The first online casinos started showing up on the Internet in 1995. They could have started sooner as the technology to play the gambling games already existed, but the number of people on the net was not sufficient before that time to support online gaming. The Internet population of users had to grow first, before the online casinos would have a large enough population to draw from. Once the numbers were sufficient, the growth has been outstanding and there are many casinos online.

Internet banking and credit cards have helped this online activity grow. The gaming industry just took what was happening in the world of Internet commerce and tweaked it for their gaming sites.

Online casinos offer all forms of gambling available in live casinos. A player can shoot dice, play blackjack or play poker. The roulette player can have a go at their favorite game and the slot player can choose from all types of slot machines. It does not matter what the player wants to gamble at, it is available on the Internet. The deposit and withdrawal methods are in place with bonuses on the deposits at many of the online casinos.

Poker tournaments are wildly successful on the net. The satellite tournaments have played a major role in increasing the number of players that now sign up to play in the WSOP or at the WPT. It is a rare final table these days that does not have online players sitting in and some who are there via winning a satellite tournament. Some online sites are limited to poker and some offer every game.

The betting limits at these sites are more than most gamblers would be comfortable playing for, but they are available. The cost of setting up all of these tables and limits is very small for an online casino compared with the cost at a live casino. The first cost savings for the online casino is it does not need to have the number of employees that a live casino needs to operate. There is basically no limit to the number of tables, as long as the software will handle the number of players. Live casinos have to pay a tax per table or slot machine. There is no fee for online casinos, like there is for live casinos. The one current restriction for online casinos is they have to be offshore and not within the boundaries of the United States. This will probably change too as the live casinos in the United States is pushing for it and the politicians will eventually listen.