Playing games online is a great way to pass the time and let off some steam. Games of all varieties have been played by people across the globe for centuries. It’s the one pastime that has never decreased in popularity.

There are so many different games to be played and a plethora of wins to be had. Sometimes it can be difficult to choose from the range of games that there are available. Thankfully, there are some top gaming sites on hand to help you find the popular options.

There’s always a chance to win in an online casino but there are some games in particular that can win you life-changing money. We’ll be guiding you through some of the history of online gaming and some of the biggest wins in online casino history.

History of online casinos

Casinos are found a lot further back in history than you might originally think. The first casinos that would be similar to those we find today were in Italy, specifically in Venice. They were called Il Ridotto meaning ‘private room’ and the first of which was found in the Palazzo Dandolo in Venice in 1638.

However, the trend caught on and aristocrats soon wanted their own private rooms. The original Il Ridotto was open to the public but there was a prestigious dress code as well as the tables being very expensive. This, therefore, limited the people who could attend as well as how often they could visit.

The most popular game in Il Ridotto was the basetta – a card game that is similar to blackjack, poker, and gin rummy. It’s more of a combination of the three and was the favorite amongst players as it would pay out a massive 60 times what they wagered. The stakes were high but everyone wanted a slice of the game.

This increased the popularity for more casinos that were less difficult to get into. It also drew the need for casinos that were more accessible to the lower classes. Casinos slowly became to be more commonplace throughout Europe in the following next centuries.

The idea of a casino traveled with early French settlers in Mississippi, typically playing poker. This version of poker had itself originated in 17th-century Persia and could be found in Mississippi as soon as 1829.

As soon as the internet became more widely available, online casinos started to grow in popularity. 

Benefits of online casinos

The invention of the internet made it that bit easier for people to play their favorite games wherever they had internet access. People no longer had to leave their homes to play, or even get changed out of their pajamas!

Being able to play at online casinos in the comfort of your own home or from a mobile device makes it so much easier to play. There’s no casino dress code to consider, no annoying travel planning, or extra costs.

In addition to this, you have a much bigger range of games to play at an online casino. There’s no limited floor space, you can have as many different types of games as you like. With so many different games out there, it can be tricky to pick a favorite!

World’s biggest casino wins

As you can imagine, some of the people who have managed to bag the biggest wins decided to remain anonymous. This is probably due to the media attention that these kinds of wins can draw. So while we don’t have everyone’s names, we do have all the info you need on the biggest casino wins of all time. 

      Gala Bingo win

One of the top wins comes from a woman, who wished to remain anonymous, living in Scotland in the UK. She won a progressive jackpot whilst playing on a mobile device and turned a £4 bet into a £4.5 million win. That’s roughly $5.1 million!

It was the biggest win that had been seen on a mobile device at the time she won. However, she didn’t quite live up to the world record at the time which was around £1 million ($1.1 million) more.

      NetEnt’s Mega Fortune win

Another anonymous winner was a man from Finland who managed to turn his 25 cent spin into a massive $24 million win. Apparently, he was just casually making his way through some online casinos before placing this bet. And it turned out to be one for the history books!

      Mega Fortune win

Next on the list of massive online casino wins is this Mega Fortune win. Another Finnish man was the lucky winner of this monumental $21 million jackpot. He also wanted to remain anonymous but we know that he was in his 40s when he managed to bag the cash. Another win that makes your own feel even more possible!

      Arabian Nights win

This win comes from a Norwegian man who was already a big fan of online gaming. He was playing a very popular online slot game called Arabian Nights when he managed to win 17.3 million dollars.

      Mega Moolah win

This win came through for a British soldier way back in 2015. Jon Heywood was playing on the Mega Moolah slot game and won an incredible £13.2 million which is roughly $15.1 million! Apparently, he waited a few days before telling anyone about the win or even cashing it in.

If you’re a fan of an online casino, there’s always a chance that one day the win could be you! Why not try a game out now and see what happens.