Gambling has a long and ancient history. People have been gambling for many, many years. In fact, evidence has been found that individuals participated in these types of activities back in 2300 B.C. in China. Dice were found in Egypt that where believed to have been crafted prior to 1500 B.C. It is believed that persons also gambled in ancient Rome, Greece and even India.
In some parts of the world, in the Middle Ages, gambling became an outlawed activity of soldiers because it had become such a big part of life that it was becoming a distraction. Soldiers were not able to adequately perform their duties.
It is believed in some circles that playing cards originated with the Chinese, spread to the Mamelukes and then next, to the Mediterranean countries. It was here that cards became decorated with Royals. The French made further changes, most notably adding a Queen to the deck and the “French pack” became the prototype for the standard 52 card deck that is utilized today.
The history of gambling in the United States covers a much shorter time period. In the early 1930s, NevadaNew Jersey decides to make casino gambling legal in their state. They are the second state to do so. In 1978, casinos were opened in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In 1989, The Mirage Hotel and Casino Resort comes to Las Vegas. This was the beginning of Las Vegas’ central role in casino gambling destinations. was the first to legalize gambling in casinos. Forty years later, in 1973, Harrah’s Entertainment was traded on the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange). Three years later, in 1976.
The history of gambling is a very long one. It is believed that the ancients participated in various forms of gambling including dice and playing cards. Gambling continues today all over the world and its reach has been able to grow even further with the advent of online gambling. It appears that is well ingrained in the human experience to gamble and so the likelihood that there will be both online and off-line places to gamble (whether legal or not) is pretty high.
The History of Online Gambling
Online In the mid-1990s the internet went “mainstream.” Millions of people quickly discovered that it was possible to stay connected with people in other parts of the country, absolutely free. This generated a ton of excitement and interest. Individuals began spending lots of time online, checking out what this new “information highway” had to offer. Internet shopping and online gambling would begin to garner a lot of attention. In this article, we will provide a brief history of online gambling.
In 1994, Antigua and Barbuda began issuing licenses to companies who wished to offer online casino games. The country’s Free Trade and Processing Act, gave them the power to do so. Also in 1994, Microgaming was established. This company created software for casinos. Microgaming continues to be a major player in the industry.
In 1995 and 1996, the first two online gambling websites opened their cyber doors. They were InterCasino and The Gaming Club (Microgaming). The online gambling industry was a lucrative one, albeit there were some problems. Most problems were centered around connectivity issues. Bandwith was much slower than it is today, networks would come and go, servers would crash, etc. However, even with all of these issues, the industry managed to pull in nearly one billion dollars in 1998 alone.
Between 1995 and 2007, companies in the online gambling industry begin to differentiate themselves based on the games they offered. For example, horse betting websites started to pop up, as did poker rooms and sports gaming. This allowed online companies to hone in on a particular audience and offer them services and/or options specific to their needs and wants.
The first sports booking website was Intertops. It was founded in 1996. Today, they are still in business, making available thousands of daily bets for their members.
Planet Poker was amongst the first online poker rooms. They began offering multi-player games in the late 1990s. Party Poker, Paradise Poker and Poker Stars entered the market shortly thereafter.
The online gambling industry continues to evolve. Along the way, there have been major changes (online gambling became mostly illegal in the U.S.). The software has improved and the payouts are getting bigger. Where it goes from here, everyone will have to wait and see.