The Story Behind the First Online Casino

The origin and emergence of the first online casino dates back to 1994, when an innovator named Martin Moshal, a student of business sciences at the University of Cape Town, developed the first casino software under the name of his company Microgaming. Martin Moshal is also popularly considered the Tim Berrners-Lee of online casinos.

Once an innovator looking to gain investors for his idea, Moshal runs his scholarship program and works as a capital investor for many young innovators, new businesses, and entrepreneurs. We should consider Moshal as the one who introduced the world to online casino games.

How did Microgaming Come Into Existence?

However, moving ahead with the fascinating story behind the development of the oldest online casino lets us know how ‘Microgaming’ came into existence.

Moshal, to secure an investment for developing his software and setting up a software company, approached Discover Bank Limited but was denied the loan due to having a low credit score. That is where he met his co-partner Roger Raatgever. Roger was a newly graduated merchant banker who saw the potential in the idea and agreed to co-sign the loan with Moshal in exchange for a fifty-percent partnership.

The Debate Over the ‘Real’ First Online Casino

Microgaming launched its first online casinos Switzerland software, The Gaming Club, under casino.co.za in 1994. Initially, it was found only in South Africa. However, it used manual transactions for betting until late 1997. So, it was partially automatic or online.

Moreover, before enabling online transactions in The Gaming Club in 1997, Microgaming launched InterCasino in 1996 with an online transaction facility. It was only after the arrival of InterCasino that online transactions became a part of online casino games. So, many researchers and people argue that Intercasino was the first online casino game.

More About Microgaming

Microgaming is still one of the most flourishing game development companies around. As the pioneer of casino online games, they remain the industry leaders and leading investors in innovative startups. They have been around delivering exceptional excellence for more than 20 years now.

Further Development of Online Betting Games

During the development of the first online casino, the US was also experiencing a boom in online sports betting, and internet and online payment methods were also taking the forefront around that time. All these factors came together to provide a suitable platform and environment for the automatic betting and casino industry to develop and flourish.

However, the next significant milestone in casino games was the development of Cash Splash, the first online jackpot slot game, in 1998 by Microgaming. This game paved the way for linking a game’s jackpot with all the online casinos hosting the same game to create a massive prize pool for the players.

The way online casino games have increased in popularity over the years and have created a massive user base among online casino players, it can be easily assumed and deduced that it has even more enormous scopes of evolution and growth in the upcoming prospects. They are here to stay for a long time and provide casino enthusiasts with tremendous thrill and excitement along with enormous winning opportunities.

The Conclusion and the Takeaway From the Story

It would not be wrong to state that the first-ever online casino laid the foundation of an expansive, vast, and rapidly growing online casino market. Over the years, it has transformed into a billion-dollar industry and market that provides numerous betting games, including but not limited to sports betting, lotteries, slot games, poker, casino games, and more.

Moreover, game developers and operators in the industry are continuously striving to provide convenient and safe gaming platforms and environments to online casino players.