History of Online Gambling Part One: The Online Casinos

GamingZion reveals the exciting history of the appearance and development of online casinos.

The emergence of the “World Wide Web era“ has undoubtedly shaped our everyday life in a considerable fashion. It is almost impossible to imagine a day without our contacts on the social networks, or without accsess to our e-bank accounts or the online editions to our favorite newspapers. Despite this significant effect that internet has on our common way of life it has also shaped the development of many industries.

• The early developments of online gambling
• The appearance of online casino
• Live casinos and their impact

Gambling can definitely be accounted in this category. Although with modest beginnings the gambling industry is now one of the most profitable businesses around the globe earning billions of dollars annually. The online gambling sites in the US, Europe, or the rest of the world are accessible for everyone that has a connection to the World Wide Web. Black Jack, Poker or sport betting: it is all about the preference of players.

GamingZion starts a series of articles investigating the history of online casinos, online sport betting and online poker. In this article we look at the exciting history of online casinos.

How did the story of online gambling begin?

Most of the sources that are trying to trace the beginnings of online gambling associate the same with the Free Trade & Processing act in Antigua and Barbuda from 1994. This act allowed companies to be established as providers of online gambling services and operate on the online gambling market. The explosion that followed this legislative act is what we now commonly call “online gambling industry“.

Today there are thousands of websites worldwide that provide gambling services. Among them only some has gained a status of cult gambling sites according to their impact on the development of the industry in the past. Sites like PokerStars, Bodog, Full Tilt Poker, 888 can definitely be accounted as members of this prestigious group.

But an online gambling site cannot function if there were no technology providers for the services that are offered. This companies provide softwares to the operators and are responsible for the new trends in online gambling. Some of the most influential tech companies in the field include: Bally Gaming, Playtech, Real Time Gaming, Microgaming, GigaMedia etc.

What makes online gambling one of the fastest growing industries in the world is exactly this link between gambling, IT and technology. The innovative view on gambling that the web site operators have combined with the high tech gaming software developments guarantee that the expansion of the industry we now witness is just the begining.

The history of online casinos

The beginnings of online gambling are mainly associated with the rise of online casinos. The company providing the first real money online casino is usually claimed to be Microgaming. Based in Isle of Man, Microgaming produces today a wide variety of gambling softwares including more than 700 unique casino games, with over 1200 variants of them.

Another company that also claims to be one of the founders of online casino gambling in the world is Cryptologic. Their InterCasino site is still functioning, being one of the most popular online casinos in the UK. CryptoLogic was founded by brothers Andrew and Mark Rivkin in 1995 in Dublin. In April 2012, it was sold to Amaya Gaming Group for USD 35.8 million. Today it is part of WagerLogic, which acquired it from Amaya for USD 70 million, together with its online gambling sites such as InterCasino, InterPoker, and InterBingo.

However the early versions of the online casinos were far from today’s most popular and sofisticated ones. The softwares that were used and the variety of games that could be played were far beyond the level of today’s online casinos. But as soon as the competitivness between companies increased, this problem started to disappear. Every gambling provider on the market was trying to go above its competitors not only by acquiring hi-tech softwares but also by promoting gabling features that in the end brought online casinos to the level we now today.

Big bonuses for new customers, progressive jackpots, themed slots, multiplayer games were only some of the innovations that contributed the development of online casinos. However a milestone in the online casino history was the rise of live casinos. Their appearance on the market convinced even the most skeptical opponents of the advantages of online gambling. Live casinos allow to watch live streams of croupiers and dealers which for many of players is a strong guarantee that they are not being manipulated.

In recent years mobile casinos are becoming one the most popular modifications of online casino. Players can now engage with their favorite casino games from their mobile devices or tablets. This option that is now proving to be one of the most convenient and easiest way for online casino players all over the globe.