By Sadie Smith.
The modern online casino gambling market is huge – but table games still play a foundational role. The entire global business is worth around $98 billion by most estimates, although it could be considerably more if you include offshore operators. Regardless, you’ll find almost any online casino offers lots of versions of blackjack – proving this historic game is still as popular as ever with players.
But how has it changed over the years? What has kept the game popular for so long? And where might the story of blackjack, and other classic games, go next?
How It Started – A Brief History of Classic Casino Games
The first written mentions of blackjack, then called veintiuno (Spanish for 21), come from 16th century – although the few texts from the time seem to imply the game had already been played for some time in Spain at that point.
Blackjack, or very similar games, then spread across Europe and by the 1820s the first rulesets were printed in America. The name comes from an early form of casino bonus in which 21 players were offered a ten-to-one payout for hitting the ace of spades and a black jack. The bonus was eventually dropped but the name stuck.
Baccarat evolved around the 15th century in Italy, although it apparently took inspiration from the Chinese game Pai Gow that had been played centuries earlier.
Side note: You can still play Pai Gow at online casinos today, making it the oldest classic casino game for those interested in tradition and historical value.
The game then migrated to Cuba, via France, where it took on the modern form of Punto Banco that is most played globally at online casinos in 2026.
The Liberty Bell in 1894 was one of the first mainstream slot machines, and eventually these would take over casino floors from games like blackjack. Today they are considered classic, because they have largely been replaced by digital (online and physical) slot machines as the favorite of your average US gambler.
Which is not to say classic card games don’t still have their audience – and there are ways that casinos have brought the classics into the modern day.
The Development of Online Casinos
Online casinos first launched in the mid 1990s, and initially actually focused on virtual versions of blackjack, roulette and other classics.
However, by the mid 2000s virtual slot machines had taken over. Online blackjack was still popular, but it was now far from the biggest game in town.
By the 2010s online casinos were a huge business. Now in 2026, they are worth nearly $100 billion a year – but estimates do vary considerably. Regardless, that is a lot of money.
Today, a look at Casino.org – one of the top online websites for US casinos – shows you the depth and scale of the market. Every casino will have dozens of versions of live or virtual blackjack and baccarat, and players look through these resources to find out which variants are offered where – as well as information on things like bonuses, regular rewards and payment speeds.
The biggest change for the casino classics between the 2010s and now has definitely been the advent of live dealer casino streaming. Arguably nothing has changed gambling as much since the invention of the first digital slot machines.
Online Live Dealer and Hybrid Games
Live dealer blackjack quickly took over virtual blackjack as the preferred way for gamblers to play this classic game online. The advantages of live dealers – physical cards, conversation with a professional dealer, viral moments – saw them become the standard within just a decade of their original release.
Live casino games are now integrated into the majority of casinos globally, according to research, even though they are much more expensive and time-consuming to produce and run than a virtual blackjack game.
Live casino variants of blackjack have also adapted and innovated on the classic formula. For example:
- Free bet blackjack
- Infinite Blackjack
- Extra side bets
- Lightning blackjack with random multipliers
The same variants have also often been applied to roulette, specifically Lightning Roulette, which was an early example of the concept. Baccarat, though, has seemingly remained more austere, and you won’t find as many hyper or bonus variants of it as the other casino classics.
Where The Games Go Next – The Future of Blackjack
In terms of the pure gameplay of these classic games, it’s hard to see where innovation goes from here. Virtual reality blackjack games have been around for a while now but haven’t really seen mass market adoption. Other than that – the casino classics will probably just continue to be popular in their current digital forms, with a tendency towards mobile and live dealer play.
Interesting fact: Baccarat remains one of the biggest money spinners for Las Vegas Strip casinos – if not more than ever. In 2026, mass market tourism in Sin City is down, while operators focus on high-end international clientele. A group that apparently love to play baccarat. While slots still dominate, in 2026 baccarat is actually now more profitable than blackjack for Vegas’ giant casino resorts.
IMAGE CREDIT: AI Generated