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Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Crusades, but current craps is approximately a century old. Current craps formed from the old English game referred to as Hazard. Nobody knows for certain the beginnings of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been discovered by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It is supposed that Sir William’s paladins enjoyed Hazard through a blockade on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortress’s name.
Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when displaced by the British, the French moved down south and found sanctuary in the south of Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which was derived from the name of the non-winning throw of two in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi barges and across the country. A few think the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn created the current craps setup. He appended the Do not Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he designed the spots for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.