Exciting and Unexpected Facts About Casinos in the Arab World


By nature, everyone is a gambler, and Asian people, by their temperament especially. Today, the colourful and wonderful world of casinos attracts thousands of players who can become millionaires and celebrities in a matter of minutes. The Internet allows fans of the games to do their favourite hobby anywhere and anytime. We are sure that true connoisseurs of gambling will be interested to know some curious facts about casinos.

Since ancient times, the Arabs had different games, draws, contests, helping to escape from the daily routine, to bring some bright moments to the gray everyday life. Gambling in the Arab world became a favourite pastime, a popular way to spend leisure time. Often the whole harems of concubines and palaces were put at stake.

ancient backgammon

Over time, the traditional backgammon, dice, and chips have been replaced by online games, but the excitement has not diminished. Today, online casinos can be considered one of the most popular forms of entertainment in gambling. For most players in the Arab world, it is a great way to have a good time, not just to win money. So naturally, they don’t refuse to win, but some say they prefer to play to train their minds and logic, communicate with other people, etc.

At the same time, there are many amazing facts related to gambling.

These entertaining stories are sure to be of interest to fans of gambling, who prefer their leisure time in casinos, no matter – online or offline.

The First Arab Casino: Try to Win a Camel

In pre-Islamic times among the Arabs, there was already popular a type of maysir (gambling game), considered to be similar to today’s casinos.

The game’s rules were as follows: 10 people bought one camel and divided it into seven parts, the most desirable prize was the hump of the animal, and the most unsuccessful – the camel’s hooves. Then 10 arrows were made, 7 of them had notches on them, the remaining 3 arrows were not marked. Then the 10 players took turns betting and got what fate itself gave them. Such was the ancient Arab casino.

Despite the strict religious restrictions on gambling, casino is one of the most common forms of entertainment in Arab countries. Today, about 7 large Arabic casinos are operating and flourishing in the Middle East.

What Are the Tricks Casino Owners Resort to to Attract Customers?

Many Arabian casinos used carpets with colourful, bizarre patterns on the floor. It was believed that such pictures hypnotized visitors and made them stay longer in the club. Thus the institution increased its income.

Arabic casino interior

The whole atmosphere of the casino should cause the player joy and euphoria, excitement and a lot of positive emotions and make him happy. After all, happy hours do not observe. For this reason, almost no casinos have clocks and windows on the walls. As a result, players lose their real connection to time and can play all day long.

Such tricks are excluded in online casinos, where players are spared such tricks.

One more fact indicates the humanity of casino owners and their care about their neighbour: earlier in Muslim countries with loyal legislation to the activities of gambling establishments near the door stood an Arab with a lot of shabby clothes on a rack: pants, shirts and other clothes. It was given free to those players who lost a large sum in the casino.

The Smallest Casino

The world’s tiniest casino is located in the back seat of a London cab. This place doesn’t even have an address, but it is equipped with a gaming table, and there is a dealer. Gamblers of Arab origin, wishing to remain incognito and play in real life, can use this casino, as well as a bar and a TV that broadcasts sporting events.

Scandalous Loss of a Saudi Prince at a Casino

After spending an entire week at a casino poker table, one Saudi prince lost a series of games. He lost $359 million in one night and was also forced to leave five of his wives to cover some of his debt.

According to the casino director, the prince mortgaged his wives for a $25 million loan after losing. In the practice of Arabian casinos, there have been situations when a customer bets a living creature, but then there were camels or horses, and the owner paid for their upkeep himself. However, this case was unique because the player left his wives as collateral.

Selling women is a rare practice, but it is still legal in some Middle Eastern countries. The royal family had to pay the debt to hush up the scandal.

There is another interesting story, also related to the casino.

Albert Einstein’s Theory of 100% Casino Winnings

As soon as roulette was invented, all visitors to the casino began to dream of fabulous winnings, trying to find ways to calculate it. The list of ideas is endless, ranging from mathematical calculations and patterns to the most famous Martingale theory. Winning strategies are developed using mathematical formulas and even the view of error in the friction of the gears that turn the roulette wheel.

Albert Einstein was famous for his original sense of humour and loved jokes about the calculation of winnings at the casino. He once claimed to have found the solution and figured out the system. His words went something like this: “It’s easy to win at roulette! Please wait until the dealer turns his back and runs away with the chips.

The world of casinos is multifaceted; it lives its life with a whole set of mysteries and riddles. Every year in the world, open new unique institutions in real life and online. And history keeps a lot of interesting facts about this sphere of gambling business, which does not cease to amaze us.