The internet is now swarmed with countless internet gambling websites, casino sites, and sports betting websites. There are millions of people across the world who have delved into the world we know as online gambling. It has become bigger than a $35 billion dollar industry that has started to to become a bidding war between the big corporations. Many of the website owners have started with takeovers, acquisitions and mergers. Many of the big ones started in the mid 90’s or early 2000’s.
History of Online Casinos and Gambling
Some of the big online gambing brands are 888 Holdings which was founded in 2002 and does about $450 million in annual turnover. Full Tilt Poker which was one of the biggest known websites among online gamblers did about $545 million in annual turnover and was found in 2004. It was bought by POKERSTARS for $730million in 2012 and bought again by Amaya, Inc for almost $5 billion in 2014.The start of the revolution was in the mid 1990’s when Antigua and Barbuda passed the Free Trade and Processing Act. This act allowed the country to start issuing licenses to companies interested in becoming internet casinos. There is a toss up to who was actually the first online casino. GamingClub claims to be the first to market in late 1995, however most sources suggest InterCasino which was established in 1996 was actually the first online Casino. MicroGaming was actually the first one to start in 1994. Back then you wouldn’t go straight to the website. You would get physical CD’s to put in your CD-ROM and play your bets like that. They really paved the way because no one was using credit cards to purchase online since no one trusted it. It took some time to get the ball rolling along with mass adoption of the internet. The next problem they dealt with was slow internet connection which made it harder.
Rise of Sports Books and Online Poker
Wherever there is gambling, there is sports betting and poker. Sports Books became popular in the mid 1990’s and continued to expand by offering generous bonus programs and free wagers. Most of that died down quickly once customers started handing over their money but they continued to be extremely successful. in 1996, Canada even knew how big this industry would be so they introduced the Kahnawake Gaming Commission which controls and monitors that industry.
Online poker became a phenomenon. It obviously started early, however when places like PartyPoker and ESPN began advertising online Texas Holdem, the world went crazy. There were so many households involved in online poker, that new sites continually popped up with the new latest and greatest features. The World Series of Poker which is still broadcast on ESPN continues to grab attention from watchers and continues to be extremely successful, even though the entries have dropped significantly since online gambling was thrown through a loop.
In the past 10 years, online gaming has increased due to the big spending on TV advertising like Super Bowl commercials. One of the original advertising methods were banner advertising which are the ugly or colorful advertising you see on the side of websites sidebars. Many promotions were being created and still are in effect too. Sportsbook gave free $10 to anyone who referred someone else to Sportsbook who deposited money into their account.
In 2005, a Utah mother agreed to place a tattoo of GoldPalace.com on her forehead for $10,000. Talk about some side income huh? Now we’re not encouraging you to tattoo anything on your body in the form of advertisement. It’s not uncommon to see temporary tattoo’s on streakers through sports games like Football, Soccer and even Golf. These can be contributed to a mixture of creative advertising along with restrictive gambling ad laws.
The Fall of Online Gambling in the U.S.
In 2006 the Unlawful Gaming Enforcement Act, destroyed what we know of the online gambling world. The act never truly attacked the poker system itself, they really only attacked the payment processors. If you took money for the act of another person making a bet or wager, it is against the laws of the United States of America.
There were a few websites such as Poker Stars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute poker, who tried to fight the system and continue to allow U.S. players into the system, however, eventually the government took over and seized those websites as well. The day the government shut down internet poker is known as “Black Friday.” PartyGaming, a huge internet casino company lost 60% of its share price on that single day.
The Rise of Overseas Gambling
When the U.S. was hammered with all of the internet problems with online gambling and casinos, many professional players and others swarmed overseas and to foreign countries to still make money online. The new rise of internet casinos offering poker, slots, and online gaming was a hot topic.
The reason all of these websites began to get popular is because all the major offerings in the U.S. lost all money and the ability to continue to do business. Welcome to the overseas gaming world and you will see countless places to gamble your money still.
Netbet offers a variety of gaming and gambling programs such as slots, games, roulette, and blackjack just to name a few.
Remember online gaming and gambling is addictive and you can truly create problems for yourself and your family. If you need help there are countless places to reach out and recover from gambling. We are not liable for money gained or money lost with your online gambling adventures.
How to Make Passive Money with Online Casinos
Making money with internet gaming is actually easier than you think and it does not require you to take any bets yourself, it does not require you to be a payment processor or anything like that but it requires some initial upfront work. You can make money referring people, selling through affiliates, selling guides, advertising, or even working a certain percentage with a bookie. As long as you get traffic to your site, you can monetize through different channels.
Affiliates with Online Gambling Sites
Affiliates used to be the most popular way of making passive income with online gambling sites. You can reach out to bookies and refer customers to them for a percentage or a fee. For every money they play and the bookie wins, they can pass on a percentage to you, say 15%. This can be done for card games and sport betting.
Advertising
Advertising is a great way to make some passive income in the online gambling industry. If you bring enough traffic to your website, you can get brands to advertise on your website. Give them options of top, side or middle banner ads.