When Did Online Gambling Start

  

What is internet addiction?

Internet addiction manifests when excessive internet use starts to affect someone’s life, causing impairment or distress. There are various types of internet addiction, from social networking and gambling to pornography and gaming.

Online Gambling: How Did It All Start? While gambling in land-based casinos preceded online gambling, the success of the latter is attributed to the advent of the internet. The internet is arguably one of the most transformative tech inventions in the history of mankind. Here is a short history of online gambling. 1994 In 1994, the government of Antigua passed The Free Trade and Processing Zone Act, which gave the Carribean territories first mover advantage in the online gambling industry. Casinos Lawmakers voted to legalize casino gambling in five cities, including Richmond, if voters give their approval in local referendums. The four other cities would be Bristol, Danville. Since New Jersey legalized online gambling in 2011, there has been a boom in the interest people have in it. America has seen a move towards legalizing it state by state, as well as experiencing the rapid rise in mobile gambling. Across the globe, internet users are gradually veering away from their desktops and towards their handheld devices.

Internet gaming addiction, also known as Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD), is now recognised as a mental health condition that can have major consequences for an individual’s wellbeing.

Dr Vasileios Stavropoulos, a senior lecturer in clinical psychology and coordinator of the Gaming Research Group at Federation University Australia, says six criteria must be met in order for excessive internet gaming to be classed as an addiction.

That criteria includes a frequent preoccupation or obsession with internet gaming, progressively higher doses of gaming to achieve the same outcome, using gaming to modify mood or feelings, conflict with others due to dysfunction in the gamer’s other roles, failing in attempts to curb or stop gaming, and withdrawal symptoms when not gaming online.

“Anyone who presents with all six of these characteristics gets a diagnosis but if some do not present with all six and present with some of them, we tend to think that they are at high risk of Internet Gaming Disorder,” he says.

While the incidence of online addiction has grown in the past decade, it’s still an emerging area of research. Dr Stavropoulos says a 2010 Tasmanian study of more than 1300 students indicated 4.6% met the six criteria for internet addiction but little is known about the national prevalence of the condition.

Who is most at risk?

Dr Stavropoulos, who has studied the impact of internet addiction and excessive online gaming on adolescents, says studies show male adolescents, particularly those aged 16 to 18, are generally at higher risk than female adolescents. But new research has shown that female students who are struggling at school and who experience hostility in the classroom are vulnerable to addiction, turning to the internet as a refuge and a place to find acceptance and connection that they are not finding at school.

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“What makes people addicted to the use of online games has been found to be mainly the online socialisation aspect, so they get in contact with other gamers. It’s what we call internet paradox because this medium, which has been designed to advance communication between individuals, ends up making them more isolated in real life,” he says.

“Gamers compensate the lack of relationships in real life with online relationships, and what makes online relationships more attractive to individuals has to do with three things – anonymity, escapism and convenience.”

What makes internet gaming addictive?

Research shows Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) can increase the symptoms of internet addiction.

Dr Stavropoulos says the games create ‘online flow’, where gamers are absorbed by the game action, coupled with the psychological state of telepresence, where gamers’ perceptions fail to accurately acknowledge the role of technology in their experience.

MMORPGs also enable gamers to create and develop a character, known as an avatar, that reflects who they would like to be in the real world.

“This virtual identity often reflects their idealised self – you can choose who you are and you can choose the way other people see you. You can be who you want to be and that’s the power of the game,” he says.

“It’s what we call augmented reality. It’s a part of reality but it’s also augmented with fantastic elements that make it very absorbing and attractive – it’s like living your fantasy in many ways.”

Dr Stavropoulos says MMORPGs feature constant development and rewards, enabling gamers to develop skills to achieve higher levels, which provides an immediate sense of satisfaction.

Despite the games often being played in isolation in the real world, they drive communication online, enabling gamers to socialise in gaming groups, called guilds or clans.

How is Internet Gaming Disorder treated?

The evidence-based psychological talk therapy Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is used to treat internet addiction.

Dr Stavropoulos says group therapy is crucial in helping gamers to develop relationships and improve how they relate to others while individual therapy assists gamers to address gaps between their virtual identity and their real self.

When Does Online Gambling Start In Michigan

Dr Stavropoulos also urges caution against using medication, such as mood modification-related medication, to treat internet addiction.

“The gamers’ main driver is to change the way they feel, and if they find that there is a chemical way of modifying their feelings, we may address the behaviour form of addiction, transforming it into a substance-related form of addiction.”

Disconnecting problem gamers

Dr Stavropoulos says it’s imperative we move to protect adolescents at risk of internet addiction with the introduction of measures, similar to responsible gambling legislation and regulations.

“In terms of prevention, there needs to be a legal framework that will oblige the companies making these games to protect gamers,” he says.

