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Games that use dice and the dice themselves date all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is only about one hundred years old. Current craps formed from the ancient Anglo game called Hazard. Nobody knows for certain the birth of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been created by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It is presumed that Sir William’s paladins enjoyed Hazard during a blockade on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the castle’s name.
Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when expelled by the English, the French moved south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they a while later became known as Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which is derived from the name of the bad luck toss of two in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi scows and all over the nation. Most consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn created the modern craps setup. He appended the Don’t Pass line so players can wager on the dice to lose. At another time, he created the boxes for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.