It’s hard to imagine life before the internet. There’s a whole generation who have never known life before the magical world wide web. It has opened up many doors to a new world, not only for people but also for companies. The opportunity for growth and to connect with people for companies has made a massive difference.
The internet is about two decades old and the gambling industry made sure to join in on this new exciting ride as early as possible. There are almost gambling websites for every part of the world that range from online casinos to sportsbooks. These websites can be used on many different platforms too such as your mobile phone, tablet or laptop.
You would think that gambling only started in the 19th century but you couldn’t be more than wrong as gambling has been enjoyed since the Roman Empire and most importantly the Wild West, where gambling started doing its growth. During the Wild West, the Cowboys enjoyed playing blackjack, poker, and roulette. From the Wild West, the gambling grows into American casinos which have since then flourished all across the world.
You would’ve thought that the Americans were first to beat the world with opening up a casino but it was actually the Ridotto in Venice, Italy, a meeting point that at the time was the equivalent to a casino in 1638. Even in the 16th century, The Great Council of Venice practiced responsible gambling by having controlled gambling during the carnival season.
You might now be wondering, when did the online gambling business start? In 1990 the internet becomes recognizable but it didn’t get released to the world until the 6th of August 1991. This new virtual world opened up many new platforms such as the first gambling site which was a sports betting site, Intertops, that opened up its online gambling business in 1996. One of the companies to reap off of the virtual worlds benefits is the famous software developer Microgaming who helped to launch one of the first ever online casinos called Cryptologic. During this time Antigua and Barbuda passed the Free Trade and Processing Act and became the first offshore licensing to allow online gambling companies to open up their offices there when they have acquired a license.
Back in the 1990’s gambling was not as regulated as it is today. There are several organizations to make sure the online casino companies are kept up to standard. Only a few online casinos have survived today’s regulations, the oldest ones that still exist today are from around 1996 so there are not many lefts. Back in the day, it was easier for online gambling companies to get around things but today the regulators have very strong laws to protect the players and any sort of gambling addiction. This is very important for online casinos to strictly follow.
Today’s modernized online casinos have evolved and utilized the technology through brilliant online optimization. Through having strong website optimization it allows us to browse the website on our mobile phones without having to download the app or running into any problem on the website itself. But the choice is there if you would like to download the app for most online casinos and the apps work as swiftly as their browsers.
It’s very impressive how quickly the online world wide web has grown the last 29 years and the companies are getting more and more competitive by the minute through today’s fast-growing technology. Since technology is growing rapidly so are the people’s demands hence why the software developers keep releasing bigger and better games to satisfy the players’ needs. Graphics, features, bonuses and pay lines have all improved and not to mention the choice of themes on the slots games are endless!
You would think that this was enough for the casino players but no, the gaming providers have also developed progressive jackpots, multiplayer tournaments, live casinos, and VIP loyalty schemes so you’ll never be bored.
Your mobile phone or tablet allows you to play on the go whenever or wherever you are. From the comfort of your own bed to lunchtime with your friends, to waiting in the airport lounge when traveling to another destination. Perhaps you are the lucky winner to take home that jackpot before boarding that airplane….
For the more competitive players, the tournaments are perfect as it gives you a chance to show who is king or queen over the slots reels or poker table. The poker tournaments online tend to be bigger than the slots tournaments. They allow the players to enter the World Series of Poker tournaments. These online tournaments offer huge wins as well as exclusive gifts such as a luxury holiday abroad, all paid for plus money to spend on your trip.
Even though the online casinos generate billions of dollars each year there are still a few countries that are against it because of close ties with the land-based casino legislators. The US are still today trying to legalize online gambling.
In Australia, pokies are the most popular way of having fun. Casinos seem to be everywhere in Australia, you can’t even walk to the next pub or club without running into a slots machine. Although poker is more popular in nightclubs it seems that the pokies can never be ignored.
Slots Machines
The first machine was developed in the 19th century by Charles Fey in San Francisco. He developed the three-reel poker machine that had only a few symbols. The most well-known symbol is the Liberty Bell symbol which remains a classic in the casino world. Back in the day, the jackpots were not as big as today. The jackpot wins that are offered today are massive and life-changing. The first poker machine by Charles Fey only had a top prize of AU$0.50. Even though the top prize was lower than perhaps expected back in the 19th century, the machine became a huge hit and spread through the states.
