Online Gambling History

1995 – First Internet casino opens. Blackjack, roulette, craps and other casino games can be played for fun, but not real money. 1996 – First Internet casino that can be played for real money, InterCasino, opens. Thousands more such virtual casinos will open in coming years. 1997 – Three San Francisco residents and former Pacific Exchange employees, Jay Cohen, Steve Schillinger and Haden Ware, move to Antigua and start Web site called World Sports Exchange, an online sports book that accepts online wagers on sporting events. It’s among the first. 1998 – Country and western singer Kenny Rogers, who had the hit song “The Gambler,” becomes first celebrity to open his own Internet casino. It’s based in Curacao. Fellow celebs including Rodney Dangerfield, Larry Holmes and Bubba Smith soon follow suit. 1998 – The U.S. Justice Department issues felony arrest warrants for Cohen, Schillinger, Ware and 18 other Americans for their roles in the illegal operation of a half dozen different Internet casinos and sports books around the world. Feds say the accused violated the Federal Wire Act, which prohibits wagering over phone lines, which the Internet uses. 1998 – Cohen and 13 others who were charged turn themselves in to federal authorities in the U.S. All but Cohen have charges dismissed or have plea bargains and receive fines. Cohen declines a plea bargain offering no jail time, choosing to go to trial. He hires attorney Ben Brafman, who previously defended Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano. Schillinger, Ware and five others who were charged remain fugitives. 2000 – After a jury trial in federal court in New York, Cohen is convicted of seven felony counts of Internet bookmaking and related offenses, and sentenced to 21 months in federal prison. He appeals the verdict. 2000 – Rogers becomes first celebrity to close his Internet casino. He cites the unclear legal status of the operation. 2001 – The U.S. Court of Appeals upholds Cohen’s conviction. 2002 – Cohen begins serving his sentence at a federal prison in, ironically, Las Vegas. He becomes the only person in U.S. history to go to jail for online gambling. 2003 – Chris Moneymaker, a Memphis accountant, wins the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas after qualifying by winning an online poker tournament. The Internet poker boom begins. 2004 – Cohen is released from prison after serving 17 months. 2006 – Congress passes the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which bans U.S. banks and credit card companies from transferring monies to and from Internet gambling sites, making it difficult for Americans to fund online gambling. 2007 – The Poker Players Alliance, a San Francisco lobby group, hires former Sen. Al D’Amato, a noted poker player, to help get the law changed so it doesn’t affect online poker. The alliance says poker is a game of skill, not luck, and therefore isn’t gambling. 2007 – Rep. Barney Frank introduces bill called Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act, which would legalize Internet gambling in the U.S. The bill is yet to be voted on.