Lots of beautiful casinos exist throughout London City and can be wonderful destinations for an evening full of fun. They have so much to offer beyond the usual casino gaming experience – if you’re looking for places to eat in London, many of the casinos have exquisite restaurants and bars to serve tasty delights and beverages during your stay.
Everyone has a first casino experience and yours may be waiting around the corner. As such, you’ve probably heard lots of things spoken about casinos in London and what you have to wear or how much you have to pay to enter them. People put false or outdated information out there all the time, so we’re here to clear up the five largest myths about London’s casino scene.
1. Strict Dress Codes Are Enforced
We blame this myth on movies and TV shows. Casinos have traditionally been perceived as highly fancy places where the rich and famous go to blow all of their cash. Indeed, iconic London venues like the Hippodrome Casino are known for their amazing interiors and high-end designs. For these reasons, you’re led to believe a strict dress code is enforced whenever you go to a casino in London.
This is a huge myth.
You might find a couple of casinos with specific dress codes, but the majority of the big ones don’t have strict rules regarding what you wear. The dress code is typically smart-casual or you can wear what you want without being scruffy or offensive. Turn up in T-shirts and jeans if you want and you won’t be thrown away.
2. Credit Card Payments Are Accepted
Don’t make the mistake of turning up at a casino in London with just your credit card handy. These establishments are not legally allowed to accept credit card payments. It’s part of the UK gambling laws and affects every gambling establishment in the country – including online ones. If you want to gamble and use your credit card, you’d need to pick an international credit card casino from NonGamStopOdds.com.
London casinos use chips when you’re playing table games, which you’ll need to purchase from the dealer at a table. This means cash is largely the payment method of choice and most casinos will have cash machines inside to help you take out some money. A few will have cashiers selling chips that you can buy with a debit card, but the best approach is to bring some cash with you.
Funnily enough, the UK government is changing some of its rules about payments in UK casinos. At the time of writing, slot machines could only be played with cash and this caused complications for many casinos in London and the wider UK as a whole. Consequently, the government introduced a reversal to its cash-only slot machine rule and will let casinos accept debit cards on these machines in the future.
3. You Need A Membership To Visit The Casinos
In fairness, this myth used to be true. Decades ago, casinos were more exclusive clubs for people to visit and gamble. Players needed to become members to be let in, meaning they had to register for cards and fill in loads of forms. You might think this is still the case – and it might be at a select few casinos – but the majority of establishments in London have an open-door policy.
You can walk in and play casino games without needing a membership card. Most casinos will offer memberships as well, but they’re optional. Think of these as loyalty programmes nowadays; members can get exclusive rewards like bonus chips to use in the casino, discounts for the restaurant/bar and early access to any events.
You don’t need a membership, though it could be beneficial to have one if you’re visiting the same London casino multiple times.
4. You Must Gamble While You’re There
Have you been asked to visit a casino before but you weren’t sure if you wanted to gamble money? Your friends go frequently and you’re starting to feel left out, so you cave in and accept the invitation this time.
Here’s the thing: you don’t need to gamble while visiting a casino.
Bouncers and security personnel won’t be stalking the place looking for people who haven’t spent any money. You can go along for the fun of it and watch your friends gamble if it’s not something you believe in doing. Plus, there are other places to spend your money as well – like the bar or restaurants.
Nobody will tell you off for not gambling at a casino in London as they’re more about creating an overall great evening experience for customers. Some people visit casinos purely to watch the football in the bars sometimes! You might get a few disgruntled looks from staff if you sit there for hours without spending a penny, so maybe buy a drink or two to keep them happy.
5. Casinos Aren’t Open 24/7
It’s amazing how many people assume that casinos in London aren’t open 24/7. This probably stems from the fact that London isn’t a 24-hour city in most regards. Unlike other cities around the world, London tends to shut down in the early hours of the morning. Restaurants close late at night while bars and pubs soon follow. Even the nightclubs will close before 5 am in most cases, so it’s fairly safe to assume casinos will follow suit.
Bizarrely, many casinos in London are open 24/7. You’ll get smaller or more independent ones that do close early in the morning and re-open in the afternoon, but the majority of the well-known brands are open all the time. This means you can walk in whenever you feel like it and have no fear of the place being closed.
This clears up all the common myths about London casinos. You don’t need memberships, strict dress codes aren’t enforced, they’re open 24/7, cash is the preferred payment method and you don’t have to gamble while you’re there!