Fun Facts About Online Gambling

When it comes to the facts about online gambling, there’s a lot of talk about hard facts and figures. Players generally know about different types of games, how they can be played, what bonuses are, and which payment methods are best.

Those facts are very useful and everything, but, let’s face it, they can get a bit boring. This is why we’re more than happy to share a few fun facts about online gambling with you.

They just might surprise you as much as they surprised us, and we’re certain that when you next log on to enjoy a gaming session, you’ll do so with a whole new appreciation of your favourite games.

General Online Casino Fun Facts

• Launched in 1994, Gaming Club was one of the very first online casinos in the world. It began operations with a handful of slots and table games, and now has more than 500 games, and attracts players from around the world.

• Players in the United States of America took to online gambling like fish to water. Everything went swimmingly until 2006, when the US Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was introduced. The act had a devastating effect on online casinos such as PartyGaming, which saw its stock fall by 60 percent in the space of 24 hours.

• Profits earned by some state-run online casinos are used to fund public projects. There’s nothing new about this, as China’s Great Wall, built centuries ago, was partially funded by lottery-style games such as keno.

• More than 24 percent of Americans have taken part in illicit gambling activities, some of which, no doubt, were online.

Card Game Fun Facts

• The card games you can play at online casinos use standard decks of cards. One deck of 52 playing cards can form 2 598 960 different five-card hands.

• The four suits in deck of cards have their roots in France’s Ancient Regime, which is when the country was still ruled by kings and queens. Spades were originally swords, which represented the nobility; diamonds were originally coins, which represented the merchants; clubs represented the peasants; and hearts, which were originally cups, represented the clergy.

• Playing cards aren’t used only for gambling. From the 16^th century until today, they’ve also been used for fortune telling.

• The humble sandwich was invented during a game of cards. The Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu, was so passionate about his card games that he didn’t want to leave the table to eat. Instead, he asked his servants to bring him a slice of meat between two slices of toasted bread. His card game buddies thought it was a great idea, and started asking for sandwiches themselves.

Table Game Fun Facts

• One of the most popular table games at online casinos is roulette. The game is said to have been invented in the 17^th century by French scientist Blaise Pascal, who was actually trying to invent a perpetual motion machine. Thanks, Blaise!

• Roulette’s most popular nickname is the King of Casino Games. One of its less-popular nicknames is the Devil’s Game, because all the numbers on the wheel add up to 666, which is the mythical number of the Beast.

• The chips used in table games are usually red, white, and blue in colour. The blue chips are worth the most money, and it is those chips that gave rise to the term ‘blue-chip companies’.

• Online casinos shuffle the cards after ever deal, which makes it impossible to count cards when playing blackjack. However, in situations where cards can be counted, it’s possible to make millions. Just ask those involved in the student blackjack team that ran from 1979 until the early 2000s at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who did exactly that.

Online Bingo Fun Facts

• The fastest-growing online gaming community in the world isn’t focused on slots, table games, or card games. Nope; it’s the online bingo.

• BINGO can be made in 44 million different ways on a strip of six tickets for a 90-ball game.

• Christine Bradfield’s January 2008 record for the biggest bingo win in UK history, £1.1 million, was held for only two months. In March that year, Soraya Lowell broke it with a £1.2 million win. Four years later, John Orchard smashed the record with a whopping £5.9million online bingo win.

• One of the fastest bingo wins in history happened when Darryl Howe won £18 000 after just 23 calls, less than an hour after he opened an account at an online bingo site.

Online Slot Fun Facts

• Slots are the most widely played of all online casino games. Those available include video slots, progressive slots, classic slots, and MegaSpin slots.

• Slots contribute a significant portion to online wagering. Market research indicated that online wagering on slots, table games, and other games is expected to surpass the $500 billion mark by the end of 2016. There you have it, some fun facts about everyone’s favourite pastime!