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The First Online Wager
Ian Sherrington, August 2024
Article 2 in the series The Online Gambling Industry
Previous Article – How the Online Gambling Industry Started
Not so long ago…
The emergence of the online gambling industry in the early 1990s triggered a seismic shift in the world of betting and casinos.
In this article, we continue to delve into the origins of this ground-breaking industry; exploring how a handful of pioneers, driven by vision and innovation, set the stage for what would become a multi-billion-dollar enterprise.
From the first online wager, to the emergence of Antigua as a regulatory haven, we trace the key developments and figures that shaped the early days of online gambling.
Scroll down to continue.
Here’s a list of the pages to jump ahead.
- The First Online Wager – Microgaming
- The First Online Wager – CryptoLogic
- The First Online Wager – Ultimately
- The First Online Wager – The ILLF
- The First Online Wager – David Vanrenen
- The First Online Wager – Summary
- The First Online Wager – Next Article
With my grateful thanks to:
Dr Aftab Rizvi
Ben Dalfen
David Vanrenen
Simon Noble
Henrik Sandin
And especially thank you Paul Cullen for the editing.
The First Online Wager
It all started here
The Internet revolution was underway. As a programmer in the early 1990s, these were exciting times. Once you understood how the Internet actually worked, life suddenly made sense. The possibilities seemed endless.
The idea of internet gambling probably occurred to quite a few people around the same time. However, only a handful were in a position to act on this realization and actually create a viable product.
What is exactly is Online Wager?
An online wager refers to a bet or gamble placed over the internet instead of in-person at a casino, racetrack, or sportsbook or by telephone.
There’s a lot to consider.
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Technical Vision
To create and operate an online gambling business, a complex computer system consisting of many interrelated parts is required; a front-end customer interface, a server to handle the game logic, possibly an RNG, and definitely a back-office system to manage accounts, update odds, generate reports, and much more. Additionally, the system must, of course, be secure and scalable. Lots of tech, basically.
Luckily, as the Internet became more accessible, the open nature of the network, alongside improved programming languages and tools, led to reduced development costs and increased empowerment for programmers.
Programmers were unleashed.
The first casino games were produced using game programming techniques and delivered as downloadable files. Once installed game software would contact a central server to authenticate the user as well as providing the data needed to support an interactive gaming experience.
Sir Vere Bird was the first Prime Minister of Antigua and promoted free trade
Antigua and Barbuda
Meanwhile, in 1994, the tiny Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda took a bold step. After passing the necessary legislation, the Antiguan government laid the groundwork to provide operators with a safe haven to establish and run online gambling businesses.
Antigua and Barbuda had previously passed the Betting and Gaming Act in 1963. It was already home to a few casinos and sportsbooks which had earned a crust, mainly from the tourist market.
Furthermore, Antigua had established itself as a welcoming offshore banking center. With the passing of the International Business Corporations Act of 1982, a flurry of ‘some not-so-reputable’ international banks were founded, including Stanford International Bank which later on proved to be a massive Ponzi scheme.
The Free Trade Zone Act, passed in 1994, enabled sportsbooks and casinos to operate internationally for a fixed yearly license fee and no corporation tax. Oversight was minimal. Those were the days.
