The Beginning

Although the technology to create online casinos has probably been around since the Internet’s inception, it really all started in 1994, when Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean passed the Free Trade & Processing Act. This gave companies from all over the world free reign to set up online casinos legally.

Online gambling software providers wasted no time filling the need. The first, Microgaming, offered a variety of online casino games that could be played by anyone with an Internet connection just by downloading the software. Microgaming software, and software from similar companies like Cryptologic, were quickly snapped up by entrepreneurs looking to get in on this potentially lucrative enterprise.
Online Casino History: The Online Casinos

The first online casinos were The Gaming Club and InterCasino, which opened in 1995 and 1996 respectively. Although the numbers started small, they quickly exploded, and soon there were any number of online casinos out there on the market. To protect consumers, commissions and watchdog groups governing online casino fairness were developed, most notably the Canadian Kahnawake Gaming Commission, established in the year 1996.
Online Casino History: The Present

The software and graphics capabilities for online casinos grew and grew, until the players at the various online casinos numbered in the millions. In 2006, however, things changed. The United States passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which stated that no American financial institution could do business with online gaming sites. This made it effectively impossible for Americans to play, as there was no way to get money in and out. The rationale was that online gambling leads too easily to addiction and underage gambling. Talk of legalizing and regulating online casinos to try to prevent this behavior was quickly dismissed.

Although there is some movement to protect online poker in the United States, other online casino games do not seem to have much in the way of advocates. However, online casino gaming still remains regulated and going strong in many other countries around the world.

Several online casinos still take on American players. Since the UIGEA does not aim at criminalizing the individual players, these casinos can still target the USA online casino market. We list the best of them here at CasinoToplist, and we only include casinos that we know run a fair and legit operation.

While online casinos and brick and mortar casinos both have advantages, some players prefer one to the other, some enjoy both and some just don’t know. If you’ve played all your casino games online and have never been to a live casino before, here’s what to expect.

People

Unlike an online casino, live casinos contain other people. There was a time that visiting a live casino required following a dress code and obeying certain social conventions. However, in the modern era, people are free to wear whatever they choose and do whatever they like (within reason) in most casinos, especially in the United States.

Many casinos do not allow smoking, although there may be certain sections with tables that do. If other players in your vicinity are behaving in an offensive manager, you can call a pit boss or other casino staff member for assistance.

Convenience Factor

Those used to playing online may find live casinos to be a bit inconvenient. A switch from one table or one game to another is not instantaneous. A player must get up, pick up his chips and physically move to the next table.

A seat at the game of your choice may not be available at peak hours. On the other hand, you can get free drinks brought to you at any time while you play.

Excitement

Some people feel that the excitement of casino gambling is something to share. When you play online at home, you do not really get the full casino experience.

Shooting dice at a full live craps table is something to behold. Players are screaming for their numbers, cheering on the shooter and generally having a good time, especially if people are winning. Players cannot get this kind of experience online.

Multi-Way Action

In most online casino games, it is just you against the dealer, whereas in a live casino, it is you and other players at the table. In a game like blackjack, in which knowledge of the cards that have been removed from the deck can be to your benefit, playing a multi-player situation can be to your advantage.

Around the year 200 BC, ancient Chinese scrolls tell of a ruler, Cheung Leung of the Han Dynasty, who invented a game similar to Keno. The story goes that Leung’s city was engulfed in war for many years and running out of money and supplies.

The myth states that the citizens of Mr. Leung’s city no longer wanted to contribute to war funds. To raise money for supplies, Mr. Leung invented a game very similar to Keno, except instead of using 80 numbers he used 120 symbols. The game was an instant success and helped save the city. Keno is also rumored to help fund the building of the Great Wall.

In ancient China, Keno used to be known as the White Pigeon game. Apparently, carrier birds were used to deliver the winning numbers from the big city to the small village.

Modern Keno History

Keno came into America with Chinese immigrants, many of whom settled on the West Coast in places like San Francisco during the middle of the 19th century. With this influx of immigrants came an abundance of Chinese culture. The game continued to be played in America and soon it became known as the ‘Chinese lottery.’

At first, Keno had problems penetrating mainstream America, mainly because the ‘Chinese lottery’ was still played with symbols. As the lottery evolved into its current numbers form its popularity exploded.

Gambling was legalized in Nevada in 1931; however, lotto was not legal in casinos. To bypass the law, casinos changed the name from the ‘Chinese lottery’ to ‘horse racing keno.’ The idea was that instead of lotto a player had to choose a horse with a number and hope that the horse came in when randomly selected.

Soon the state government created a law taxing off-track gambling and the sharpies in the Nevada casinos had to quickly adapt. They changed the name again, this time to simply Keno, which is what the game is called today.

Keno has one of the more evolved histories out of any casino game.