The market for online casinos is something that has completely exploded in recent years. Nowadays, the industry consists of an extremely large number of casinos at the same time as new ones appear at a furious pace. In this article, we will take a closer look at this billion-dollar industry. We will explain what an online casino is for. We will take a look at how it all started and how the industry has developed over the years. Finally, we will also examine the pros and cons that are related to online casinos.
What is an online casino?
An online casino can in many ways be described as a mixture between a gaming site and a traditional casino in electronic format. It is more specifically a site where you can engage in different types of casino games on your computer, mobile or tablet, and of course to win some money. You can either engage in games where a random number generator decides whether you succeed in winning or not, or you can visit the online casino's live casino section where you can challenge real opponents in a variety of card and table games. Examples of the types of games that use random number generators are slot games and video poker.
How did the phenomenon of online casinos start?
The world's first online casino made its debut on the market in 1996. Its name was Intercasino, and behind it stood a company called Cryptologic. Cryptologic managed to create the first program ever that managed to make financial transactions over the internet. Of course, it was absolutely necessary to be able to run a successful online casino business.
Another company that played an important role in the start of the huge industry that online casinos now constitute is Microgaming. Microgaming was the first company to introduce online casino gaming software. Microgaming is still today one of the industry's most well-established and successful game developers.
Another important factor that enabled online casinos to enter the gaming market was that in 1994 a number of laws and regulations regarding online gaming and betting were produced. This began with the adoption of a law on the Caribbean island nation of Antigua. This enabled the country to issue licenses to online casinos. These licenses were required in order for them to operate.
Since these early years, the market has developed at a furious pace. Both the number of online casinos and the number of payment systems that can be used to make money transfers online have evolved a lot. The quantity and quality of the casinos' software, as well as the regulations and the number of countries that can issue licenses, have also developed enormously. Nowadays, the industry consists of thousands of casinos. Each casino has a range of games that are growing at a furious pace and the games are becoming more advanced.
