Worldwide Baccarat

Since online casino gambling began back in the mid 90’s, it has become a billion dollar a year business and it is still continuing to increase its revenue. Online gambling grew in popularity so quickly that many online casinos were created to earn a share of the profits. Back in 1994 the government of Antigua and Barbuda approved the Free Trade and Processing Zone Act that allowed companies to run online casinos in their jurisdiction.

With the opportunity to technologically add casino games to the Internet, the new law permitted companies to obtain legal licenses to run online casinos in the Antigua and Barbuda territory. At the same time, the Cryptologic company was formed and it began to create software applications that securely handled online financial transactions with unique encryption systems. And around this time, the Microgaming software manufacturer was formed.

The Boss Media company was another software manufacturer that was formed soon after. But the two top gaming software manufacturers are Cryptologic and Microgaming, and it was Cryptologic that created the very first completely equipped gaming application, with real money management and electronic-cash depositing systems. And just before 1996 ended, one of the first online casinos - InterCasino - is accepting bets on the Internet.

During that year, online gambling skyrockets and generates more than $800 million before the end of 1998. Most of the online gamblers are living in the United States, and this really bothers U.S. politicians. And around this time, the U.S. Congress tries to pass one of the first of many bills that would stop online casino gambling. The bill, which is known as the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, was designed to make it illegal to sell online casino gambling services to a U.S. civilian. But the bill was not passed, so online casino gambling continued to flourish.

At this point in time, there were reports that more than 600 online casinos were in full operation, accepting real money bets from gamblers all over the world. The big software manufacturers Cryptologic, Boss Media, Playtech, and Microgaming lead the pack, and with Boss Media creating the 1st multi-player gaming software. Both Cryptologic and Microgaming modify their gaming software making it safer and insuring good payout percentages. There are more than 8 million people gambling at online casinos by 2001.

From 2001 and onward, online casinos faced many charges, court cases, and bills. In July 2006, the U.S. government eventually passes the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act that does not allow U.S. banks and credit card companies to process online casino payment transactions. This is why there are so many alternate payment methods available at online casinos in the U.S.

The future of online casino gambling looks productive and with the advancement of computer technology, its growth looks endless. New software manufacturers and online casinos are being formed every day. Countries all over the world are drawing up online casino gambling laws which will change the way online gambling is governed. There is one thing that is certain: As long as online casinos and gamblers uphold sensible and moral principles, then the online casino industry will continue to prosper.