Different historians have made different comments. As far i know in 1638 a casino called Ridotto was first established in the famous city of Venice, Italy. Based on the advice of scholars at the time, the casino aimed to control the gambling that prevailed during the carnival season. In 1774, the Venetian casino was closed during a period of social decline. However, some believe that the origin of gambling is China, while others believe that it is Egypt, some others believe that it would be Italy. So here remains a controversy on readers mind.
However even in the religious books gambling is also mentioned and forbidden, so it started very early now we see we modern form of gambling...
That is their way of seeing it, and also their way of thinking, but clearly there is an associated story, something more conceptual, each person has their own experience and according to that is that they express their opinion, but really if that story exists, if not , so OP would not have put the topic nor would he have done his research. Some things like personal stories are also valid, but since ancient times, since that time there was already a way to play and gamble.