Online Casinos Guide

Just like a lot of casino games, craps comes with a history that is debatable. Different versions exist and although controversy is high some facts do stand out as being accepted by every historian and expert. First, we know that this is a game that appeared from one English game that was called Hazard. We believe that it was played in the beginning by crusading knights around the thirteenth century. Hazard rules did change at time passed but the resemblance with modern casino craps cannot be denied. The term “craps” originates from a French variation of Hazard. In order to be different from the Anglo-Saxon culture the French changed the name.  “Crabs” (meaning lowest dice roll) was a term taken from English and changed.

We do not really know for sure how craps reached America. A version says that Hazard ended up crossing the sea towards France before American colonization began. French colonists basically brought this game towards a new continent in the colony Acadia. The British claimed that colony and named it Nova Scotia. Acadian settlers had the name of Cajuns and they ended up in Louisiana. A different version states that the colonists from France brought the game during Louisiana colonization. This version seems highly likely because French colonists are responsible for many gambling games being introduced, including blackjack. Craps then reached the entire country because of Mississippi riverboats and continued to evolve.

Although modern casino craps history is brief dice games appeared around the same time that civilization appeared. One cubical dice has been discovered in Egypt. According to analysis it is over 2600 years old. Dice roots can actually be traced in Arabic culture. The word “Al Zar” (or Azza) is now linked with knuckle-bones but also means dice due to the fact that dices were created out of knuckle-bones that were shaved. Even during the Roman Empire we saw a lot of dice games. Caligula and Caesar were avid dice players, similar to a lot of contemporary nobility.

One person that really had a huge impact on modern craps history is John Winn. He was just a dice maker that took craps to a new level in gambling games. He simply added one feature: players could bet for or against a shooter. This fact basically created Bank craps, the craps variation that is so popular nowadays in casinos. Another very popular game is the slot machines: read our article on the slot machines history and you will surely find it amusing and interesting.