Online gambling first appeared on the web in the mid 1990s. In 1994 Microgaming software was founded but still has the corner market today in many of the on-line casinos. Microgaming is chip software that runs the different machines found in land and online casinos. There is some debate as to who was the first casino to pop up online and most would say InterCasino first appeared in 1996. However; you’ll find others who claim that Microgaming’s Gaming Club was the first online in 1995.
From the very first casino to go live over the internet, casinos continue to improve their operations online and tweak the software, servers and connections that appeal to the players on the World Wide Web. Irrespective of slow bandwidth causing connection problems for the players, the industry still raked within an estimated $834 million in 1998.
Intertops was the first online sports-book to appear in 1996; however they are already in operation long before that by taking phone bets since 1983. Intertops is still going strong today and is satisfying over 180 countries with their service.
Online poker first sprang up at the start of 1998 and was facilitated by Planet Poker. Following suit was Paradise Poker in 1999, Party Poker and Poker Stars in 2001. Planet Poker is still in operation; however they no longer allow real money to exchange hands. By 2008 Party Poker had lost the lead in the industry to Poker Stars and Full Posting Tilt Poker, estimated through the range of players online.
The popularity of online gambling doesn’t appear to be decreasing since its birth. With state of the art technology, online casinos have the ability of offering real time play and instant spin capability, thus satisfying all sectors of the gambling industry and increasing revenue. The casino software available today is just not only advanced for the players utmost enjoyment but is completely secure.
In 2010 the on-line gambling industry grew by 12.5% with gross revenues of close to $29.95 billion, no matter the perceived recession. The online casino sector grew an estimated 13.3% in 2010 and brought within an estimated $2.67 billion. The most money adding to the gambling revenue online is generated by sports betting from around $12 billion.
Online bingo stole the lead in being the fastest growing sector for 2010, estimated at 28.4% growth and to the tune of $2.67 billion. Although poker will be the most discussed, it was deemed the slowest growing online gambling sector which generated about $5 million.
In 2006 many of the on-line gambling companies decided not to allow United States of America players spend cash within their establishments anymore because of the uncertainty regarding laws of offshore gambling, following the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. There was a great debate regarding different states that were legally able to gamble and people who were not. Many of the casinos revised their policies regarding USA play since that time and now nearly all online gambling establishments will again accept USA players.