Belarus has a long history of gambling, dating back to when the country was still called the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic. Gambling was rampant during this era. By 1989 the country began to establish private casinos, which were pretty well-liked until 2005 when Lukashenko, the country's president, declared gambling illegal.
In 2006, Belarus legalized and regulated online gambling but still frowned upon brick-and-mortar casinos and gambling houses. The ban was lifted in 2010. What followed was that the country experienced a boom in gambling. This explosion would culminate in Belarus being crowned as the country with the largest number of gambling houses per capita than anywhere else in the world. Belarus today is littered with casinos, both online and brick-and-mortar.
One thing to remember about gambling in ancient Belarus is the style that was used. The country has a solid history of card games. Belarusians were fond of cards long before playing dice games and other such casino favorites. Also, the country is no stranger to poker, having developed the Belarusian national Poker Tournaments in the early 90s. It was the first European nation to form an official national poker tournament.