A Brief History of Online Gambling
The first online gambling websites were born in the middle of the 1990’s and there is some speculation as to which online casino was the first one to hit the internet. Although this is speculative and subject to debate, the consensus by many experts in the industry is that InterCasino was the first one and was established in 1996. However, other research has revealed that Microgaming’s website, The Gaming Club, was actually established in December of 1995 prior to the birth of InterCasino.
You cannot discuss the topic of online gambling without discussing online poker rooms and also online sportsbooks. The first online poker room on record was Planet Poker which began operations on 1st January, 1998. Although the site is still operating today, you can only play games for free as they ceased their real money gambling as of March in 2007. Despite the fact that they were the very first online poker room, they never really cornered enough of the online poker market to remain profitable.
The internet’s first sportsbook, opening their virtual operations for those who like to wager on sporting events, was Intertops. They were established in 1996, but were originally founded 13 years earlier on the island of Antigua in St. John’s. They are still operating today and have over 4,000 daily customers with a satisfied following in roughly 180 countries worldwide. Sportsbook betting online continues to play a significant role in the online gambling industry today and continues to grow in popularity.