Online Gaming Industry
The online gaming industry is still in its infancy, having only been in existence for around 15 years. Here are a few notable global historic markers which have led us to where we are today with regards to online gaming as a whole;
- The first gaming licence was issued in 1994 in Antigua and Barbuda, (a twin island state located in the Eastern Caribbean), to Intertops.com, under the Free Trade and Processing Zone Act. Intertops was the first ever gaming site to take a sports bet online, and they went on to branch out into casino, poker and games betting later on. They are still in existence today.
- In the same year the software developers Microgaming came into being and swiftly brought out the first player tracking system and management tools.
- Internet Casinos Inc. (ICI), founded by Warren B. Eugene, set about opening the world’s first online casino in August 1995. For the first of its kind it was extraordinarily well developed, with 18 casino games, online sports-betting, and access to the National Indian Lottery.
- Starnet start up in 1995 in Canada, providing internet casino software and websites.
- The software developers 888 Holdings Plc, Playtech and Cryptologic (1995) came into being between 1995 and 2000.
- In 1996 Cryptologic and William Hill came together to form the first land-based online betting site
- In 1996 InterCasino goes online - the first online casino to accept a real money bet online.
- In 1998 the first online progressive pokie machine came out, Cash Splash.
- Microgaming launched the first flash driven online casinos in 2000, with Web Casino.
Act 1974, Part IV of which prohibits practices such as anti-competitive agreements, misuse of market power and exclusive dealing…??).
- In 2001 Microgaming launched the first fully localized multi-lingual online casinos. In 2002 Microgaming offered the largest progressive online jackpot recorded up till that point… $1,500,000 through Major MillionsTM.
- In 2002 Cryptologic designed software to allow for multi currency deposits and the first ever Java version of online casino games.
- In 2002 the first poker and bingo sites appeared.
- In 2002 Playtetch developed live online support, the Refer a Friend bonuses, multi-line pokies and the Blackjack Switch.
- In October of 2006, the U.S. Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, the UIGEA, which set about to expand the remit of the 1963 Wire Act, originally designed in an attempt to curtail the activities of organized crime. After many years of attempting to break the back of internet gambling through different (always rejected) proposed acts, Senators Jon Kyl and Bill Frist finally got UIGEA passed. The Justice Department would not punish American online gamblers but instead the FEDS would prosecute those who processed the money in internet gambling transactions. The UIGEA allows for the freedom of the American people to pursue their own happiness through legal online gambling, but effectively prohibits their ability to gamble online, as, through prosecuting the middle man responsible for processing the money, it means that there is noone to process the bets (unless the money is transferred offshore). Visit this iste for more detailed information on the complex legal situation with regards to online gaming in America.
The 21st Century and Pokie Machines around the world
A decade or so after the onset of online gambling, the 21st Century is looking bright. Online gaming companies make for a respected and legitimate financial investment and some of the world’s biggest online gaming companies are registered in the worlds leading publicly listed markets, such as the (UK FTSE). The advancement in internet speed and technologies signals a win-win for both the provider and the gambler. The provider obviously does not have the costs associated with any business which offers a land based service; rents, employee salaries, local taxes, space issues etc…The gambler can simply access the required service by switching on their pc, rather than traveling to a certain location to gamble. It is quicker and easier for them to find gambling entertainment online than traveling to the pub or casino and sometimes it can be more financially fruitful too, as some of the world’s largest pokie jackpots can be found over the ether making it possible to win big from the comfort of your own living room.
This entry was posted on Monday, May 18th, 2009 at 3:00 am and is filed under Articles.
