10 Facts About Casinos and Bookmakers

Publication date: 4 January 2026

In honor of Useless Facts Day celebrated on January 4th, here is a portion of completely useless but intriguing information about iGaming from 3S.INFO.

10 Useless Yet Curious Facts About Casinos

1. Statistically, you’re more likely to die on your way to the casino than win its jackpot. The risk of dying in a car accident en route often exceeds the odds of hitting the big prize.
2. There are no clocks on the gaming floor in Las Vegas casinos. This classic trick helps players lose track of time.
3. The largest slot machine win ever ($40 million) was lost. The jackpot was paid out anonymously, but the check was never cashed before it expired, returning the money back to the casino.
4. Most roulette wheels on the Las Vegas Strip do not have a single green pocket labeled “0.” Instead, they use a wheel with two green pockets —”0″ and “00”— which increases the house edge.
5. The first known casino wasn’t a palace but a humble establishment. It opened in Venice in 1638 and was called “Il Ridotto” (“Small Private Hall”), created to regulate gambling during Carnival season.
6. Casinos spend huge amounts of money on design and scents. For example, carpet patterns are made made intricately detailed and visually cluttered so that players’ gaze instinctively rises towards bright, attractive gaming tables and machines.
7. Some Monte Carlo casinos require their dealers to undergo mandatory etiquette courses and receive a “diploma.” They are even taught how to politely inform high-ranking clients when they violate rules.
8. A psychological paradox: people tend to play slots located in corridors and near entrances more frequently, although these usually have a lower return-to-player percentage (RTP),** as they’re designed for transient visitors.
9. The world’s oldest gambling company is Austrian “Casinos Austria,” founded in 1934, making it contemporary with many historic events of the 20th century.
10. The term “one-armed bandit” for a slot machine originated from the original mechanical lever on the side, which had to be pulled to start the reels spinning. Modern slot machines with buttons have almost eliminated this manual control feature.

10 Useless Yet Interesting Facts About Bookmakers

1. The world’s first bookmaker was established by…a funeral agent. In 1790, Harry Ogden, formerly an undertaker’s agent in London, began taking bets on horse races using fixed odds, becoming the founder of the entire industry.
2. Football betting odds can change due to a coach’s sneeze. If the head coach of a key team appears sick or sneezes at a press conference before a match, some algorithms or traders might slightly adjust the odds, factoring in his less than optimal condition.
3. There exists a “death bet.” In some jurisdictions (now increasingly rare), one could place a wager on the date of a famous person’s death. The most famous case was a bet on the death of Fidel Castro, which he successfully “lost” for decades.
4. Bookmakers will accept bets on practically anything. There have been cases of wagers placed on Queen Elizabeth II’s scarf color at Christmas, the exact date of Osama bin Laden’s capture, or who would shake hands first with the new U.S. president at inauguration.
5. The most popular sport for betting in the world is not football. By a huge margin, it’s tennis. Due to the large number of daily matches and tournaments, it generates the largest betting turnover globally.
6. Bookmakers love left-handers. In some individual sports (like tennis, boxing, fencing), left-handed athletes statistically have an advantage against right-handers, whom they are better adapted to face. This is always taken into account in analysis.
7. The term “underdog” comes from dogfighting. A losing dog that was fatally mauled was cheaper to dispose of rather than nurse back to health. Hence, the name for an obvious outsider whose victory is unlikely.
8. Betting shops went into space. In 2006, Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin took a pennant with the logo of the Baltbet betting company aboard the ISS and played poker with Mission Control Center, part of a promotional campaign.
9. The biggest loss in betting history didn’t come from a human. In 2001, a Las Vegas casino lost $1.5 million…to dolphins. Show trainers taught them to select roulette numbers by pressing buttons with their noses. The casino swiftly nullified their winnings, citing the “incompetence of the players.”
10. Favorites rarely meet expectations. Statistically, if you were to bet on all favorites in every round of the English Premier League, you’d end up deep in the red by the end of the season. This is one of the key traps for beginners.

What Benefits Do Casinos and Betting Offices Provide? 

Casinos and bookmakers primarily exist as commercial enterprises. However, within legal regulations, they provide benefits to the economy and society, which vary significantly depending on specific jurisdiction and control systems. 

• Tax revenues: In countries where gambling is legalized, it becomes a significant source of tax income for the state. These funds can be directed toward social programs, healthcare, education, and infrastructure.
• Job creation: The industry creates jobs ranging from employees in gaming halls and betting shops to IT specialists, analysts, security personnel, and lawyers.
• Tourism development: Large gambling zones like Sochi, Las Vegas, Macau, and Monaco attract millions of tourists, stimulating related businesses such as hotels, restaurants, entertainment venues, and transportation services.

• Sponsorship and philanthropy: Major operators frequently sponsor sporting, cultural, and charitable events.
• Profit allocation: In some countries (for instance, in the UK), a portion of national lottery profits goes toward funding sports, arts, and heritage projects. In other models, profits may be channeled into government funds.

• The gambling industry often invests in advanced technologies: Security systems, anti-fraud software, data analytics algorithms, which can contribute to the development of these technologies in adjacent fields.

Happy Useless Facts Day! We hope these pieces of knowledge find a special spot in your brain where everything interesting yet utterly nonfunctional resides.

Anna Volotskaya

Author with 20 years of experience. I cover everything about iGaming, traffic sources, regulation, and tools—clearly, in detail, and in...

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