Inter Casino opened the first online casino on August 18, 1995. This milestone opened the flood gates to a brash new breed of entrepreneurs establishing their online casinos. However the early days of the online gaming industry was akin to the ‘Wild West’. Clip joints; what we now call rogue casinos, scattered the virtual landscape. Nothing much has changed, except these days players who are scammed by rogue casinos will use gambling forums and such to alert other players about clips joints.
In 1998 CasinoMeister opened the first online casino watchdog site. Soon after the Online Players Union (OPA) opened giving gamblers a combined voice. In a gallant effort to even the playing field for both legitimate players and online casinos alike. By this stage, the most notorious of all rogue casinos the Virtual Casino Group, had established many clone casinos. All with the same purpose to scam casino players and rob them of their rightful winnings.
2003 saw eCOGRA (e-Commerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance) enter the industry.
Online Casinos
As of 2013 there are literally 1000’s of casinos online. While there are decent and respectable operators, it’s a sad reality, there are online casinos out to scam their players. However to try and avoid being scammed by rogue casinos or shaved by dodgy casino affiliate programs, don’t believe everything your told. If possible, get everything in writing and take date stamped screen caps of Terms & Conditions. You should also use Google to do some simple checks on any casino your thinking of joining. A few minutes spent researching can save you hours, if not weeks of stress.
Dodgy Online Casino History (DOCH for short), sheds light on the online gaming industry’s less reputable dealings and characters. We also take a direct stand again both rogue casinos who scam players and casino affiliate programs who are being dishonest in their dealings with their affiliate partners.