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.