Gambling Articles

History of online gambling

The first online casino became active in 1996. But the history of online gambling actually can be traced back to 1994. That was the year the governing body of Antigua Barbuda passed “The Free Trade and Processing Zone Act” that allowed licenses to be granted to online operations that wanted to open casinos on the internet.

The same year, Microgaming (MG) came into existence. They are one of the most popular software developers for online casinos to this day, with their Viper software being sough after by many online gamblers for its innovation and graphics. Hot on their heels was CryptoLogic, who strived for unsurpassed security in their software products.

Two years later, the hard work of companies like MG and CL come to fruition- Inter Casino opened its virtual doors in October of 1996 to much fanfare and distrust over concerns of safety and honesty. Over the next two years, more casinos sprouted up, as well as better software programs and another country offering licenses (Antigua). Migrogaming also introduces the first-ever progressive jackpot, called Cash Splash.

The same year, the United States Congress tried to crack down on the burgeoning popularity of online casinos by introducing a bill that would prohibit all citizens of the US and its territories from participating in online gambling activities. After much debate, the bill fails. The bitter fight drums up even more publicity for online casinos, and the number of new accounts soars, with business reaching nearly $1 billion in only its second year of existence.

A year later, the same senator (John Kyl, R-Ariz.) tries to pass a different version of the same bill, which would also fail to get enough votes to bring the act into law. The amount of online casinos topped the 700-mark including the first Australian casinos, Lasseters. To this day, Lasseters remains the only Aussie casino, as the government passed a law just months after they opened banning any further online casinos from starting up.

Also in 1999, Microgaming (MG) makes a deal with PriceWaterhouseCoopers to do online audits and reports on payout percentages. This represents the first of what would be many deals between PWC (and other accounting firms) and online casinos. This furthers the perception of safety and security amongst potential consumers and helps the online casino boom continue.

The new millennium began a new era for online casinos. In 2000, more progressive jackpots were finally introduced, and Gibraltar and the Isle of Man become the newest jurisdictions to offer casino licenses. Cryptologic also becomes the first online casino-based company to be offered on the stock market.

In 2001, the industry showed no signs of stopping, with polls showing that over 8 million customers had at least tried online gambling, and some of the better internet casinos averaging over 500,000 accounts.

2002 and 2003 represented a time when even more challenges were made to the online casino industry. Laws restricting or making it harder to gamble online were passed in Congress, although they were not far-reaching enough to completely ban online wagering.

Since these bills have taken effect, the online gambling continues to grow- estimated at over 49 billion dollars! This is due in large part to more innovations in the software, chat capabilities, live dealers, better promotions and customer service and other reasons. As the industry grows so does the legal challenges to it. But with such great popularity (especially poker rooms lately), it is hard to believe that any of these laws will be able to outlaw online wagering completely.