History
In 1994 the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda passed the Free Trade & Processing act, allowing licences to be granted to organisations applying to open online casinos. Before online casinos, the first fully functional gambling software was developed by Microgaming, an Isle of Man based software company. This was secured with software developed by CryptoLogic, an online security software company. Safe transactions became viable and led to the first online casinos in 1994.
1996 saw the establishment of the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, which regulated online gaming activity from the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake and issues gaming licences to many of the world's online casinos and poker rooms. This is an attempt to keep the operations of licensed online gambling organisations fair and transparent.
In the late 1990s, online gambling gained popularity. Internet gambling websites had increased from just 15 websites in 1996, to 200 websites in 1997. A report published by Frost & Sullivan revealed that online gambling revenues had exceeded $830 million in 1998 alone. In the same year the first online poker rooms were introduced. Soon after in 1999, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act was introduced, meaning a company could not offer any online gambling product to any U.S citizen. This did not pass. Multiplayer online gambling was also introduced in 1999. This was the first time people could gamble, chat and interact with each other in an interactive environment.
In 2000, the first Australian Federal Government passes the Interactive Gambling Moratorium Act, making it illegal for any online casino not licensed and operating before May 2000 to operate. The new legislation meant Lasseter's Online became the only online casino able to legally operate in Australia; however, they cannot take bets from Australian citizens.
By 2001, the estimated number of people who had participated in online gambling rose to 8 million and growth would continue, despite the legislation and the lawsuit challenges which would continue to be received by online gambling.
In 2008, H2 Gambling Capital estimates worldwide online gambling revenue at $21 billion.
Read more about this topic: Online Gambling
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Jesus Christ belonged to the true race of the prophets. He saw with an open eye the mystery of the soul. Drawn by its severe harmony, ravished with its beauty, he lived in it, and had his being there. Alone in all history he estimated the greatness of man.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Don’t give your opinions about Art and the Purpose of Life. They are of little interest and, anyway, you can’t express them. Don’t analyse yourself. Give the relevant facts and let your readers make their own judgments. Stick to your story. It is not the most important subject in history but it is one about which you are uniquely qualified to speak.”
—Evelyn Waugh (1903–1966)
“Every literary critic believes he will outwit history and have the last word.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)