The Color of Money movie rightly quotes, “A dollar won is twice as sweet as a dollar earned.”
Do you know gambling dates back thousands of years? People in those times were involved in card games, dice games, and money games. Slot machines existed in the 1980s in land-based casinos. With the Internet becoming the need of the hour, online casinos started with a humble beginning as other novelty games and soon grew into successful ventures.
Let’s take you through the sensational history of the online casino industry.
Beginning Of Online Casino: The 1990s Time
Online gambling started around 1994. Antigua and Bermuda were the first island nations to pass the Free Trade and Processing Law. They granted licenses to legal businesses applying to open online casino sites. Microgaming, an Isle of Man Software Company, developed the fully-functional gambling software. CryptoLogic secured this gambling software with Microgaming to create safe online casino transactions in 1994. Only virtual cash was allowed for the gameplay.
The Late 1990s Time
The gap of two years saw the establishment of the first-ever real-money online casino, Inter Casino. CryptoLogic was behind this innovative casino. The company defined the rules for online casino payments in 1996. Kahnawake Gaming Commission was established the same year, issuing licenses to online casinos and poker rooms.
Around 15 online casinos developed in 1996 and rose to 200 gambling sites in 1997. A report by Frost & Sullivan stated online casino gambling revenues exceeded $830 million in 1998. The same year saw the establishment of the poker room. In 1999, multiplayer interactive online gambling came into existence. It led to the introduction of MMORPG, now a billion-dollar industry.
Gambling In The 2000s
Well, the 21st century saw the modernization of these titans. Players are lucky to play hi-tech slot machines and poker games. The websites were made mobile responsive. With the increasing number of online casinos, a need arose to develop effective ways to prevent fake casinos from cheating their customers.
In 2000, the Australian Federal Government passed the Interactive Gambling Moratorium Act to check illegal online casinos in Australia. Two strong gambling regulatory bodies, namely Malta Gaming Authority and UK Gambling Commission, came into existence and are still considered the most reputed in the online casino world.
Betfair was established in 2000 that allowed peer-to-peer betting for the first time. The consecutive years saw the number of players rise to 8 million by 2001. Live casinos were a new and thrilling experience in 2002. Players can wager while the sporting event is already taking place. Mobile betting also became popular this year. 2016 witnessed an increase in revenue, reaching $45 billion, which further increased to $56 billion by 2018. The rise of Crypto casinos came into force. Sports and eSports betting became popular during these years.
2022 saw live gambling sessions broadcast by reputed and popular Cryptocurrency-based casino operators like Stake.com.
Future Of Online Casinos
The future of online casinos is bright, with all the market valuations running in billions. The introduction of licensing, RNG, fair play gaming, provable gaming, and responsible gaming has changed the scenario for the better. With 2000+ online casinos, and the rise of AI, AR, and VR, the casinos are becoming immersive.
Get ready to play your favourite casino games on the go! You can access various online games on your laptop or mobile device. Play the game for free or real money by downloading the casino’s mobile app. How simple and intriguing, isn’t it?
With unlimited online casino sites on your platter, you may get confused and overwhelmed in choosing a reliable one.
Don’t worry! Breathe!
Things To Consider When Choosing An Online Casino
- Welcome Bonus: You won’t like paying for your first gaming experience. Well, who doesn’t like the freebies? Check the bonus amount, free spins, and bonus percentage the casino offers, then sign up.
- Safety and Privacy: Sign up at a casino offering SSL encryption and third-factor authentication. Understand their privacy policy too. The privacy policy will ensure that your data is not shared with the third-parties.
- Variety of Games: Does your selected casino have the above two key pointers? If yes, it is a high-quality casino. Check out the themes of the games they offer. You must compare high-end slot games, eSports, Sports betting, live casino games, etc., with the selected casino. Check if you can play on your mobile devices.
- Customer Support: Indulging in perfect gaming is incomplete without proper customer support via a 24x7 live chat to sort out your queries.
- Banking Options: Most casinos offer e-wallets, debit/credit cards, bank transfers, cryptocurrency, etc. Do check which deposit and withdrawal method suits you. See if they offer your currency option too.
Online Casinos – A Whole New World
Online casinos have come a long way since their invention in the digital space. Compare the best Indian online casinos at Gambling.in for your next gameplay to experience the adrenaline rush!
