It all began in 1994 on Antigua Barbuda in the West Indies, the home of gambling licences. This is still an online gambling Mecca with most online gambling companies still based in Antiqua in order to take advantage of this licence.

History of Online Gambling

Before the games could begin gaming software needed to be put into place in order for the online casino revolution to begin. This was where the Isle of Man becomes an important place and the company Microgaming, the god fathers of the first fully operational inline casino software, leading the way for many other online gambling sites.

In 1995 Cryptologic was founded with a goal to develop a series of software packages that can securely and effectively process transactions to keep online gamers safe.

By 1998 Cash Splash a progressive online jackpot slot was operational, but there is stiff opposition from the US. Senator Jon kyl apposed online gaming with the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, this would make it illegal for any US company to offer online gambling to US citizens, but the act was not passed.
Throughout 1997 and 1998 online casinos continued to develop improved software and refine their operations. Due to the slower bandwidth speeds and servers of the time, there were many connectivity issues and network dropouts in the early days of online gambling, however business research and consulting firm, Frost & Sullivan, reported that the industry still generated 834.5 million dollars in revenue in 1998 alone.

Party poker quickly grew to become the world's largest online poker room, and it's parent company, Party Gaming was one of the first online gambling companies to go public, listing on the London Stock Exchange in June 2005.

Broadband has increased speed and atmosphere within these sites, making the graphics and experience pretty much like you have taken your comfy office chair and placed it round a table full of high rollers. The sounds and personas can be recreated with online characters, the only thing missing is the lack of ability to order a drink while you play as you can in the real world.

After the US passed a bill that stops residents from some states partaking in online gambling, many online gambling sites have become wary when accepting bets from members in the USA. This could come as a blow to online casinos as the US makes up half of their income. France, Italy and Austria are set to ban online gambling, but the rest of Europe for now online gambling is still legal. So advertisers will be targeting online advertising campaigns at them to gain revenue.

It is estimated that by 2010 UK clients will double and revue will increase from 660 million pounds to roughly 1.6 billion pounds.

As technology develops soon it will be possible to take part in gambling from your mobile phone. The future of the industry is promising and user interactivity and online atmosphere set to make casino's more and more exciting. It's not been easy for the industry but it has created stable foundations for the industry to continue to grow.