Gambling is a deep rooted Cuban tradition. There were a lot of Casinos and gambling places in Cuba before the revolution. Castro eliminate all of them, and made illegal all types of Casinos and gambling, as well as the lottery. Before 1959 you could bet on cockfighting, jai alai, horse racing or frequent casinos run by the American mafia and gangsters like the Jewish mobster Myer Lansky. For thirty years the mob had a presence in prerevolutionary Cuba.

Presently, there is no form of legalized gambling or betting as existed in the pre-Castro days. There is, however, a form of underground lottery. Cuba’s illegal lottery is called la bolita. Everyday Cubans place their bets clandestinely with a listero or type of bookie. Since there is no longer an official Cuban lottery, winning numbers come from abroad. The last two digits of the five-digit Venezuelan lottery become the wining numbers in Cuba. We have also heard rumors that there is a another form of illegal gambling at a private club near the Hemingway Marina. However, at present we can’t substantiate the information.