A History of Online Casinos
Online casino gaming has not been around as long as Vegas. And there is no chance that The Rat Pack would even be as big as they are had the online casino been around in the 1950s. The first online casino actually began operating in 1996, when the online casino and online gambling was just starting to become a popular trend. Before that, the closest thing to an online casino was the in the Las Vegas airport where passengers could spend hours in during layovers playing the slot machines.
Everything actually all started back in 1994 in Antigua and Barbuda.At this time, legislation had just been passed granting authority to issue gambling licenses. Many online casinos still need this jurisdiction to gain gambling licenses, so this event alone was a significant first step in the online casino business. And, no American states will issue these licenses, so every online casino site must utilize these two countries. Big events followed this signing, one being the inauguration of Microgaming, the leading online casino software both then and now.
In 1996, when the first online casino broke ground (or a URL), the bets were rolling. Security issues always go hand in hand when money and the internet are involved. And many issues needed to be dealt with in order for online casinos to remain successful. To this day, one of the leading online security soft wares in the online casino businesses is CryptoLogic. Although it was introduced in 1995, it took some time before it began to improve the online casino.
At the onset of both CryptoLogic and Microgaming, there were some obstacles and both were hard-pressed to make developments, which eventually resulted to InterCasino. This new system paved the way for customers to play poker online, or blackjack online. However, like all good things, it almost did not materialize because of many legal impediments.
In fact, there were many obstacles that blocked the path to the development of the online casino industry. Legality issues were top priorities of judicial and legislative battles. US senator Jon Kyl from Arizona tried to block efforts of citizens to gamble in online casinos. He tried and tried to stop the gaming. When one of his anti-online casino bills was defeated, he would initiate another and gets as many people to support his cause.
As it is, most anti-gambling bills that intended to block online casinos did not proceed. As a result, some senators who supported the cause will make sure it is difficult to get to a casino online. Furthermore, should someone get to a casino online, they make it hard to make deposits into the casino by going after credit card providers and wire services.
This does not stop the online casino industry. Hundreds of online casinos continue to operate today. Different poker rooms and sports books still seem to be opening everywhere, giving online gamblers a variety of options when it comes to spending money. There will always be legal issues with online casino, but the industry has become so big and influential that opposition has little meaning.
