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Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Crusades, but current craps is approximately a century old. Modern craps come about from the 12th Century Anglo game called Hazard. Nobody knows for sure the ancestry of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It is supposed that Sir William’s knights gambled on Hazard through a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.
Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 1700s, when driven away by the English, the French moved down south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their favorite game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it more mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns adjusted the title to craps, which is derived from the name of the non-winning throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi river boats and throughout the nation. Most acknowledge the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of modern craps. In 1907, Winn designed the current craps layout. He appended the Don’t Pass line so gamblers can wager on the dice to not win. At another time, he invented the spots for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.