They say that gambling might just be the world’s oldest time, and years later it’s still equally popular albeit, on the online platform. Internet gambling is essentially illegal, although there are some countries like, Macau where the rules are a bit lax in comparison. Despite the Wire Act (2002) not constraining the internet gambling clearly, the Justice Department claimed that it included all types of wagering.
This led to apocalypse of many internet gambling websites in unison with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA – 2006). Further in 2011, the FBI ceased operations for three of the biggest internet poker sites along with other charges on eleven people that included the website owners. However, despite all the crackdowns and the regulations three states in the Delaware, New Jersey, and Nevada have officially authorized online gambling games in the legal way. So, how did the online casinos or the online gambling concept came into existence?
“Microgaming” was the first to develop fully operating gambling software, which was a software company, based in Isle of Man and was linked to software designed by “Cryptologic” (internet security organization). The online gambling history dates back to 1994 when the Free Trade and Processing Act was passed by Antigua and Barbuda that granted the licenses to be allowed to the companies applying for internet casinos. It was in the same year when safe transactions became applicable and gave birth to the concept of online casinos.
Then came the Kahnawake Gaming Commission in 1996 that controlled the internet gaming activity from the Mohawk region. In an attempt to maintain the licensed online gambling functioning reliable and transparent, they distributed gaming permits to the majority of the internet casinos and poker rooms across the world. Online gambling started gaining popularity in the latter half of the 1990s, and from just 15 websites it grew upto 200 by 1997. They reportedly generated revenues of over $830 million in 1998 alone.
However, the first setback for the internet gambling sites came soon after 1999, when laws were introduced against the trend that prohibited companies to provide any online gambling games to any of the U.S. citizens. But, with the law not really getting materialized eventually, it was a happy scenario for the internet gaming sites. 1999 witnessed the introduction of multiplayer internet wagering that allowed people to gamble, while they could even chat and connect with other online players at the same time.
Internet gambling has grown to be an industry over the years, and is one of the most famous and profitable business around. According to the UK gambling committee, in 2007 the gambling business earned revenue of 84 million pounds that was partially because of the wide variety of gambling games available to serve the interests of different individuals. With advanced internet technologies, online gambling has grown into many different forms. Online casinos, lotteries, sports betting, online poker, mobile gambling, Bingo, advance-deposit gambling, UK national lottery, in-play wagering, and horse racing betting are the different types of online gambling games that are creating rage among gamblers of all age.