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Dice and dice based games date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is just about one hundred years old. Current craps evolved from the ancient English game named Hazard. No one is certain of the beginnings of the game, but Hazard is considered to have been made up by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It’s believed that Sir William’s knights played Hazard during a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was developed from the citadel’s name.

Early French settlers brought the game Hazard to Canada (the colony of Acadia, which is Nova Scotia today). In the 1700s, when exiled by the English, the French moved south and happen upon safety in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they took their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the dice game and made it more statistically honest. It’s believed that the Cajuns altered the name of the game to craps, which was attained from the name of the non-winning roll of 2 in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi river boats and all over the nation. Many think the die maker John H. Winn as the founder of modern day craps. In the early 1900s, Winn assembled the current craps layout. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so folks could bet on the dice to lose. Later, he created the spaces for Place wagers and added the Big six, Big eight, and Hardways.

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