The History of Craps: From Medieval Battlefields to the Casino Floor

The loudest, most energetic table in any casino has roots stretching back to the Crusades.

Hazard: The Medieval Ancestor

Craps traces its lineage to a medieval English dice game called “Hazard,” which some historians believe was brought back to Europe by knights returning from the Crusades in the 12th and 13th centuries. Hazard involved complex betting rules based on a “main” number and was mentioned even in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.

A French Detour

Hazard eventually made its way to France, where it was simplified and renamed “Crapaud,” the French word for “toad” — supposedly because street players would crouch low to the ground while playing, resembling the posture of a toad. French colonists later carried this simplified version to the Americas.

New Orleans and the Birth of American Craps

The game took firm root in New Orleans in the early 19th century, brought over by a wealthy Louisiana landowner named Bernard Xavier Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville. Local players simplified “Crapaud” further into what became known simply as “craps,” stripping away much of Hazard’s complexity while keeping its dice-rolling core.

The Standardized Layout

In the early 20th century, a dice-table equipment maker named John H. Winn introduced a standardized betting layout that allowed players to bet both for and against the shooter, addressing widespread cheating concerns and making the game fairer. This layout, known as the “Don’t Pass” innovation, remains the foundation of every modern craps table.

A Social Game at Heart

Unlike most casino games, craps is inherently communal — an entire crowd of players bets on the outcome of a single shooter’s roll, creating the loud cheering and camaraderie the game is famous for. This social energy has helped craps remain a casino floor staple for more than a century, even as newer games have come and gone.