The origin of craps, one of the popular casino games today, can be traced back to thousands of years, to the ancient Arab world and the game they played called ‘Hazard’ (”az-zahr”, which rhymes with Hazard means ‘dice’ in Arabic).
The game came to Britain in the 12th century and soon it became popular over the Channel of France, where it was called ‘crabs’ (the term used to indicate the losing throw of ‘2’ in the original Hazard game), the French pronunciation of ‘crabs’. The game was also played widely in England for centuries. Historians note instances where noblemen and higher classes had lost fortunes by playing Hazard in the English gambling houses in the 17th century. The game was also found mention in the literary works of those times, such as the famous Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, indicating that Hazard was quite a popular past time in the Victorian era, at least amongst the rich and influential sections of the English society.
The game reached the American continent in the mid-1700s, along with the immigration of French settlers in Canada to the US after their defeat by the British. However, this point is somewhat contentious for some say that it was the English settlers who took the game to the US and not the French and vice versa. No matter which version is correct, it was in America that the game of craps had evolved further, and got transformed into the form that we see and play today in the land based and online casinos worldwide.
Craps popularized in the US in the 17-18th century, thanks to the game’s entertainment value and the high risk taking attitude of the immigrant Americans of that time. The game also underwent significant changes during this time. For example, an American named John H Winn added major changes to the rules of the game by enabling players to bet with the shooter or against the shooter. This amendment in rules was actually made to negate the widespread practice of houses playing with crooked dice in those times. As a matter of fact, John H Winn is considered the father of Modern Craps and his version of craps became the 20th century casino game of Bank Craps with those layouts and tables.
Today, craps is played in casinos worldwide and is one the biggest gambling games in the history of casinos in terms of the money wagered. Such is the popularity that the game enjoys amongst the gamblers that it was widely portrayed in numerous Hollywood movies, of past and present, as the low and high rollers favorite casino game. It is true that the game has come a long way since its early days as Hazard, played in the Arabic countries. But the excitement it generates in the players, and entertainment value it embeds has only enhanced during its evolution in the last few centuries, that made it a favorite pastime for professional as well as amateur casino gamers from across the globe.
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