In the most literal sense of the term “mobile gaming,” mobile gaming history began with dice—the simplest and easiest to carry of gaming implements—thousands of years ago. Cards soon followed. Hundreds of years later, and many decades after the invention of electricity, the first electronic mobile games appeared in 1970. They were clunky little handheld devices featuring slow, simplistic games on a black and white LCD screen, but they caught on quick. At the time, arcades (and casinos) were still the go-to places for new games, but home consoles would soon overtake this form of entertainment.
Though popular game manufacturers like SEGA and Nintendo invested significant time and money into their mobile gaming consoles, home consoles continued to rule the market until the last couple years. While games had existed on mobile phones for over a decade, up until recently they were too slow, dull and simple to compete in the technology-saturated mass gaming market. Even in the gambling world, handheld casino game consoles were too clunky to compete with online casinos.
The introduction of mobile devices like the iPhone—which were capable of supporting much more advanced graphics and which also offered mass-gaming opportunities—took mobile gaming to a whole new level. Mobile gambling is already a popular phenomenon in Europe where mobile gamblers can play real money games, and fun-only mobile gambling is quickly picking up in America where live casinos are introducing their own mobile gaming applications. It's only a matter of time before mobile casinos become as popular as their online counterparts.
