The origins of blackjack have been a topic of debate for longer than I or any of our readers have been alive.

Suffice it to say, then, that we’re not going to conclusively solve the riddle of the game’s definite beginnings.

What we do know, however, is that blackjack is a game that has been around for centuries, with many agreeing that the game originated at some point in the 1700s. For anything to survive as long as that it needs to have an enduring popularity that generation after generation will enjoy and blackjack does, in abundance.

Currently, the game is undergoing yet another resurgence in popularity, but why is that the case? What is it about the five-hundred-year-old-plus game that has Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen X players as enthused as Liberty, Republican, and Compromise (1700s generations) players once were? Read on to find out…

The Internet

Over the past two decades, online gambling has gone from a fairly niche pastime to a multi-billion-dollar global industry. Everywhere you go, you’ll find advertising encouraging you to download the latest and best online casino app. Every time you listen to the radio or watch TV, you’ll hear or see adverts offering free spins, no deposit bonuses, and early cash-out offers, and online casinos have adapted to cater for the rise in demand for mobile gaming and are reaping the rewards.

As one of the star attractions of the online casino, blackjack has benefited and has become a staple amongst the new generation of gamblers. So much so that not only are more people playing the game, but there are also huge numbers of people creating content about the game.

Informative articles guiding when to surrender in blackjack, along with TikTok and YouTube videos detailing strategies and step-by-step playing guides are almost proving as popular as the game itself.

Speed & Simplicity

There’s another reason for blackjack’s contemporary popularity that plays into the rise of internet gambling and online culture, and that is the speed and simplicity of the game. In 2000, the average person had an attention span of 12 seconds, which was cause for concern back then as it was only 3 seconds longer than a goldfish.

Now, in 2025, our average attention span has fallen to 8.25 seconds, making us less concentrated than a fish! The internet and social media culture have been cited as the main reason for this, with modern humans so used to achieving instant dopamine hits online that they flit from one thing to the next at supersonic speed.

One game that brilliantly fits those diminishing attention spans is blackjack. It’s fast-paced, easy to understand, and provides players with quick and regular rushes of dopamine as they either beat the dealer or narrowly lose out.

Favorable Odds

Blackjack doesn’t just outperform other games in terms of speed and simplicity, but also in terms of the odds. Every casino game has something known as a house edge. Essentially, this is something that is built into the game to give the house (the provider) a statistical advantage over the player.

In the long term, this ensures that the casino will make a profit. However, the house edge is usually fine-tuned to be high enough to keep the house in business, but low enough to keep players interested and give them a chance to win big.

Blackjack, however, has one of the lowest house edges of all casino games, making it one of the most appealing to players. So not only is it a fast and simple game, but it also rewards players with regular wins. Is it any wonder that it’s so popular?

How to reduce the house edge in blackjack

Summing Up

You might have been expecting to read a long list of reasons for blackjack’s surge in popularity, but it’s not that complicated. The game is fun, it’s fast, easy to play, and offers players chances of regular wins. Those are the reasons that have made the game a success for five hundred years, so it’s no surprise to see them hitting the right notes with modern players.

What has also helped the fortunes of blackjack is the rise of online casino gaming and the card game’s suitability to modern content creators. Both of these have only helped to cement the game’s popularity, which we cannot see changing for some time yet…