A whole new world: How the Internet changed the way we play

The Internet as we know it has changed significantly since the beginning of this century. It’s only since the early 2000’s that it has surged in mainstream usage, with many of us able to recall the days of the mid-90’s before wireless networks, when we had to deal with clunky phone dial-ups. In fact, the Internet was around long before that, its earliest origins dating back to the first electronic computers developed in the 1950’s. It wasn’t until the early 1990’s that most households got involved and the world truly went global. Meanwhile, the first online casino launched in 1996 under the operation of Microgaming. Initially, growth was slow for the online casino as it was beset by technical issues and slow loading times. In the early days these were considered par for the course, which meant customers put up with its clunky operation much more than they would have the patience for today. This gave the online casino time to develop gradually. From this point, online casino gaming naturally progressed alongside the Internet’s growth, greater loading speeds helping them become ever more popular. In the mid-2000’s we saw another major leap for mainstream Internet usage: smartphones, made available to people on a mass scale. High-speed Internet was no longer confined to your home or the library computer; people could now take it out with them in their pockets. This new novelty would quickly become the norm over the following decade. Unsurprisingly, the online casino industry also began to thrive on mobile, leading to a boom that brought it the sustaining success we observe today. Now, twenty years after the Internet was an awkward novelty, the basics of which many households were still getting to grips with, the development of 4G has made mobile gaming as seamless as it is on desktop computers. It seems that new online casinos are popping up all the time. With a few clicks you can be playing your favourite games in moments, wherever you are.