The History of Gambling in England

This work surveys the long and tangled history of chance‑taking in England, beginning with a panoramic look at how gambling has appeared in societies from ancient Egypt and China to the classical worlds of Greece and Rome. The author carefully separates the concept of “gaming” – a pursuit of pleasure – from “gambling”, where money and risk dominate, and uses contemporary definitions to frame the discussion. By tracing archaeological finds, literary references, and early legal records, the book shows how the desire to wager is a near‑universal human trait, often linked to myth and ritual.

In the English narrative, the study moves from the medieval dice tables of the 13th‑century taverns through the rise of organized lotteries and horse‑race betting in the 17th and 18th centuries. Colorful portraits of celebrated gamblers and the moral panic they provoked illustrate the tension between entertainment and vice. Readers gain a nuanced picture of how gambling shaped social attitudes, legislation, and everyday life long before the modern casino era.