{"id":3195,"date":"2020-07-26T12:46:48","date_gmt":"2020-07-26T12:46:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.com\/blog\/\/blog\/?p=3195"},"modified":"2025-03-19T14:46:55","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T14:46:55","slug":"the-online-entrepreneurs-who-led-the-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.com\/blog\/2020\/07\/26\/the-online-entrepreneurs-who-led-the-way\/","title":{"rendered":"The Players: 5 Online Pioneers Who Gambled And Won"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
Online gambling is big business. Globally, it is estimated to be worth more than $50 billion. For an industry less than 25 years old, the numbers are remarkable.<\/p>\n\n
The maxim states that: necessity is the mother of invention. For online gambling, the innovation of the Internet created a new opportunity; an opportunity exploited by a handful of sharp, savvy, innovators, who realised the potential in this new medium.<\/p>\n\n
The Internet went live on August 6, 1991. EBay and Amazon both launched in 1995; although, it would be 2001 before Amazon made a profit. By 2001, online gambling was a highly profitable, developing, business with scores of operators competing for market share.<\/p>\n\n
With so many entrepreneurs struggling to grab a slice of this lucrative market, it\u2019s hard to spot exactly who the true pioneers were. However, some of us were there when it all began. Here\u2019s our top five guide to the personalities who turned out to be players.<\/p>\n\n
The exact origins of the first online casino<\/a> are shrouded in a fog of mystery. Software developers Microgaming now boasts that it \u2018developed the world\u2019s first true online casino software in 1994\u2019. This much is true.<\/p>\n\n But who was behind this innovative vision? The answer is a man called Martin Moshal. Today, the South African businessman has his own scholarship program and is a partner in the venture capital firm Entr\u00e9e Capital. He is secretive when it comes to his past.<\/p>\n\n In the mid-1990s, Moshal was one of the founders of Microgaming alongside investor Roger Raatgever; developing online casino software and locking in a wealth of unique patents. In 1998, Microgaming launched the iconic progressive online slot<\/a> Cash Splash.<\/p>\n\n The shared jackpot was unique at the time and gave online casino operators the excuse to offer their players a multi-million-pound jackpot. It has paid out more than a billion dollars since then.<\/p>\n\n Meanwhile\u2026 as Moshal worked on the casino, computer programming boffin, and keen gambler, Ian Sherrington was developing online gambling software with a Salzburg-based bookmaker called Intertops. It would eventually turn your browser into a bookmaker.<\/p>\n\n The first online sports bet took place on January 17, 1996. Following this success, Intertops headed to Antigua where the business would become a US-facing sportsbook; tapping into an enormous marketplace. It was the birth of a multi-billion dollar business.<\/p>\n\n2. The Sportsbook Superhero \u2013 Ian Sherrington<\/h2>\n\n
3. The Real Deal \u2013 Randy Blumer<\/h2>\n\n