How Has Gambling Changed in the Last 100 Years

While gambling is one of the oldest pastimes in history, the last 100 years have seen it change rapidly thanks to many new developments and innovations. In this quick guide we’ll take you through history of gambling in the us in the last century from legalization and regulation to the emergence of online casinos.

Gambling laws and the gambling industry itself have changed so much in the last century. Formerly illegal gambling practices have been legalized and many legal gambling establishments and industries have emerged over the years to become one of the most lucrative forms of entertainment in the world.

The history of gambling takes us from racetracks and casino resorts to sportsbooks and online gambling sites in the US. It’s also the history of casinos, from the first land-based establishment to massive online brands with multiple sites and near-endless gaming options. The gambling industry has seen many rapid developments.

• History of Gambling
• Developments in Casino History
• The Bright Future of Gambling
• FAQ

Early History of Gambling

Originally illegal casinos and bookies were the main venues where punters gambled. On both sides of the Atlantic, casinos had yet to be officially legalized and established. Instead, for much of the history of gambling legal betting took place around horse races at established events such as the Kentucky Derby.

While there were historic casinos in Europe dating back to the 19th Century such as the Casino de Monte Carlo and the Casinò di Venezia, it wasn’t until 1931 that the first legal gambling establishment was opened in Las Vegas, Nevada.

List of major casinos pre-1931

• Casino de Monte Carlo, Monaco
• Casinò di Venezia, Italy
• Casinò di Campione, Italy
• Casino Baden-Baden, Germany
• Casino de Spa, Belgium

Before the legalization of gambling in Nevada, unofficial forms of gambling had been run in major American cities like Chicago and New York. These were generally run by organized crime syndicates who invented gambling rackets to make money on horse races and card games held on their premises.

Even with the establishment of the first casinos in the USA legal gambling was restricted to the state of Nevada and various First Nation reservation casinos. Much of the casino history in America would take place in these spaces.

New Developments in Casino History

By the middle to late stage of the 20th Century, we see two major developments in the history of casinos and gambling. In the United States this is represented by the huge influence of Las Vegas casino resorts such as Caesar’s Palace and the Luxor both in popular culture and as a destination for gamblers from across the US and abroad.

Further legalization would slowly follow in other states, and Atlantic City would soon try to establish itself as an East Coast rival to Las Vegas. While Atlantic City would never be as well known in the history of gambling in the US it would produce its own highly renowned casino resorts.

The Bright New Future of Online Gambling

The turn of the millennium saw the biggest change in the history of gambling with the establishment of the best online casinos and betting sites. This allowed legal gambling establishments to offer their services to anyone anywhere in the world with a good enough internet connection.

This would also lead to the establishment of stricter gambling regulations in many states including outright bans on online casinos. Having said that, in legal jurisdictions, Americans are seeing a boom in fast-payout online casinos perpetuating more growth and therefore revenue.

This was a particular boon for gamblers who may not be able to travel to brick-and-mortar premises. With the advent of smartphones, online casinos and betting sites were some of the first to embrace mobile-compatible technologies allowing for greater ease of access for most gamblers to play when and where they want.

With advances in streaming technology, online casinos, oddly enough, returned to the setting of the real-life casino floor by offering players live dealer games where they can interact with real dealers at casino tables in real-time. This has proven incredibly popular with gamblers and the demand for live casino games is only growing.

It is almost the same situation with the NV platforms for online poker – they can help you feel like you are in a real gambling establishment, playing poker with friends and other players alike. That’s why, nowadays, we can even come across some gaming platforms that offer VR poker games, but they are not so popular yet.