Gambling has been around for a long time. Archeological evidence date the existence of gambling games all the way back to the Ancient world. While the same games which we all know are played around the world, certain countries have developed their own gambling games which are quite popular in the region. Let’s take a look at some of these region-specific gambling games.
Pachinko is the Slots of Japan
Just like Slots are massively popular in the western world, there is no arcade or casino in Japan which does not have a few dozen pachinko machines. For those who don’t know, pachinko is a game which combines pinball and slots. The goal of the game is to get a small, usually metal, ball within a hole, after pulling a lever. Pachinko takes equal amount of skill and luck, which makes it a bit more exciting than the usual game of slots.
The game of Pachinko developed as a way to bypass the restrictions placed on gambling within Japan, and is often presented as a children’s arcade game, though it is most often played as a casino game by young adults. Pachinko can even be played at online casino websites, that as you can see here also feature the classic casino games we all know and love.
PaiGow and Mahjong dominate the Chinese Gambling Scene
In China, apart from the classic games like Poker, Blackjack and roulette, the most popular gambling game is PaiGow. The game is played with a set of Chinese dominoes, that features 32 tiles. Each player is dealt four domino tiles, and the goal is to defeat the dealer’s hand.PaiGow has a number of different variants, including a variant called PaiGow Poker, which combines the rules of Poker and PaiGow.
Another tile game that is quite popular in the Chinese betting scene is Mahjong. Mahjong has gotten quite popular in the western world as well, however, the game truly dominates the Chinese scene. The game of Mahjong can be dated back to the 1800s, and has been played by children and adults ever since.
United Arab Emirates race horses, as well as camels
One of the most popular betting sports in the world is horse racing, however, the United Arab Emirates have decided to put a regional spin on this time honored sport. Camel racing in the United Arab Emirates is almost as popular as traditional horse racing. Many consider camels to be quite slow, however, when trained camels compete on the track they can be just as fast as horses.
Final Thoughts
While the classic casino games we all know, like poker, blackjack, slots, roulette, bingo, baccarat, etc. are popular worldwide, there are also many culture-specific and regional casino games which have developed in certain countries and regions. China especially has quite a few games which are becoming popular all over the world, and pachinko is one of the most popular and well known arcade games worldwide.
Also published on Medium.
