The Colosseum. We’ve seen it in countless pieces of media – stellar movies such as “Gladiator”, or videogames like “Shadow of Rome”. We’ve watched documentaries, some of us have even visited this historical site ourselves, but not too many suspect just how important it was in gambling history. It was completed in 80 AD after only 10 years of work (which just blows my mind on so many levels – we’re talking about a building roughly the size of a shopping mall, with numerous tunnels, elevators and even canals for ship battles, and it was designed and completed within 10 years 2000 years ago) and was meant to be Emperor Vespasian’s gift to the people. Of course, that “gift” most likely came with certain implications meant to fill his own pockets.
The thing that I should point out before I continue onwards with this article is that gambling was particularly common in Rome (it was a custom which, among many things, they took from the Greeks), to the point where Romans often prayed and gave offerings to the goddess Fortuna for good luck during gambling. Everybody, from the Emperor down to the lowest peasant, gambled, and despite the fact that we so often associate gladiators with the Colosseum, gladiator schools existed hundreds of years before it was ever conceived. However, most arenas were privately owned, and as a result were out of the Emperor’s reach. By inviting them to the biggest arena right in the center of Rome, literally down the street from the Roman Forum, he had the perfect excuse to tax them. Gambling, on the other hand, was not taxed, which is quite peculiar – today, all gambling activities are susceptible to pretty huge taxes, so why was gambling in ancient Rome not taxed, considering just how popular it was? Well, we’re getting into some complicated waters here, so stick with me.
You see, the Romans loved their gambling a little too much, to the point where it often inspired riots and other misdemeanors. Sure, today it may seem strange to imagine that simply betting on a gladiatorial match or a game of dice could inspire a riot, but it’s not all that different from events that transpire today during, say, football matches. Regardless, gambling was legally outlawed during the reign of Emperor Augustus, with the compromise that common folks were only ever allowed to bet during Saturnalia – a week-long festival dedicated to the god Saturn. As a result, gambling was officially considered a “holy” activity and could not be taxed. On the other hand, Roman officials were pretty much the proto example of “Do as I say, not as I do”, and quite often engaged in gambling activities between themselves despite the ban. Augustus himself once lost 30,000 sesterces while betting on a Colosseum match (30 times more than a soldier’s annual salary).
Now that we’ve explored the basics of gambling in ancient Rome, let’s take some time to list a couple of random facts! It’s important to note that women, while allowed to watch the gladiatorial games (after all, many of the product endorsements that the gladiators did catered specifically to housewives… so not a lot has changed in the past 2000 years), but they were not allowed to bet on them, not even during Saturnalia. Instead, they had their own festival – Bona Dea – where they could bet on various games. Speaking of games, dice were very popular as a means of betting in or around the Colosseum, sometimes even more so than betting on the events happening in the Arena! To some Romans, gambling was merely one of the many attractions that the Colosseum had to offer rather than the main event. Of course, with the prevalence of dice games, many dealers began using loaded dice in order to achieve their desired results and scam poor people out of their money. It’s unknown whether such scams happened during betting on gladiatorial matches or other Colosseum attractions, but I’d be willing to bet they did.
That about sums it up! In conclusion, outside of Rome’s elite who had very little regard for their own laws, the majority weren’t allowed to gamble or bet despite really wanting to (aside from one week a year). Perhaps with a bit of foresight, and some regulation, the Emperor could’ve earned even more profits from his undoubtedly highly expensive “gift” to his people, but alas, with all the things that were similar at the time, an equal number were also quite different.