Gambling is almost as old as civilisation. Dice carved from bone have been found in archaeological sites in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China, thousands of years old. Romans bet at amphitheatres. The Aztecs played patolli. The history of human beings and chance are deeply intertwined.
But the history of recognising that gambling can become a disease — rather than a vice or a moral weakness — is far more recent. And that recognition matters, because it fundamentally changes how we respond to it.
Antiquity: gambling as a human constant
Ancient cultures had an ambivalent relationship with gambling. On one hand, it was a normalised social activity and, in many contexts, tied to religious ritual or the concept of fate. On the other hand, ancient laws frequently included prohibitions or restrictions on gambling — which suggests the associated problems were equally well known.
In classical Rome, betting was technically prohibited except during festivals. In practice, gambling was everywhere. Game boards carved into stone appear in the ruins of the Forum itself. The gap between the rule and the reality was already familiar.
The first casinos and the mathematics of probability
The first regulated casino on historical record was established in Venice in 1638 — the Ridotto, created by the Republic's government to control gambling during Carnival. Paradoxically, the institutionalisation of gambling in Europe coincided with the development of probability theory. Pascal and Fermat developed its mathematical foundations in the 17th century, partly motivated by questions about games of chance.
This convergence is significant: while mathematicians were demonstrating that gambling had an internal logic unfavourable to the player, casinos were proliferating. The house edge was no secret — it was the basis of the business.
The 20th century: from vice to disease
For centuries, problematic gambling was interpreted primarily as a moral defect. Someone who couldn't control their gambling was seen as weak, irresponsible, or dissolute. This perspective determined how society responded: with moral censure, punishment, and exclusion, rather than treatment.
The shift began in the mid-20th century. In 1957, a group of people who recognised a gambling problem in themselves founded Gamblers Anonymous in Los Angeles, following the model of Alcoholics Anonymous. It was the first time problematic gambling was organised as a condition requiring mutual support — not as a matter of individual willpower alone.
Medical recognition came in 1980, when the DSM-III — the American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic manual — included 'pathological gambling' as a diagnosis for the first time. It was a milestone: the problem was no longer exclusively moral and became a subject of clinical attention.
DSM-5, 2013: the category shift that matters
In 2013, the DSM-5 revision introduced a conceptually important change: 'pathological gambling' became 'gambling disorder' and was relocated to the category of substance-related and addictive disorders — alongside alcohol, opioids, and other drug dependencies.
This move reflects decades of neuroscience research showing that gambling disorder shares the same neurobiological substrates as substance addictions: the same dopaminergic circuits, the same patterns of tolerance and withdrawal, the same alterations in the prefrontal cortex. The difference is that no substance is introduced into the body — the brain produces the effects on its own.
The online revolution: gambling in your pocket
The expansion of the internet in the 1990s radically transformed the landscape. Online gambling platforms eliminated the two access barriers that had historically acted as natural brakes: physical travel and opening hours. Online gambling is available 24 hours a day, from any device, with minimal deposits and no social exposure.
The proliferation of smartphones extended this further. Gambling shifted from an activity requiring leaving home to being two screen taps away at all times. Researchers have documented that the transition to online gambling is associated with greater risk of developing problems — not because people are more vulnerable, but because the natural brakes have disappeared.
The present: regulation, data, and new challenges
Governments in many European countries have responded with stricter regulatory frameworks over the past decade: national self-exclusion systems like OASIS in Germany or RGIAJ in Spain, advertising restrictions, identity verification, and deposit limits. It's real progress, though incomplete.
At the same time, video game monetisation models — loot boxes, virtual currencies, random rewards — have introduced gambling mechanics into contexts that aren't regulated as such, with particular exposure among minors.
Knowing the history of gambling addiction doesn't solve it. But it places the problem in its real context: it isn't a new weakness, nor a personal failure. It's a predictable response of a human brain to a system designed to exploit it. That changes the conversation.
If this context is relevant to you because you're questioning your own relationship with gambling, the most useful next step is concrete: consider the self-exclusion tools available in your country, and download STOP Gambling Pro to support the process with structured help.