In his book, The History of Gambling, John Aston states that in 1190 an edict was issued banning members of the army who were ranked below knights from playing games that required any form of betting. Clergymen and knights could play as long as they didn’t lost more than 20 shillings per day.
Bull baiting, the cruel blood sport in which bulls were ‘immobilised’ by dogs in a confined space, was a very popular choice to bet on. There was also racing and cockfighting to get the blood racing and the betting figures up. On the tamer side there were games of checkers that could be bet on, unsurprisingly these weren’t as popular.
Cards rapidly surpassed dice as the preferred gambling tool in the 14th century when they made their way from Asia to Europe. The deck of cards was adored by royalty – James IV of Scotland wooed his future bride, Princess Margaret, with a deck when he visited her for the first time.
Princess Margaret’s brother, Henry VIII, banned cards and dice from being played by working class people. His reason: it made men turn to drink and crime.
During the Elizabethan era a card game called Primero was developed. This is the game that is believed to be the precursor to poker. The first version of the British Lottery was also introduced during this era. Queen Elizabeth had the idea of offering 400,000 tickets to the public with prizes that included china and cash. The first London-based lottery event was organised by King James in 1612.
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