make “bingo” on a card with the usual 90 numbers? The answer…well, chances are you didn’t realise it was a full 44 million. After something of a slump, bingo is once again enjoying a massive spike in popularity – primarily due to the equally massive spike in global hipster populations.
- Aussies are the World's Biggest Gamblers
According to an official study, Australian gamblers bet more money per capita than any other country in the world in 2013. This goes for casinos as well as land-based games, plus sports betting, poker and more.
However, Australia isn't even close to being the biggest losers - that honour goes to players from the United States of America. Maybe Aussies are better at game selection, or maybe they're just luckier!
Last but not least, in terms of how it all got started in the first place, the first official online casino to open its doors went into business in 1996. At that time, it was considered an incredibly impressive and ambitious venture, despite the fact that there were only 18 games available and pretty much none of the features and facilities we take for granted today. As things stand right now, unless an online casino has at least 300+ games to offer, it tends to be considered a little on the primitive side!
We do really hope that you have enjoyed reading this article, please believe us we were working really hard to prepare the most interesting facts about gaming. Please also remember that pleasure and addiction are totally different things. Enjoy your spare time responsibly!
See ya Later!
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