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Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes back to the Crusades, but current craps is approximately a century old. Modern craps come about from the 12th Century English game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been discovered by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It’s believed that Sir William’s knights played Hazard during a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the citadel’s name.
Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when exiled by the English, the French headed down south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they a while later became known as Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which is derived from the name of the losing throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi river boats and across the country. A good many consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn created the modern craps layout. He appended the Do not Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to lose. At another time, he established the boxes for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.