History Of Riverboat casinos - When Did They First Start?

The history of riverboat casinos was not something that was to evolve with any kind of speed. At that time it seemed that different state politicians had different ideas as to whether gaming should be made legal in their state. It has to be said when it comes to such things as gaming the Mid-West was not amongst the most forward thinking in approving such legislation for casinos in any form, never mind making it available to all their residents.

Given time the state stance would eventually soften and in 1991 after a long wait, the first legalized riverboat casino began operations in Iowa, albeit with restricted bets of no more than $5, and maximum losses of no more than $200. The mold had been broken, there was no going back.

Other states would look on and follow Iowa's progress and base their decisions now on new fresh current data, as they looked towards capitalizing upon this great little fund raiser to add to the state's budget.

It would not be long before Illinois and Mississippi subscribed to the history of riverboat casinos, by jumping aboard this nice little money spinner. They would enhance their operations with a more user friendly approach and legislate for their casinos to stay open 24 hours a day as in Vegas, also betting boundaries would be eliminated with no limits placed on betting.

Missouri was the last state to jump on board in 1994 and currently with regards to the history of riverboat casinos, they are only legal in Iowa, Illinois, Mississippi, Louisiana, Indiana, and Missouri.

The grand riverboats that are operational these days, for the most part are moored up alongside the river's dock. In Mississippi, they are permanently docked with large gangplanks connecting from the shore to the casino.

With each state regulating their riverboats slightly differently, there may be some variables, when it comes to the amount of passengers allowed aboard, opening hours and time allowed to gamble, but generally the games available will be what you expect, and should include the likes of Poker, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps and Roulette.