Conclusion

There are many reasons for a country to set themselves up as a gambling jurisdiction; improving the local economy, providing employment, entertaining tourists and so on.

In the early 1990’s, offering gambling services to the international market became practical as the cost of international phone calls became lower; especially when the widespread adoption of 1-800 toll-free numbers became the norm for offshore customer service lines.

Then, in 1994, online gambling became a thing; Microgaming created the first online casino games and – to capitalize on their invention – they set up shop in Antigua. It was soon joined by others wanting a piece of the action.

The success of the early operators was astonishing. Other jurisdictions were set up and, ultimately, regulations specific to online gambling were put in place.

However, despite Antigua’s success, they were not the first jurisdiction to adopt internet specific regulations.

That honor goes to Belize – the world’s first online gambling jurisdiction!