History of Online Casinos: 15 Years Young

by Bodog Casino | Dec 30 2009

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Everybody has played and enjoyed online gaming in some way or form: we’ve all tried Blackjack, Texas Holdem’, and even Craps, which in itself is amazing considering only 15 years ago the internet was that thing that would tie up your phone line while you were searching for XXX photos. (Okay maybe you didn’t do that but some of us sure did.)

But then online gaming came along in mid 1995, and a whole new reason to use the internet was born.

A company called Internet Casinos Inc. opened up 18 online gaming sites, offering casino games like blackjack and slots to the masses. Hundreds of online sites followed, but because of American gambling laws the casinos were developed offshore in the Caribbean including Bodog, which is based out of Trinidad. This enabled anyone who hopped online to legally gamble.

The biggest contributor to the online gaming industry was the ease of depositing and payouts. At the beginning online gaming needed Western Union and even mailed out checks in order to make a deposit into an online site. But soon online credit card payments came along, then direct online bank transfer, enabling players to deposit and withdraw funds without huge delays.

With monetary transactions becoming more user friendly casinos began to grow and improve areas crucial for good business. Bodog generated a 24/7, 365-days-a-year English-speaking customer service team by phone and by email in order to handle any issues a player may have with their gaming account. And more games began to be offered like Caribbean Stud Poker, and even Video Poker.

With bonus programs and even free trials online gaming was growing into a well-known way to get your game on, but it wasn’t until online poker came around that online gaming sites became household names.

Texas Holdem’ was gaining popularity across America in the new millennium and online casinos were giving new players the opportunity to try the new craze for free. Soon poker and online casino gaming would become a mainstream form of entertainment, even bringing in more profit than some Vegas spots.

Although the gaming industry has had its share of setbacks in the last 15 years it has still managed to become a billion-dollar industry.

And there are no signs that the money or experience will slow down in the next decade.