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Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is just about a century old. Modern craps formed from the 12th Century Anglo game called Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It’s supposed that Sir William’s paladins gambled on Hazard through a blockade on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortress’s name.

Early French settlers brought the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when banished by the English, the French relocated south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which is gotten from the name of the bad luck toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and throughout the country. A great many consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn created the current craps layout. He appended the Do not Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to not win. At another time, he developed the boxes for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.

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