Until recently, cruise lines took the view that casinos were just one more shipboard diversion for vacationing passengers. Most table games had relatively low betting limits which was just as well, since many of the people at the cruise ship casino tables had relatively low gaming skills.

The land based gambling laws have favored that many floating casinos aboard cruise ships, which enabled people to gamble freely once the ships had passed outside of the three mile from shore limits and with them the extension of any country’s gambling laws. Once out to open sea, the cruise ships opened their casinos to their clientele who could gamble with impunity, unfettered by any country’s laws on gambling and free from any taxes that would otherwise have accrued on their winnings.

Cruise ship casinos have exploded in a big way in the last decade, and most mega-ships have a lights-blinking, bell-ringing, adrenaline-pumping casino at the center of their ship. What started as a convenient and legal gambling alternative for those who lived far from Las Vegas or Atlantic City the original riverboat casinos that never even left the dock has turned into one of the cruise industry’s most renowned for perks.

While some serious players will take over the casinos during the day and at night they become more of a social scene for all cruise passengers with live music, cocktails and slots. Most cruise ship casinos also boast casual dress codes and more relaxed atmospheres.

The dealers ditch the old-school tuxes and stiff upper lips in favor of flip-flops and chatty dispositions making them look enticing for non-serious gamers as well. It all depends on your ship.

In addition to the usual slots, craps and blackjack, an increasing number of cruise lines are turning over their casinos to regular poker tournaments. The Carnival Cruises and Holland America are 2 of the more usual hosts for party poker tournaments, which can draw hundreds of cruise travelers and boast multimillion-dollar payouts.

Cruise ship casinos are closed while the ship is in port, and because most travelers are happy to get their fill when the ship is at sea, the biggest and best casino cruises still travel to locations that aren’t particularly known for their gambling scenes and not to mention that it’s a stretch getting to Las Vegas by boat.

However, the recent upsurge in online gambling has begun to cause rack and ruin in the cruise ship casino business with falling numbers and a drop in revenue. That’s mainly due to the convenience of online gambling and the easy accessibility of online casinos on home computers. Now there is a serious challenge to the offshore casino industry to keep coming up with incentives to keep attracting people to come aboard.

With the number of cruise ships also growing at a breathtaking pace, several cruise lines are now marketing to players interested both in the cruise experience, and willing to spend a few hours a day in casinos.

This spells only for a multi-billion dollar casino cruise industry that will be forced to come up with something very attractive to turn the tide.