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Dice and dice games date back to the Crusades, but current craps is only about a century old. Modern craps formed from the ancient Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the ancestry of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It’s supposed that Sir William’s soldiers wagered on Hazard through a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortress’s name.
Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 1700s, when banished by the English, the French moved south and discovered sanctuary in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which is derived from the term for the bad luck toss of two in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi scows and all over the nation. Most consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn assembled the modern craps setup. He put in place the Do not Pass line so players can bet on the dice to lose. Later, he designed the spaces for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.