Chapter 1 - What is iGaming? When did iGaming Start?

What is the iGaming Industry?

iGaming is online gambling and betting. It's short for "interactive Gaming" or "internet Gaming". It is called iGaming primarily due to the affiliate industry's need to create short keywords that cover a larger meaning. iGaming as a word evolved from "online gambling" to "internet gambling" to "internet gaming" to "net gaming" and finally iGaming.

What is the difference between Gaming and iGaming?

The main difference is that iGaming is about any form of gambling with real money. Gaming is used mostly for video games.

Who started the iGaming Industry?

Arguably, there are 3 people who started the iGaming industry: Sir James B. Carlisle, Mario Frick and Martin Moshal.

Sir James B. Carlisle, Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda in 1994, signed the Free Trade and Processing Zone Act.

His signature had the weight of destiny behind it because it forever changed both online gambling and the lives of millions around the world. It received approval on November 10th 1994.

The Act allowed companies to apply for licenses and run (operate) online gambling platforms legally from Antigua and Barbuda, providing the first regulatory framework for internet casinos.

The word "operate" is important because you will see the "casino operator" term many times. It's just an online casino like any other. But the industry refers to them as "casino operators" or "B2C operators."

James Carlisle signed the Free Trade Processing Act. He was ahead of his time.

The very first online gambling activity, however, came nearly a year later on October 7th 1995. It was the sale of the Liechtenstein International Lottery. How much was actually placed on the wager was not recorded and the rumor is that the Prime Minister at the time did it. His name was Mario Frick.

Much of the information on who started iGaming can be confusing because the industry heavily relies on the skill of affiliates. Many answers are SEO optimized, but not necessarily true.

If you will look into the matter of who came first, it is clear that there is a "battle of the ages" as to who it really was. Was it the regulation? Was it the bet in Liechtenstein? Was it Microgaming?

Proper records show that the license and Microgaming had first mover advantage. The first bet came with Liechtenstein and online casinos became more widespread from 1996 onwards.

Microgaming & CryptoLogic

Microgaming and Cryptologic are possibly the most historically significant companies in the iGaming world. They are the pioneers in the development of online gambling software.

Microgaming was formed by Martin Moshal in 1994. CryptoLogic was established by Andrew and Mark Rivkin to handle secure online transactions. I was saying once that crypto was in the destiny of this industry since the beginning, not only with the advent of crypto currencies.

Martin Moshal, Founder of Microgaming

CryptoLogic was created to encrypt transactions online, but if you play close attention you will see how certain keywords reoccur in iGaming, primarily because it relies so much on affiliates, ease of language, SEO. You see it in websites, brand names, everywhere. 

1xBet, 0xbet

>Crypto< currency

AstroPay, AstroP(L)ay

>Company Name< Gaming

You understand.

Which was the first online casino?

The first online casino to launch was InterCasino, founded in 1996 by William ‘Billy’ Scott after obtaining a license from Antigua and Barbuda. Again, there is a battle of the ages because The Gaming Club is another contender to the prize. Some sources say The Gaming Club started in 1994, but it did not involve real money gambling. Intercasino was the first to accept real money from its players.

InterCasino still works today, attracting primarily a Japanese audience. It is owned by Breckenridge Curaçao B.V.

There is no definitive public record listing the next casinos licensed under the 1994 Free Trade & Processing Act. One of the earliest entrants following InterCasino was Casino-on-Net (later 888).

Post 1996

After 1996, the industry started moving fast, as it does today, with some of the biggest milestones being:

1996: InterCasino launches as the first real money online casino. This is the commercial birth of iGaming.

1997–1998: Casino-on-Net (888) enters the market, followed by dozens of imitators across various jurisdictions. Industry exceeds $1 billion in annual revenue.

1999: Online gambling becomes a booming sector, with over 700 gambling sites in operation worldwide.

2000: Industry annual revenue reaches $2.2 billion. Regulators and governments begin to take notice and initiate the first global legal challenges and regulatory discussions.

Top casinos between 1996 - 2000:

There is no definitive ranked list due to limited public data. But here are some of the most wildly popular casinos or casino brands that dominated the early days:

InterCasino, The Gaming Club, Golden Palace Casino, Casino-on-Net (888.com), Starluck Casino (now PartyCasino), Ladbrokes, William Hill, Bet365, Betfair, Spin Palace.

They all exist today, having endured the test of time.

Top Microgaming brands:

River Belle Casino, Jackpot City, Ruby Fortune, Royal Vegas, Vegas Palms, All Slots Casino, Gaming Club, Lucky Nugget, 7 Sultans, Zodiac Casino.

These all exist as well

CryptoLogic and Boss Media Casinos:

Boss Media was one of the first (if not the actual first) pure B2B white-label providers of casino solutions.

Casino Tropez - this is the only brand in this list that is gone.

Omni Casino, Casino Classic, Sun Palace,, VIP Casino, Casino Fortune(today leads into Fortune Games), Intertops Casino, Club Dice Casino, Caribbean Gold, Casino On Net (888).

Defunct or rebranded brands:

Most other brand names from the 1990s–2000 period either no longer exist, have been absorbed into newer corporate entities or operate under different names.

We explore the in-depth activities of the first 6 years in iGaming in Chapter 2 - Golden Times.