ABSTRACT
Around 1845, some 20 casinos were active in the German territories. By 1868 there were 15, all of them located within the borders of the Prussian-led North German Federation (Norddeutscher Bund). As a consequence of legislation in 1868 they were forced to close down no later than 31 December 1872. In the wake of World War I many illegal or semi-legal gambling clubs and casinos sprang into life in Germany, most notably in spas and health-resorts. The years of the Great Depression witnessed a boom of projects for public casinos modelled on earlier examples such as Zoppot in the Free State of Danzig (established in 1919), or Niederbronn-les-Bains in the now French province of Alsace-Lorraine.
