The Earl of Sandwich lived between 1718 to 1792. The British have always been avid gambler. It fits right in with their idea of sports and sportsmanship - basically a British philosophy.
But the Earl of Sandwich overdid it even by lofty British standards. During his betting days, taking meals was considered by him a highly unwelcome interruption. So he went ahead and invented a kind of meal not requiring him to exchange the betting table for the dinning table: the sandwich.