Online Casino History – Where it all began

Online casinos origin can be traced back to the 1970's when the early boom of computer software started to generate software for various industries. The gaming industry started to enjoy specific gaming software that was developed for land-based casinos and was first visible in computerized Slots Machines that has slowly started to replace the electronic and mechanical Slots that where available up until that point in all land-based casinos.

Software that developed in the 1970's was Blackjack Strategy software which followed from Edward O. Thorp, a mathematician, primitive digital computer which analyzed the typical blackjack hand distributions.
For 20 years variously invented gaming related software has little applications outside of land-based casinos and amusement for industry gaming enthusiasts.  Then in the early 1990's the explosion of the Internet has changed things and allowed a place to house and share gaming software.

From this point in time it was unavoidable that this lucrative industry will find its way to new and its existing consumers via the internet.   The first company to establish an online casino was Microgaming™ that in 1994 has developed the first online casino application, although their real success came about in 2002 with the development of their Viper software.
Since then software providers sprung around like mushrooms after the rain and today there are over 160 such companies, with around 10 of them considered reliable market leaders, with the top 4 being  Playtech, Microgaming, Cryptologic, Party gaming, 888, BossMedia, etc. 

With the emergence of the software providers and need for regulation for the purpose of fair-play and software reliability became necessary. In 1994 the Island state of Antigua & Barbuda passed a law that allowed it to grant online gambling  licenses to various providers;  "The Free Trade & Processing Zone Act" which constituted the 'Directorate of Offshore Gaming' and is still today  a reputable and respected regulatory authority for the online gaming industry.

The only thing that was missing now was a payment method that will enable players to use the regulated software with ease while depositing money and withdrawing their winnings.

The first solution was offered by Cryptologic which specialized in online security software which was established in 1995 and began developing "eCASH"  application for online payments in the gaming industry.  Cryptologic was also the first company that presented the first complete online gaming application  that was regulated and offered an online casino with depositing and withdrawing options. Their InterCasino launched in 1996 has revolutionized the market and has set the wheels in motion to the development and growth in this market.