Craps is a descendant of the ancient game of Hazard. Hazard was devised by an Englishman named Sir William of Tyre. He created the game as a pastime for his soldiers while they were laying siege to an Arabian castle by the name of "Hazarth" or "Asarf" around 1125 A.D.

The name Hazard is supposed to have come from the castle's name, but some scholars say Hazard comes from the Arabic word for dice which is "Al Zah" or "Azza". In any event, the name Hazard is definitely of Arabic origin.

Some craps historians date the origin of craps all the way back to the time of the Roman Empire. They say that the Roman soldiers shaved down and reshaped pig knuckles to form cube-like shapes, numbered them, and then rolled them on their inverted shields to pass the time.

Hazard was a very popular game with the English gentry and it is mentioned a number of times in the literary classic Canterbury Tales. The game of Hazard naturally progressed and moved across the Channel to France and the Mediterranean countries, where it also caught on with great enthusiasm. In France the game became known as "Crabes," taken from the term given to losing two throws in a row.

Craps traveled across the Atlantic to America as early as the first settlers on the Mayflower. It also made its way to America with the French, who started the colony of Acadia in the 1700's. In the mid 1700's, the British conquered Acadia and renamed it Nova Scotia. The French were pushed out and went to settle in Louisiana, where they became known as Cajuns, and carried on playing the dice game that they called "Crebs." Eventually the Cajuns also began calling the game Craps and that is how it is still known today.

The father of the modern craps game is a 19th-century American named John H. Winn. Winn's great achievement was to change the craps rules so that a player could bet either with the shooter or against the shooter. This rule change eliminated the problem of loaded dice, since loading the dice no longer conferred any advantage on the casino. Winn also devised the modern craps table, with its plush felt covering and its intricate grid for placing the various craps bets.

Today, many people like to play online craps. With the internet boom and the growth of online casinos in the 1990s, playing craps online became the preferred method for many people.

Online Craps is played much the same way as the original casino craps as adapted by John H Winn. A grid is laid out in front of the player and he places his bet on the virtual craps table. There are a number of different types of craps bets that can be placed. The player clicks "Roll" and the dice are thrown.

Playing Craps online has a number of advantages. One is that there are no other players at the craps table to annoy you. Another is that when you play Craps in an online casino, there is no worry of crooked dice or any form of cheating. All good online casinos are monitored by regulatory bodies and will not allow any foul play. The introduction and development of the Random Number Generator has helped increase the popularity of online casino games, especially online craps. At the same time, the development of online banking methods has made gambling real money over the internet safe and secure. These factors, along with the convenience of playing in the comfort of your own home and the amazing computer graphics that are available today, have made playing online craps extremely popular.

It is incredible to think that from the Romans' bone-scraping, to the Crusaders and on to the Americas, and finally to the online Craps casino, Craps has traveled a long journey. Taking all of its history into consideration, the game of Craps has not changed that much since its early days as Hazard. Even the online Craps versions of the 21st Century still have some of the original rules. For such a simple game it has lasted a long time and looks like it will carry on going for many more years to come.