Casinos are amongst the most decadent and grand places on earth in the 21st Century, bastions of wealth, fun and, of course, gambling. Judging by the sheer amount of casinos that are around these days you would be tempted to think that they have been around for thousands of years, however, as it turns out, this isn’t the case.

Whilst gambling has been an important part of human civilization since way before Christ (fossil records show examples of gambling games played by stone age inhabitants), the establishment of actual casinos is still a relatively recent phenomenon relatively speaking.

You might have thought that civilizations like the Ancient Greeks or Romans would have had casinos in their society, especially considering how much we know they liked to gamble, but their gambling activities mainly took place in taverns. It actually wasn’t until the 16th Century that the world’s first genuine casino establishment was created in Venice, with the Casino Di Venezia originally opening over the harvest celebrations. Before long though the city authorities decided to keep it open indefinitely, and that is where the modern gambling story really starts. In the centuries that followed casinos got bigger and more decadent, reaching a peak in the mid 20th Century. However, in recent years dude to the emergence of online casino it seems as though brick and mortar casinos might be placed on the back foot somewhat. We ask ourselves the question: are brick and mortar casinos likely to go extinct in the next 20 years? Read ahead to find out.

Traditional casinos in the 21st Century

Traditional casinos are still thriving in the 21st Century. There are millions of gamblers flocking to physical casinos every year; it is just that the nature of this activity is perhaps starting to change. Online casino truly is bad news for smaller local casinos that cannot boast about many special features in their establishment, because most gamblers would prefer to gamble at home if there is no specific reason to venture out.

However, although casinos in places like Las Vegas might be losing out on a little bit of revenue from online casino, they are still wildly popular. In fact, there is even the argument that with so many new gamblers entering the casino world through online casino, famous casinos end up having even more visitors, as people want to see the places in reality.

The emergence of online casino

Online casino was on the cards ever since the Internet was first created, however it took a while for the necessary technology to implement it to become available, hence why online casino really only came into its own at the start of the 21st Century. And what a wild ride it has had already, turning into the gambling industry’s biggest sector by far in less than two decades.

If it wasn’t for online casino we wouldn’t even be writing this article, as brick and mortar casinos wouldn’t really have anything to worry about. However, now that you can gamble online from the comfort of your own home it does make things slightly more difficult for brick and mortar casinos.

Online casino vs. brick and mortar casinos

There are plenty of advantages and disadvantages to both online casino and traditional casino, with each variant having its pros and cons. The biggest positive to online casino is the fact that you can play it anywhere with an Internet connection, and this therefore means that you don’t have to trek to a real casino every time you want to do a spot of gambling.

However, gambling online just isn’t the same as gambling in a genuine casino, as it is a lot harder to capture that atmosphere and exciting on a computer or mobile screen. It is for this reason that millions of people still go to casinos around the world, as much as they are places to gamble, they are also places to form life changing memories and experiences.

Are brick and mortar casinos likely to go extinct in the next 20 years?

So then, are brick and mortar casinos likely to go extinct in the next 20 years? Well, the short answer is no, however we could see a lot of smaller casinos having to close their doors over the next couple of decades.