Online Gambling Boom a Win-Win for Everyone

Two decades later, legitimate online casinos firing up a win for all involved.

It’s truly amazing what time can do. It heals wounds, turns playful children into responsible adults, and in the business world, separates the successful from the unfortunate. Without question, time has looked favorably upon the online gambling industry and all who partake in its pleasures. Not just the players, mind you, but the countless people working in the background to provide this seductive form of potentially profitable entertainment.

Twenty years ago, internet casinos struck trepidation in the hearts of many. Were they secure? Honest? Safe? Trustworthy? Would a withdraw of winnings be honored? There were so many uncertainties, and no authorities to turn to if a player’s worst fears were realized.

Did that stop people from playing online slot machines and table games? Absolutely not.

If you build it, they will come…

And come they did! They came in droves, so fast and furious that more and more gambling websites were born. They provided casino games, poker games, bingo games, sports betting, race betting, lottery ticket sales – anything and everything that could be wagered on began appearing on the world wide web.

With the good always comes the bad, and the evil side of the industry did rear its ugly head. For every legitimate online gambling website, ten more rogue operators would appear to capture players and abscond with their deposits. This led to watchdog websites and player-managed review sites, all aimed at pointing new players towards the reputable online gambling options, while exposing the rogues for what they were.

This, of course, wasn’t good enough for the multitude of governments who had stood by idly, watching it all happen. Some lawmakers argued that players needed protection., but they largely went unheard. More argued that prohibition was the only way; criminalize it and it will go away. That didn’t work at all. It wasn’t until legislators began pointing out just how much money their respective tax coffers might hold that more and more governments began listening. And with that, the iGaming industry finally began to blossom into a respectable business.

Legitimate online casinos were a game changer for everyone.

The UK and Canada were among the first adopters of internet gambling regulation. As word of their success spread, others hopped aboard regulatory bandwagon. Now, most jurisdictions either regulate the activity, or are debating legislative action to do so.

The end result is an industry that people can trust. One that began growing at a much more rapid rate, and benefiting absolutely everyone with a hand in it.

For players, it means a readily available source of entertainment, whether from home or in the palm of their hands. Not just entertainment, but a pastime that begets life-changing rewards for the luckiest among them.

Online gambling operators benefit just as land-based casinos do, ensuring their profits through a built-in house edge. But that’s not the end of the line. It goes so much further, literally circling the globe. Online casinos benefit the website developers who bring each operation together. They benefit the multitude of software companies that produce countless, HD-quality games. And what about the IT staff; the customer support reps; the live stdio dealers and developers of superior video and audio equipment that supply web streaming capabilities to them; right down to the custodians that work a thankless night shift to keep all of these offices clean?

When you look at the big picture, the rise of legitimate online casinos has truly been a blessing for so many people. Far more than the big winners who’ve made headlines over the years, like the 71 instant millionaires that have been fortunate enough to strike the progressive jackpot of Microgaming’s Mega Moolah online slot machine since 2006. Those big winners may be the most famous, but all beneficiaries are worthy of praise for making this one of the most successful online industries in existence.