  • » History

The history of humanity is inextricably linked with the history of gambling, as it seems that no matter how far back in time you go there are signs that where groups of people gathered together gambling was sure to have been taking place. Now we are not going to attempt to track every single twist and turn in the evolution of gambling in this article, but what we are going to do is to pick out some of the most important dates to act as milestones on the road to today’s gambling experience.

The Earliest Evidence of Gambling

When Did Online Gambling Start

While it is almost certain that some forms of betting have been taking place since the dawn of human history, the earliest concrete evidence comes from Ancient China where tiles were unearthed which appeared to have been used for a rudimentary game of chance. The Chinese ‘Book of Songs’ makes reference to “the drawing of wood” which suggests that the tiles may have formed part of a lottery type game. We have evidence in the form of keno slips which were used in about 200bc as some sort of lottery to fund state works – possibly including construction of the Great Wall of China. Lotteries continued to be used for civic purposes throughout history – Harvard and Yale were both established using lottery funds – and continue to do so until the present day.

Dicing with the Law on the Streets of Ancient Rome

The Greek poet Sophocles claimed that dice were invented by a mythological hero during the siege of Troy, and while this may have somewhat dubious basis in fact, his writings around 500bc were the first mention of dice in Greek history. We know that dice existed far earlier than this, since a pair had been uncovered from an Egyptian tomb from 3000bc, but what is certain is that the Ancient Greeks and Romans loved to gamble on all manner of things, seemingly at any given opportunity. In fact all forms of gambling – including dice games – were forbidden within the ancient city of Rome and a penalty imposed on those caught which was worth four times the stake being bet. As a result of this, ingenious Roman citizens invented the first gambling chips, so if they were nabbed by the guards they could claim to be playing only for chips and not for real money. (Note that this ruse will not work if attempted at a Vegas casino).

Playing your Cards Right in China

When

Most scholars agree that the first playing cards appeared in China in the 9th century, although the exact rules of the games they were used for have been lost to history. Some suggest that the cards were both the game and the stake, like trading card games played by children today, while other sources believe the first packs of cards to have been paper forms of Chinese domino. Certainly the cards used at this time bore very little relation to the standard 52 card decks we know today.

Baccarat in Italy and France

The earliest game still played in casinos today is the two player card game of Baccarat, a version of which was first mentioned as long ago as the 1400s when it migrated from Italy to France. Despite its early genesis, it took hundreds of years and various evolutions to arrive at the game we know today. Although different incarnations of the game have come and gone, the standard version played in casinos all over the world came from Cuba via Britain to the US, with a few alterations to the rules along the way. Although baccarat is effectively more of a spectator sport than a game, it is a feature of just about every casino due to its popularity with high rolling gamblers.

Blackjack through the Ages

Some suggest that the earliest forms of blackjack came from a Spanish game called ventiuna (21) as this game appeared in a book written by the author of Don Quixote in 1601. Or was it the game of trente-un (31) from 1570? Or even quinze (15) from France decades earlier? As with all of these origin stories, the inventors of games of chance were rarely noted in the historical annals. The French game of vingt-et-un in the seventeenth century is certainly a direct forefather of the modern game, and this is the game that arrived in the US along with early settlers from France. The name ‘blackjack’ was an American innovation, and linked to special promotions in Nevada casinos in the 1930s. To attract extra customers, 10 to 1 odds were paid out if the player won with a black Jack of Clubs or Spades together with an Ace of Spades. The special odds didn’t last long, but the name is still with us today.

First Casinos in Italy

The earliest gambling houses which could reasonably be compared to casinos started to appear in the early 17th century in Italy. For example, in 1638, the Ridotto was established in Venice to provide a controlled gambling environment amidst the chaos of the annual carnival season. Casinos started to spring up all over continental Europe during the 19th century, while at the same time in the US much more informal gambling houses were in vogue. In fact steam boats taking prosperous farmers and traders up and down the Mississippi provided the venue for a lot of informal gambling stateside. Now when we think of casinos we tend to picture the Las Vegas Strip, which grew out of the ashes of the Depression in America.

The Little Wheel in Paris

Roulette as we know it today originated in the gaming houses of Paris, where players would have been familiar with the wheel we now refer to (ironically enough) as the American Roulette wheel. It took another 50 years until the ‘European’ version came along with just one green zero, and generations of roulette players can be grateful for that. During the course of the 19th century roulette grew in popularity, and when the famous Monte Carlo casino adopted the single zero form of the game this spread throughout Europe and most of the world, although the Americans stuck to the original double zero wheels.

