The story behind the first online casino
The history of gambling is connected to the development of online casinos. It starts from the first brick-and-mortar casino in Italy to today's online casino.
The earliest evidence of gambling dates back to Ancient China. The Chinese ‘Book of Songs’ references “the drawing of wood” which is the tiles that formed part of a lottery game. There is also evidence that keno slips were used around 200BC for a state lottery to fund some state infrastructures. According to scholars, the first card playing game existed in China in the 9 century.
Baccarat is one of the most popular gambling games in online casinos. It was created in Italy and France in the 1400s. The most recognized version came from Cuba via Britain to the US and is still played in casinos globally.
The first online casino in Paris was founded in 2000. It took five decades for the European version of roulette to be developed. The original version was used in Monte Carlo casinos in the 19th century.
The first legal gambling establishment was opened in Venice in 1638. The name of the casino was “Il Ridotto”. It was of great benefit to the state because of high taxes imposed on the establishment. However, the church had a negative attitude towards gambling and the first official casino, Il Ridottio, was closed.
Microgaming created the first online casino in 1994. In 1995, CryptoLogic created InterCasino, the world's first real-money online gambling game. Many companies followed Microgaming's example and launched their own online casinos. The industry has become more competitive as the technology has improved. Poker players prefer live dealer games. The market for live dealers is growing. Online casinos have developed promotional features to set themselves apart from the crowd. They have also developed better graphics and visuals.