How did the online casino phenomenon came to be? Learn more about the history of online casinos, when they appeared, and how they shook up the gambling industry.
The online gambling industry is worth dozens of billions of Euros annually. It’s popular everywhere around the world, and Europe is not immune to the charms of online gambling. Ever wondered how it all began? While online casinos first appeared in the early 2000s, their roots to even deeper.
There’s a bit of discrepancy about the precise year when the first casino appear. But, everyone agrees it happened in the mid-1990s, and it all took off from there. We have thousands of great online casinos nowadays, but if it wasn’t for the Free Trade and Processing Act in Antigua and Barbuda, we wouldn’t have them today.
Most experts believe that he first casino appeared in either 1994 or 1996. Officially, the first online casino arrived in 1996, but in 194, a pioneering project named InterCasino laid down the foundation. One thing is clear – it was because of the so-called Free Trade and Processing Act issued by the government of Antigua and Barbuda.
It was first issued in 1994, opening up a pathway to a multi-billion-dollar industry in the coming decades. The tiny Caribbean country doesn’t seem that important apart from being a leisure heaven, but it played an instrumental role when it comes to online gambling.
It was the first country to issue licenses to companies who wanted to start their online casinos. The same year it important another thing. Far away in another small country—the Isle of Man—the first online gambling studio was born. It was known as Microgaming then, and grew into a global corporation we now know of as Games Global.
Microgaming didn’t have a bid budget at the time, but it was poised to create the first-ever functional online casino. The platform was barebones, but revolutionized gambling, showing the world that it can operate online as well. In that way, Microgaming paved the way for even more game studios who created not just games, but revolutionary platforms for online gambling and betting.
Year by year, interest in it grew. Over a year after Microgaming’s launch, a company named Cryptologic found a new way to make online payments safer than ever. Together with Microgaming, it became a pioneer in online gambling, trailblazing the way for new online casinos.
In 1996, the world saw the launch of the first online casino—The Gaming Club—, followed by the innovative ParadisePoker in 1998. The industry experienced a boom in the 2000s, with online casinos enjoying amazing transformation that saw them reach heights higher than Las Vegas.
It didn’t take long for players to catch up with them. Online Casinos grew ever more exciting and rewarding, with more games than ever, safe payments, and new features. Mobile gambling was the next step in the evolution of online casinos, and increasing legalization around the world sees it evolve in exciting new directions.
One thing’s for sure – the online gambling industry took its time to grow, but is now a phenomenon no one can knock off the books.
The first-ever online casino was launched in 1994 and named InterCasino. It was more of a prototype that paved the way for more ambitious projects including The Gaming Club’s launch in 1996.
Yes, they do. While there are casino sites without a license, those are scams you need to stay away from. If you want to have ap roper online gambling experience, you need to join a licensed casino.
The live casino concept started sometime around the mid 1990s. It wasn’t until the 2010s before the first live casino games were released to the public.
History has saw many big winners in online casinos, most notably on progressive jackpots. One of the biggest ones came on Games Global’s Mega Moolah, when a UK soldier won over 12 million GBP on a tiny bet.
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