Brick and Mortar Casinos Set Up Shop Online

In the mid 1990s, online sportsbooks popped up on the Internet much to the delight of sports gamblers throughout the world who were looking for an alternative to using bookmakers and brick and mortar sportsbooks. Taking a cue from the success these sportsbooks experienced, gaming software developers began developing online casino software that would support games found in traditional brick and mortar casinos.

The Start of the Online Casino Revolution

At the turn of the 21st century, online casinos also began popping up all over the Internet. At first, many of the early online casinos were operating out of jurisdictions with little to no gaming oversight. That was a problem for gamblers who were concerned about scams and payment issues. When it became clear that online casinos had the potential to become a big part of the future for the gaming industry, reputable gaming jurisdictions in Europe began lending its support to the online casino phenomenon. With regulators on board, casino gamblers were given the assurance they needed that online casinos operating under licensing from the top agencies would be fair and safe.

Legalized Online Casino Gambling

By the mid 2000s, countries throughout the world began changing its attitude about gambling online. One-by-one, countries in Europe, Asia and parts of North America started passing legislation that made it legal for its citizens to use online casinos. For the governments that made changes, it created the opportunity to increase tax revenue related to gaming operations. For online casino owners and operators, they became legitimized, allowing them to move out of the shadows and into the mainstream. For gamblers, they now had an interesting alternative to land-based casinos and local bet parlors.

Explosion in the Online Gaming Industry

With many of the biggest obstacles set aside, the online gaming industry exploded all over the Internet. This included lottery sites, sportsbooks, bingo sites, poker rooms and a slew of creative and exciting online casinos like Pala Casino. At first, it took a while for gamblers to sift through a growing list of online casinos while trying to avoid rogue sites that were looking to capitalize on the growing revenue stream being created by gamblers looking to gamble from their home environments. By the end of the decade, there were several reliable watchdog sites that were helping to distinguish between the good guys and the bad guys. This gave gamblers the security they needed to finally make the jump from their favorite brick and mortar casinos to the convenience of gambling right from their living rooms.

Brick and Mortar Casinos Set Up Shop Online

Faced with the potential loss of billions in gaming revenues, top brick and mortar casino owners took stock of the online casino phenomenon and decided to join the fray. They enlisted the services of top software developers to design sites that would be closely and clearly aligned with the affiliated brick and mortar casinos. As a means to support both options, casino owners began offering cross promotions to help develop brand loyalty among its customer base. It's this branding and name recognition that today provides casinos that have both land-based and online operations a distinct advantage over dedicated online sites.

The Future

With new online casino sites popping up on a weekly basis, it's the customers who are going to decide winners and losers. Saturation will eventually force many online sites out of business. When that happens, reputable brick and mortar casinos with online casino operations figure to prominent among the winners. Many of the industry's current leaders are waiting with great anticipation for the US to legalize online gambling. If and when that occurs, gamblers can expect the industry to experience another round of explosive growth.