Different ways to tempt fate have been present throughout the history of mankind, since ancient times. Games of chance such as cards or dice are a big part of human culture around the world; and as it was to be imagined, with the birth of technology, interesting changes have arisen in this field.
The irruption of the Internet, together with new technologies, enabled the possibility of playing games of chance (mostly known as casino games) online. This means that millions of players in the world can access and enjoy online games such as slots, roulette, poker or blackjack, among others, without having to leave the comfort of their homes.
Nowadays, online casinos have become one of the most popular entertainment activities. The online gambling industry has grown immensely since its beginnings and continues to do so. The growth is continuous in size, variation and popularity. However, the origin of online casinos is much more recent than most people realize.
The beginning of gambling houses
According to research, the origin of gambling was among the Chinese and Egyptian civilizations centuries ago. However, it was only in 1638 (in Venice, Italy) that the first casino in the history of our society was inaugurated; and the most interesting thing is that today, after many centuries, that casino is still in operation.
Since then, several buildings have been built all over Europe to provide recreational spaces. They then spread to other parts of the world, in fact, many American cities embraced this idea, giving rise to what would later become known as the gambling city of Las Vegas. This is how, little by little, the world began to join the world of gambling and betting.
The debut of online casinos
In 1994, one of the countries of the Caribbean Sea Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, signed the Free Trade Agreement and the Processing Zone Act, which enabled it to grant licenses to the organizations that intended to open online casinos, becoming the first jurisdiction in the world to regulate online gambling. This is how the first developers emerged.
Also in that year, the first online casino software developed by Microgaming was introduced; and the following year, the software application service provider, Cryptologic, developed an online financial transaction system so that players could make money movements quickly and securely. Thus, the necessary conditions were created for the birth of what was considered the first online casino with real money in history, InterCasino.
Since then, the online gambling industry has grown exponentially. In a short time, online gambling platforms became very popular among gamblers around the world, by offering a new way to enjoy gambling. Nowadays, online casinos offer a huge amount of games and a friendly and easy-to-navigate interface, unlike the first sites that, logically, offered few games and much simpler and rudimentary interfaces. Due to the spread of the Internet and technological innovation, the online gambling industry has become a very competitive field. As there are now thousands of operators in the market, the great competition generated has led to a rapid increase in the quality of the games and software. Thus, online casinos became more and more attractive, fun and easy to use. Providing a unique and authentic gaming experience has been one of the main objectives that developers have been trying to achieve ever since.
The evolution of online casinos
Technological progress allowed developers to concentrate on creating new experiences, giving way to the creation of new and completely original gambling games, with high quality graphics and sound and perfect gameplay. As online casinos continued to evolve, players began to hunger for different experiences.
A large portion of gamblers still preferred the old ways of playing and betting, interacting face-to-face with a dealer they could talk to. Starting in 2000, with the advent of DSL (which was later replaced by fiber optics and other faster wireless technologies) the speed of the Internet increased dramatically. Live video streaming over the internet became possible, which enabled certain brilliant minds to devise live dealer online casino games.
Live casino games are streamed via the internet directly in real time from a studio or a real casino. Players can log in from home and play their favorite game with a real person shuffling their cards, rolling the dice, taking their bets and guiding the game; they can communicate with each other at all times throughout the game.
Live online casinos merge the best features of online casinos with those of traditional casinos. This was a major breakthrough in the online gambling industry, very positive and expected by gamblers around the world, since it allows them to play live, with a real person (dealer) dealing and narrating the game in real time.
At the beginning, the offer of this type of games was few and rather rudimentary, but today it has evolved gratifyingly. Most casinos offer a wide variety of live games, with the best possible technology and graphics.
Clearly online casinos will continue to evolve constantly and will always adapt to the needs of players around the world. We can´t wait to see what the future holds for this exciting industry!
