Two things happened in the 2000s that would change the face of the technological world forever.
The first was that broadband internet became more affordable and available to a huge percentage of homes in the developed world, resulting in a faster and more secure browsing experience.
The second was that the smartphone was born. No longer was your device solely for making phone calls, sending text messages and playing Snake. Now, we could check email, browse the web and download apps.
Both of these developments, separately and taken together, created a boom in new niches and online mini-industries – and we’re still enjoying the fruits of that to this day with innovations such asChatGPT.
Gaming was another sector that had many doors opened for it by the digital revolution. Console gamers could now play against other players from around the world without needing to be in the same room, while gaming apps were built specifically for smaller-screen smartphones and tablets.
The established order in casino gaming was shaken to its core. To enjoy games such as roulette, blackjack and baccarat, players had to visit their local casino – now, they had all of their favourite games at their fingertips, which they could enjoy at work, at the bus stop or while waiting for an appointment.
Still to this day, new online casinos are being launched all the time. However, due to the competitiveness of the industry, these sites are having to find innovative ways to attract customers. It could be a generous welcome bonus, an acceptance of crypto or other niche payment methods, a dedication to a specific type of game – whatever it is, a new casino needs to stand out in a market where there are hundreds if not thousands of alternatives available.
What’s interesting about online casino gaming is that while it enjoyed a swell in popularity during the tech revolution in the 2000s, its genesis dates back much further than that.
Small but mighty
It’s unlikely that this question will ever come up in a pub quiz, but do you know the first country to offer online gambling?
If you said Liechtenstein, the sixth smallest nation in the world, then you would be correct!
The lottery board in the country was the first to offer its players the chance to buy tickets online in 1994, though given how slow and unreliable internet connections were in the 1990s, this would no doubt have proven to be a frustrating task.
In that very same year, the first online casino was born. Microgaming, which remains a major player in the industry to this day as a developer of slot games, joined forces with CryptoLogic to launch The Gaming Club in South Africa and InterCasino in other jurisdictions around the world.
This coincided with the release of the first online slot game, Reel ’Em, by WMS Gaming. Although the graphics and gameplay look rather prehistoric compared to the titles of today, this was a major landmark for internet-based casino gaming.
In the US and the UK, the first fledgling sports betting sites were launched, and these were the first to truly harness the power of online casino games. Thanks to their size and investment in new technology, these operators were able to offer their players easier options when it came to making payments online. By the turn of the new millennium, many were offering instant deposits via PayPal. Players no longer had to wait around for wire transfers to be completed.
Progressive play
The online casino sector was booming within years, but it would enjoy another jolt of popularity in the late 1990s with the launch of the first progressive jackpot slot game.
Cash Splash saw players from all over the world ‘seed’ the jackpot prize, with a percentage of all stake money being fed straight into the kitty.
This was a monumental moment for the development of online casino gaming, as it meant that there was no limit to what the luckiest of players could win. This attracted more players to the game, and so the jackpot continued to rise. It was a concept of exponential growth from which gamers and the companies making the slots could both benefit.
Today, there’s more than a handful of jackpot slot games that are popular around the globe. Of them, titles such as Mega Moolah and Major Millions have made dozens of millionaires over the years – including some fortunate individuals who have scooped upwards of $20m from their spin of the reels.
To the future
Although legislation is much tighter these days than it was in the early years of online casino gaming, the sector is still thriving in many countries around the world. Indeed, one research firm valued the niche at $63.5bn in 2022, and claimed that it could grow a further 11.7% by 2030.
Needless to say, there will be plenty more online casinos launched in the next few years as a result.
But what will they look like? And what will they offer? New technologies bring with them new possibilities, and it seems a given that game developers will look to implement elements of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and even artificial intelligence(AI) in order to improve their playability.
In other areas of entertainment, there has been a trend for greater immersion – think 4D movies at the cinema, or the popularity of smartphone games such as Pokémon GO. That’s likely to be an area of growth for online casinos – as long as the quality and affordability of VR headsets and hardware improves in parallel with the increased demand.
Many people enjoy taking a seat at the blackjack table or roulette wheel at a casino in Las Vegas, Macau or their local town/city. However, the popularity of online casinos isgrowing at such a rate that you wonder if anybody will venture off the sofa in the years ahead to enjoy the best in casino gaming.
