Gambling has been a human pastime since time immemorial. Eighteenth-century Spaniards were no exception, as they were passionate about dice and, when dice were unavailable, about knucklebones and, above all, playing cards.

Despite royal decrees and edicts prohibiting it, card games continued to be played, and since they could not be eradicated, the Crown decided to control them by creating a state monopoly (or monopoly) granted to a private individual who would control the production and sale of playing cards, preventing counterfeiting and illegal gambling, as well as providing revenue for the State.

José de Gálvez, Minister of the Indies, promoted the establishment of a Royal Playing Card Factory in his hometown of Macharaviaya in Málaga, where the Gálvez family was prominent. From 1776 to 1791, the Royal Factory enjoyed a monopoly on the manufacture of playing cards for sale in the Indies. The Macharaviaya playing cards arrived in New Spain and were sold while Bernardo de Gálvez, a staunch supporter of the insurgency in the North American English colonies, was governor of Louisiana and later viceroy of New Spain.