History of Online Gambling - Part 2

March 13, 2009 | Article Category: Online Casinos

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The First Progressive Jackpot

The first progressive jackpot that was powered by Microgaming was called Cash Splash. Progressive jackpots have come a long way today and are often one of the major attractions of online casinos as players who win on progressive jackpots receive large payouts.

Legal Battles

The United States

Even at the beginning of the popularity of online casinos, the United States tried to curb the popularity of the casinos by introducing a bill that would prohibit all United States citizens and those in US territories from taking part in Internet gambling activities. The bill did not make it through, and failed after there had been much debate.

The legal battle simply served to place online casinos in the limelight, and in effect was free advertising for the still new industry. Around this time, it was noted that the number of new player accounts that were created increased dramatically. The Internet gambling business reached almost a billion dollars, even though it was only the second year since it had been developed. The bill had been pushed at the time by Senator John Kyl (R-Ariz.) One year later, he again tried to have a different bill passed which was essentially a different version of the same bill. The number of Internet casinos at that time had already reached more than 700 casinos, and the bill failed to receive the support it needed to make it become law.

Australia

The first Australian online casino was Lasseters. It is not only the first Australian online casino, but the only Australian online casino, as the Australian government, unlike the US government managed to pass a law some months after the casino had begun operating. The law that was passed banned any other potential online casinos from starting business.

External Auditing Introduced

1999 brought with it external auditing, which helped to create a greater feeling of trust and security between customers and online casinos. The first deal was made between PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Microgaming. PriceWaterhouseCoopers, an accounting firm, were brought aboard to prepare reports on payout percentages and also to do online audits. This was the first of a number of deals that were signed between PWC and other accounting firms and the Internet casino industry.

2000 and Beyond

With the turn of the century, progressive jackpots became more popular, and many new jackpots were introduced. CryptoLogic stocks are offered on the stock market, and the Isle of Man and Gibraltar become better known as the latest online casino jurisdictions.

2001 saw large amounts of growth in the industry, and while it seemed that nothing could stop it increasing in size, things did slow down in 2002 and 2003 when the United States Congress managed to pass some laws restricting Internet gambling. The US sector of the market was a very large part of the Internet casino customer base. These laws did not totally manage to ban online betting, but they did manage to restrict it somewhat.

A Forward-Moving Industry

Although some countries do have laws restricting Internet gambling, the industry continues to thrive. Despite these constant various legal challenges for Internet casinos to contend with, there is noted continual growth in the industry. It seems that the constant innovations offered by online casinos keep the excitement alive. Better software, promotions, customer service, chat capabilities and recently live dealers, all help to keep Internet gaming on a popular and growing trend.

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