Little did Charles Fey know that the five-reel poker machine was being developed. The new improved machine was developed by Sittman and Pitt in 1891 and had the famous images of ten cards from a standard deck. These machines proved to be popular in bars where the players could decide which prizes they would get for their different type of results. The objective for the players was to get a winning poker hand. For some strange reason, at the time, the machines offered prizes, instead of money, and this became surprisingly more popular.
The first electronic pokies machines were released in the ’60s by Bally aka. “Money Honey”. This was a huge improvement in the gambling world as players could go and play without having anyone attend to them. The electronic pokies machines proved to be more popular than thought and took over the casino world in a matter of years. These machines offered small bets and large prizes and the players were more than chuffed.
In 1976 the video pokies were invented. These machines relied on a graphical interface that would show symbols on the screen. Because of video pokies, the development for more features began such as more symbols, pay lines and more choice and control over the odds. You might be wondering when the bonus rounds appeared. The exciting bonus rounds appeared in the ’90s and came with free spins, bonus games and other exciting features for the players.
The first bonus feature “Three Bags Full” was developed in Australia in 1994 which allowed the players to get more complex winning combinations on their reels. Shortly after these progressive jackpots were released along with even bigger winning amounts.
Let’s not forget the most important gambling birth of all, the online casino world. The ’90s gave the gamblers so much and the world wide web was ready to give the players and casino companies even bigger and better opportunities.
These new animations and 3D graphics gave players more fun choices that would tickle each personalities fancy. The progressive jackpots started becoming bigger than ever as people could bet from the comfort of their own home. This increased the progressive jackpot massively in a short amount of time.
In Australia, slots are more popular than any other country. Loss limits are about to be forced on the slots machines as currently, the regulations in Australia are very low. This is to stop any current or future addictive behavior and help players to avoid big losses.
Gambling is a very “hot” topic to discuss as the online world has increased the amount of addictive gambling behavior due to how easily accessible the online casinos are compared to before when you had to physically go to a casino. Now you can simply log onto your computer or wack open your mobile phone and it’s there available for you to play on the browser. This is why gambling regulations are becoming stricter to help players with addictive behavior. Most online casino companies follow these rules very carefully as they can get hit with a very big fine or in worst case scenario lose their license if they abuse the regulations.
Back in the early days, it was actually more women than men that were attracted to the slots machines. Men seemed to gamble in other ways like horses back in the 19th century. Nowadays, it’s the men that dominate the online casinos. That being said there are more women than you think that gamble online. It seems to be a less competitive nature when women gamble than men. An interesting study has shown that men tend to play slots that are more “female” or have a so-called “girly” theme as they think the slots will be “easier” to play. This would be far from the truth and it’s funny how men perceive feminine looking slots as a more “easier” game.
Now gambling has waved goodbye to inconvenience and embraced the convenient way of playing online, this is why the online casino businesses keep growing and growing more than ever.
As scary as legislators might seem, they are there to protect players and companies so the fun can continue to grow in a safe and secure manner. Imagine you’re enjoying yourself and betting large amounts to finding that you can’t properly withdraw your winnings? This is something that a player should never have to worry about. By having rules and following the terms and conditions problems like this can be avoided. Gambling is supposed to be fun and down to luck. It should never be a worry or a need to “have to play”. If you feel like it’s bringing you more anxiety rather than fun and relaxation, than you may have a gambling problem. If you are spending more than you can afford than you should definitely look into if you have possibly developed a gambling addiction. Luckily most casino companies will happily help you and even stop you before it gets to the point of being too serious and damaging and this is through strict regulations.
With more than 50% of casino games being slots machines, it was only a matter of time for the online slots world to take over too. As you can imagine, online slots dominate the casinos on the internet. Funnily enough, talking about domination, you’d think Las Vegas dominates in the world of gambling but you are wrong there. It’s actually Macau that dominates. The amount better in Las Vegas in a week, Macau takes home each and every day. Meanwhile, the biggest win came from Las Vegas, $39.71 million, the online world still dominates in more recurrent wins.
May the next big win be with you.