It has been close to three decades since the first online casinos were set up between 1994 – 96. Nobody believed back then that the format would soon grow to become the most preferred form of gambling in the world. In all fairness, what the first online gambling establishments looked like in those days, and what modern casinos would become eventually was an inconceivable concept at the time. The feeling is not that dissimilar to how many of us who played Super Mario on the NES could not back in the 80s or the 90s have imagined the PS5’s raw power!
However, along with all things digital, online casino sites have gone through especially dramatic improvements over the last decade. Consequently, new online casinos are offering a wide range of casino games that were previously limited to offline establishments only. Here are some of the more popular and classic casino games that have been incorporated into Welsh online casinos as well.
Blackjack
Classic blackjack is among the top two most popular gambling card games, not just in Wales, but pretty much the entire world. In fact, the banking game is so old that even the oldest form of blackjack has two European precursors called ventiuna (Spain) and Twenty-One (England), which originated more than 400-years ago. Classic blackjack is a relatively new game compared to its precursors, as the older game of Twenty-One was transformed under the new rules in the United States (1899).
Ever since that time, blackjack continued to grow in popularity across Europe and the US. However, it wasn’t until online casinos picked up blackjack that the banking game went truly international. Its popularity exploded across the internet, making it the world’s most popular banking card game. Nowadays, almost every internet casino has online blackjack, and some of them even arrange for live casino games with a real dealer.
Roulette
Roulette in its earliest form can be traced back to ancient Greek and Roman soldiers, who were often found playing a game of gambling on chariot wheels. However, the game in both its name and rules became popular in Italy and France around the late 18th Century, but the wheel was invented accidentally by Blaise Pascal in 1645! Roulette made its way to the US in the early 19th century, where the rules were changed in a way to give the house a massive edge against all players.
Online casinos picked up roulette almost immediately after coming into existence during the mid-late 1990s. Ever since that time, roulette has become one of the most popular casino games to have ever been made available in online casinos. Players in Wales have the option to play free online roulette and learn everything that there is to learn about the game and its rules, before betting real money on the numbers. Steer clear of American roulette, as it provides the house with almost double the edge at 5.26%, as compared to a standard house edge of 2.7% in European roulette.
Slot Machines
Although poker, blackjack, roulette, craps, and several other classic gambling games have now become just as much a part of the online casinos as they are inside traditional ones, none of them needed to evolve much to suit the online format. On the other hand, the classic fruits and bells machine came into full fruition only after the online casinos came to be. Some of the earliest slot machines that were later adapted to the online format include B3W Group’s Liberty Bell, Microgaming’s Lion’s Share, and IGT’s Wheel of Fortune Slot.
Thanks to massive improvements made in digital gaming hardware and software, we have more exclusively online slots today than all offline slots combined! While the traditional slot machines were bulky, took up space, and offered limited options, a single handheld smartphone can provide us access to thousands of slots across the internet at any time and in any place of our choosing.
Today, a majority of all land-based casino games are also available in online casinos. While the experience is not the same, online casino games have several extra perks that their traditional counterparts do not. There are better bonus offers, lower cost of admittance, and they offer ways for new Welsh players to practice without betting real money.