Online casino gaming is going from strength to strength, and it is one of the most popular ways to get all the excitement of a night at the casino without having to leave your home.
Online casinos offer you the opportunity to play real cash games at home or on your mobile, and you can pit your wits against both computer-generated players and real people while you play games of skill and chance like poker or blackjack.
Bally casino games online are a great place to start; you can choose to spin the Roulette wheel or the reels on your favourite 50 Lions Slot machine, taking advantage of all the latest technology as well as some excellent new player bonuses.
Before you get started with online casino gaming, you might want to learn some more about the history. In this quick guide, we will take you through all you need to know about where casino gaming started, where it is now, and what it might look like in the future.
Earliest Casino gaming?
Experts and historians don’t really agree on when we, as humans, began playing games of chance or wagering on the outcomes of different things – but there is evidence that games we know today have roots deep in the earliest civilisations, from the Ancient Greeks and Romans to Ancient China and spread across the world.
According to Wikipedia, the earliest archaeological examples of casino gaming can be found in the Mesolithic period, where six-sided dice were found dating back to 3000 BCE.
The Growth of Casinos
As mentioned, some of the earliest examples of gaming can be traced to Rome and China. Some of these players would have gathered in a room somewhere to play these games, but the first modern version of the casino came from 17th Century Italy. The most famous was the Ridotto, which was established in Venice in 1638.
Europe really led the way on casinos, with some of the most beautiful and iconic casinos still in existence, such as Casino de Monte Carlo in Monaco, and Baden-Baden in Germany. The more modern casinos, the ones we think of when we picture the likes of James Bond at his most sophisticated, are the casinos that line the famous Strip in las Vegas – and while these are of course much less rooted in history, they have become the epitome of what it means to wage.
Going to the Casino
Part of the allure of casino gaming in the last century was the fact that it was the only way you could get access to the adrenaline rush that came from playing for cash. Not only could you head to the casino to try your luck at all the games, but it was an opportunity to rub shoulders with millionaires and celebrities, the chance to dress up, and to enjoy a luxurious night out.
Since the advent of the internet, more options became available for the casual player; now, you didn’t have to plan an entire night out just to play your favourite games when the power of the world wide web could bring it to your home.
Microgaming and the First Online Casino
Picture this: it’s 1996, and the internet is still in its infancy. Few people even own a computer, and even less are connected to the internet – but those that were wanted to be able to experience all the new things. Video games were already ahead of the curve, with LAN parties allowing people to play with friends who were not in the same room, so it is no big leap to understand why Microgaming decided to launch the first ever online casino.
It was limited, you couldn’t win any real money, and it would be painfully slow to play wen you compare it to the smooth mechanics of the modern online casino.
Online Casinos Today
A quick online search will demonstrate just how many online casinos there are in your local area. They provide a way for you to play all the best casino games from the comfort of your own home, allowing you to win real money and experience all the thrills – and you don’t even need to get dressed.
Online casinos use the latest technology to make the best experience for their players. This includes high fidelity graphics and sound, fast mechanics, the best game designers, and the latest in Random Number Generation algorithms to ensure fast, fair, and fun gameplay.
The future can already be felt in some online casinos, with live dealer games being streamed directly from the casino, augmented reality helping you feel like you are there, and even virtual casinos that can be entered using headsets like the Oculus. With technological innovation coming thick and fast, the online casino experience can only get better and better.
