Online slots and casino websites are the preferred destination for modern gamblers. They have surpassed their land-based counterparts and now dominate the gambling industry at all levels. However, they are a relatively new addition to the gaming landscape, with the first casino being founded in the mid-90s. They enjoyed the meteoric growth over the next three decades and there are no reasons to expect an end to this trend.

Microgaming paved the way to greatness

The first online slots software was founded by Microgaming in 1994. This was the moment when Internet gambling was truly possible on real money games. Having said this, punters had to wait another year until they were actually able to play in a fully functional Internet casino. The software developer prepared the platform for the grand opening and was able to launch officially in 1994. The player tracking tools and management systems worked as expected and paved the way to the online casino revolution.

Microgaming continues to play an important role in the development of Internet gambling. In 1997, the company created the Interactive Gaming Council and as a founding member set up the main directions for growth. This is when players were presented for the first time with the opportunity of playing slots, table games and video pokers. Keno and lottery inspired titles were also available and all these gaming options were delivered exclusively to downloadable software.

InterCasino and Casino.co.za enter the race

Microgaming enjoyed the dominant position for many years, but since 1995 they were no longer alone in this competition. That’s when InterCasino and Casino.co.za enter the fray and both brag about being the first online casinos. Just like the aforesaid software developer, their foundations were laid sooner, but the casinos only became fully functional a few years later. Players were the main beneficiaries of this race, and they were provided with progressively better games and more gambling options.

The controversies regarding the casino that was first established continued for decades. Even today, the topic is highly debated and there’s a lot of controversy surrounding this subject. Microgaming points towards the ICANN record as an argument in favor of its casino being the first. The fact that they had the first domain registered is different from the domain currently use fails to clarify the lingering doubts.

At the end of the day, it is difficult to establish with pinpoint accuracy which was the first online casino founded in 1991. Both Microgaming and Cryptologic have solid claims and arguments in favor of supporting their theory. At the end of the day, it is less important was the first software developer to have a fully functional slots website. What matters the most is that both contributed to the exceptional growth of the online gambling industry and created a better gaming environment for modern punters and the latest slot sites are much more user friendly.