A Brief History of The Casino Chip

When we sit at a table, at either a land-based casino or an online casino, and start playing any of the table games such as roulette, blackjack and poker – we’ll see casino chips in front of us. But where did the casino chips come from?

Read on to see how the humble casino chip came to be.

The Early Days of Gambling

Establishments preceding the modern casino emerged in Italy in the 17th century. The first gambling rooms in Venice were called “Il Ridotto” (“The Private Room”). This was the very first gambling establishment.

In 1638, the Palazzo Dandolo began to host games, becoming the first government-run casino; it was also the first gambling establishment to be legalised. 

But chips didn’t exist yet; table participants would have traded anything they had for money.

By the 19th century, casinos started opening more frequently in Europe, and the US also had a lot of illegal gambling emporiums during the period. Gamblers from the US used to frequent the steamboats on the Mississippi River.

Casino Chips – Early Usage and Main Characteristics

Golden coins, gold nuggets, and even gold-dust used to be the currency to play at the tables with. However, the nuggets and the golden coins lost most of their function and were replaced, in the American West, with gambling-chips, which were smaller, lighter, easy to hold and count.

These were wood and bone chips and, in some cases, paper and clay mixtures. The problem back then was that players could add handmade chips to stacks, which they would cash out at the end of a game.

Shortly after gambling was legalised in Nevada in the early 1930s, casinos began to grow and expand gradually. In those days of more organised gambling, the number of chips used was few. The dollar was worth more.

The Evolution of Casino Chips

Casinos started working with manufacturers to create chips that looked different and were specific to each casino.

New designs were etched or stamped in the chips (the earliest gambling chips were actually made of ivory, in unique shapes that were handmade), followed by clay versions (which were also typically stamped with repeat images). The first chips were predominantly white, blue and red but could be produced in any colour.

The most expensive casino chips ever made are a US Playing Card Co. product. They were in the shape of a circular lithograph embedded in clay material and were also sealed by a special liquid in the chip. Though great at the time, these chips were also copied by several other casino chip makers.

Over time, during the 1940s, cheaper plastic chips took over the market, and gamblers found them more convenient. Today there are basically two types of casino chips: clay composition or injection-moulded chips.

These days, casino chips continue to evolve and improve from their first appearance during the late 19th century. 

Casino Chips Designs – How They Changed Over Time?

Each casino gets to decide what colour and shape the casino chips will be.

In the 20th century, the casino chip was manufactured by high-pressure machines. Today, the standard dimension of the present casino chips is 39 mm in diameter and the weight of the casino chips ranges from 8 grams to 20 grams.

The only difference between chips these days is the branding. They have the casino logo; they have some beautiful colours to represent the casino, and so on and so forth.

Even the casinos online use different coloured chips and branding.