Poker: Bust to Boom

It’s hard to pin down the precise origin of poker – as with a lot of the games mentioned here, poker seems to have grown organically over decades and possibly centuries from various different card games. Some have poker’s antecedents coming from seventeenth century Persia, while others say that the game we know today was inspired by a French game called Poque. What we do know for sure is that an English actor by the name of Joseph Crowell reported that a recognizable form of the game was being played in New Orleans in 1829, so that is as good a date as any for the birth of poker. The growth of the game’s popularity was fairly sluggish up until world poker tournaments started being played in Vegas in the 1970s. However poker really exploded with the advent of online poker and televised events allowing spectators to see the players’ hands. When amateur player Chris Moneymaker qualified for and won the 2003 world poker championship after qualifying through online play, it allowed everyone to picture themselves as online poker millionaires.

One Armed Bandits Appear in New York

The first gambling machine which resembled the slots we know today was one developed by Messrs Sittman and Pitt in New York, which used the 52 cards on drum reels to make a sort of poker game. Around the same time the Liberty Bell machine was invented by a Charles Fey in San Francisco. This machine proved much more practical in the sense that winnings could be precisely regulated, and marked the beginning of the real slot game revolution. The fact that some new video slot games still feature bell symbols dates back to this early invention. While early machines spewed out cigars and gum instead of money, the money dispensing versions soon became a staple in bars and casinos around the globe, and when the first video slot was invented in 1976 this paved the way for the online video slots which were to follow.

Gambling in the US: Two Sides of the Same Coin

The United States has always had an up and down relationship with gambling, dating back to when the very first European settlers arrived. Whereas Puritan bands of settlers banned gambling outright in their new settlements, those emigrating from England had a more lenient view of gambling and were more than happy to tolerate it. This dichotomous relationship has continued until now, and in 1910 public pressure led to a nationwide prohibition on gambling. Just like the alcohol prohibition of the same era, this proved somewhat difficult to enforce and gambling continued on in an only slightly discreet manner. The Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression that this spawned in the early 1930s led to gambling being legalized again, as for many this was the only prospect of alleviating the grinding poverty which they suffered through. Although gambling is legal in a number of States today –most famously in Las Vegas, Nevada - online gambling is still something of a grey area in the United States. Right now, many international internet casinos are unable to accept American clients, although the signs are that this will change in the near future.

The New Frontier for Gambling

Microgaming is one of the largest casino and slot game developers in the world today, and they are also considered to be pioneers of online gambling. The leap into the world of virtual casinos was taken all the way back in 1994, which in internet terms is kind of like 2300bc! Online gaming was worth over a billion dollars within 5 years, and today is a multibillion dollar industry with over a thousand online casinos and growing. The first live dealer casinos appeared in 2003 courtesy of Playtech, bringing us closer to a hybrid between brick and mortar casinos and the virtual world.

Gambling Has Gone Mobile

Since New Jersey legalized online gambling in 2011, there has been a boom in the interest people have in it. America has seen a move towards legalizing it state by state, as well as experiencing the rapid rise in mobile gambling. Across the globe, internet users are gradually veering away from their desktops and towards their handheld devices. This is true of online gamblers too, wanting to be able to enjoy their favorite games whilst on the go. The top gambling sites out there have recognized a market and have stepped up to deliver. With a wave of impressive mobile focused online gambling destinations taking the world by storm, it's safe to say that desktops are being left far behind in favour of more mobile alternatives.

When Does Online Sports Betting Start In Michigan


…The Future

What Comes Next?

When Did Online Gambling Start In Uk

It is just about as difficult to predict the future for gambling as it is to uncover some of the origins of the gambling games we know so well today. Much of the focus at the moment is on the mobile gaming market, with online casinos scrambling to make more content compatible with the latest hand held devices. Virtual reality technology is just taking its first steps as a commercial proposition, and you can be sure that there will be gambling applications down the road. How would you like to sit around a virtual poker table with a bunch of your friends from all over the world, share a few laughs, try to tell if you can spot a tell-tale facial tick; and all this from the comfort of your home? VR Headsets can make it happen – maybe not today, but certainly just a few years down the track if technology continues to advance in bounds and leaps.

When Did Online Sports Betting Start

And after that? Well who knows, but when it comes to gambling all things are possible.

References

  • Dice: Game Pieces (Britannica.com)
  • Baccarat (card game) (Wikipedia.org)
  • Twenty-One (card game) (Wikipedia.org)
  • How Casinos Work (HowStuffWorks.com)
  • Where Did Poker Originate? (History.com)
  • History Of Poker (Wopc.co.uk)
  • Chris Moneymaker (Wikipedia.org)
  • Historical Interlude (VideoGameHistorian.com)
  • Charles Fey and San Francieco's Liberty Bell Slot Machine (California Historical Quarterly)
  • Microgaming: About Us (Microgaming.co.uk)
  • New Jersey Now Allows Gambling via Internet (NYTimes.com)