Online Casinos - Overview
Casinos originated in Venice Italy in the 17th century, where the first public gaming house was licensed. Venetian high society met in ‘casini’ or little house to indulge in gambling and sometimes even riskier pursuits while seeking carnal pleasures.
Casinos spread throughout Western Europe becoming an official, organised and legal activity, patronised by the wealthy aristocracy and often paying taxes to the state.
Monaco opened its first casino in the 1860’s, Las Vegas in 1931 and Macao becoming the legal Asian gambling centre in the 1960’s.
The UK has 42 cities with casinos, with London listing 23, already in existence and the government is considering licensing eight each Regional, Large and Small casinos but is facing opposition to this proposal, so the final number allowed may well be smaller.
It is not easy to put a number to the online casinos operating, the list grows daily and the bonus offers to tempt you to play get steadily larger.
It is a hugely competitive field with a bewildering choice of games to play and sites to play them at.
For first timers it we recommend a visit to our Online Casinos Risks & Dangers page to be aware of the issues involved, also take a look at the basic rules and tips in this section, before leaping into the first site with fancy graphics that catches your attention.
Make sure you pick a site that meets with our recommendations for safe betting and start with small stakes until you are totally familiar with the site.
There is a world of difference between playing in an actual live casino against real people and sitting at a lonely keyboard with little or no idea of who is playing against you. But it can be very profitable!
Take care and enjoy!