Are you thinking about spending the evening at one of London’s top casinos? You’ve got plenty of iconic venues to choose from – The Hippodrome, The Sportsman and The Palm Beach Casino are three of the best – but you’re understandably unsure about some of the rules. Dress codes may vary when you’re at different venues, though the big rule you’re thinking about relates to credit card gambling.
Put simply; can you bet with your credit card at London’s casinos?
Here’s everything you need to know to avoid any doubts or confusion:
A Brief Summary Of Credit Card Gambling in the UK
Credit card gambling has a long and tempestuous past in the United Kingdom. Cast your mind back to 2020 and the Gambling Commission unveiled a new set of regulations aimed at preventing credit card use at various betting establishments.
In these new regulations, the UKGC listed the following sectors as not allowing credit card payments for gambling services:
- Online betting, casino and bingo sites
- High street bookmakers
- Track bookmakers (at horse racing events)
- Lotteries that accept online payments or payments over the phone
This is where some of the confusion surrounding land-based casinos – like the ones you want to visit in London – and credit cards stems from. Reading this list makes it seem like land-based casinos are exempt from this ruling. Why else aren’t they mentioned at all?
Well, it turns out they weren’t mentioned because credit card gambling at traditional casinos is already banned. Operators hadn’t been accepting these payments for many years before the changes in credit card betting regulations, which is why there’s no mention of them in the update.
With that in mind, you can’t bet with your credit card at any of London’s top casino establishments.
Exploring The Alternatives
You’ve just discovered you can’t use your credit card when frequenting casinos in London. So, what’s next?
There are two alternative routes you can traverse:
- Join online casinos that accept credit cards
- Use different payment methods at London’s casinos
For the first option, it’s important to realise you can find casinos with credit cards allowed. CasinoGam has a list of casinos that accept credit cards and they’re all accessible from inside the United Kingdom. Why go down this route? Well, if you’re hellbent on using your credit card, this is the only option. Some people prefer to do this because it gives them more wiggle room to repay any casino losses. You bet £100 and lose it all on roulette, but you have another month or more to cover this because you used credit.
On the other hand, you might be asking the question about London casinos and credit cards because you’re planning a night out. In this case, using online casinos simply won’t be a valid solution. Your only option is to use different payment methods at London’s various casino venues.
Most of them will accept cash and debit cards to pay for different things. One key stipulation is that debit cards are banned on gaming machines. This means you have to use cash if you want to play any of the slot machine games at the casinos. For other things – like poker, roulette or different table games – you can usually use a debit card to pay for “chips” that you bet with.
If you’re asking for a recommendation, we’d say cash is the best option. Casinos are one of the only places where using cash makes sense as it means you can budget your bets. At the beginning of the night, decide with your friends how much money you want to bring with you. Set a limit, take the cash out, and that’s what you’re left with. If you lose it all, then you don’t take any more money out and call it a day.
What Happens If You Use A Credit Card At A London Casino?
To be honest, nothing can happen.
Credit cards are banned, so, if you pull one out and try to use it to pay for anything, you won’t be allowed. The employees will simply say “Sorry, we don’t accept credit cards” and that’s the end of the discussion. You won’t be kicked out or have a black mark against your name; you’ll merely be asked to use another form of payment.
Also, one very important caveat for you; credit cards can be used to buy food and drink from bars or restaurants inside casinos. They’re only banned when you use them for gambling activities.
The Final Summary
Okay, let’s make sure we’re all on the right page! You cannot bet using your credit card at any land-based casino in London. You’ll only be allowed to place bets or buy chips via debit card or cash. This shouldn’t make a huge difference to your night and you will still have loads of fun. If you’re looking for things to do either before or after your casino visit, be sure to check out what’s on in London to plan a full day of activities.