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Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is approximately 100 years old. Current craps evolved from the old Anglo game referred to as Hazard. Nobody knows for certain the ancestry of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It’s supposed that Sir William’s paladins played Hazard during a siege on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the castle’s name.
Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when banished by the British, the French relocated down south and settled in southern Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they took their favorite game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which is acquired from the term for the bad luck throw of two in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi barges and across the country. Most consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn assembled the modern craps layout. He added the Don’t Pass line so players can bet on the dice to not win. At another time, he designed the spaces for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.