People is giving analysis of History of gambling without having a direct evidence of that, so with what I understand and what I observe from the history and the Point people make concerning gambling history none of them is understandable and the clear to us because one of them have a clear evidence that prove that gambling started from one particular area so before we can be convinced about this we have to see direct evidence that shows a picture or link of where gambling. so I don't have to believe anybody until I see proof
As far as I know, gambling may have been active way back the date the excavated evidence was created. People won't have any knowledge to represent things unless it is already available in society. Like for example, no one can paint a picture of an animal if it isn't already existing and I believe the same thing with gambling evidence.
There's an evidence for this, as far as I know there's a gambling verse available in the Bible and that is already a good proof that even before, gambling exist in many ways. We might not be sure about it, but at least it is written in our history and that is something to look for. This is also why gambling still exist right now because its already part of human nature and I'm confident that even in the next 100 years, gambling will stay but it will be on a different scenario as well.
Both of your suggestion is very acknowledging because when you look at the history of gambling it will make you to take far beyond human imagination and the beyond human thinking because when gambling started nobody knows about it and that is not fit to be proof that this is the origin of gambling but from the ancient time these people do exchange things and the from the process of exchanging things sometimes it will fall into gambling whereby if you don't meet up to a change with someone then you can go at it so gambling don't have beginning and it don't have an end