Find Your Favourite London Casinos in 2026

Grosvenor has been operating since 1970 and holds the position of the UK's largest casino brand. With eight casinos in London, the Grosvenor Group is an iconic brand of the city. One whose offering spreads from the West End to Marylebone, Knightsbridge, Bayswater, and Paddington. No operator in London offers more coverage, and as a Grosvenor member you can walk into any of them on the same card. Their London venues range from the stripped-back and local to the world-famous, with their flagship Vic. Where one of Europe's most celebrated poker rooms sits in a league all of its own.

Genting arrived in the UK in 2006 and has grown to one of the country's largest leisure and entertainment businesses. The operator currently runs several sites across the capital, including casinos in Chinatown, Kensington, and Mayfair - and that's before their planned Trocadero opening lands in late 2026. In London, Genting spans everything from the intimate boutique experience of Forty Five Kensington to the sheer scale of their Stratford operation, where you'll find the largest casino floor in the UK. That's four London venues currently, with an epic fifth on the horizon.

The Hippodrome opened in July 2012 thanks to the Thomas family, following a £40 million restoration of the Grade II-listed building on the corner of Cranbourn Street and Charing Cross Road. It's a venue that has hosted Harry Houdini, Ella Fitzgerald, and Shirley Bassey across its 125-year history. Independently owned and operated, the Hippodrome is a genuine one-off. There's no corporate parent, no national chain, and no other venue quite like it anywhere in the UK.

Metropolitan Gaming's portfolio traces its roots back to London Clubs International, which was originally carved out of the Grand Metropolitan conglomerate. All before passing through Caesars Entertainment and landing with Metropolitan Gaming (an affiliate of Silver Point Capital ) in 2021. But enough of that mumbo jumbo. Their London brands include the Metropolitan Casino in Mayfair, Empire Casino, The Sportsman, and the Park Lane Club. Names any UK frequent casino-goer will be familiar with, basically. Metropolitan punches above its weight by occupying some of London's most prime real estate. Think Leicester Square, Mayfair, and Marylebone. And the brand runs venues that range from high-volume tourist destinations to discreet members' clubs.

London is also home to a world-class collection of exclusive private gaming clubs. These are a universe removed from the open-door casinos covered in this guide. Names such as Crockfords and Les Ambassadeurs operate in Mayfair as members-only venues, typically requiring membership applications and offering high-stakes play in extraordinarily rarefied surroundings. These are not walk-in destinations. But for context, they form a significant part of London's overall casino landscape. So I really ought to mention them. 

Nowhere in the UK quite prepares you for the Hippodrome. The building opened in 1900, designed by Frank Matcham for circus and variety performances. And became a venue that later hosted performances by Harry Houdini, Ella Fitzgerald, and Judy Garland, before the Thomas family spent £40 million restoring it as a casino in 2012. That history is still very much present when you walk in. Trust me, the architecture alone is worth the trip.

Today it operates as London's biggest and most popular casino, with three floors of gambling, two restaurants, private dining rooms, and eight bars including a rooftop terrace overlooking theatreland. The main gaming area houses 45 tables for poker, blackjack, and roulette, alongside more than 120 slot machines. Al are spread across four distinct zones including the subterranean Lola's Underground Casino, a nod to a showgirl who famously ran an illegal gambling den under the original stage. The third floor is home to the PokerStars LIVE lounge, one of the most prestigious poker rooms in Europe. It hosts international tournaments and cash games around the clock. It's also the only central London casino offering craps - a detail that matters more than you'd think to a certain kind of visitor. No membership required here, so you can call in next time you're in the West End. Even if just to gauge the scale of the place. 

A 65,000 sq ft casino perched on the third floor of one of the UK's biggest shopping centres sounds like a strange proposition. But trust me, it works brilliantly. Genting Casino Stratford, formerly an Aspers Casino, offers over 150 slot machines, classic live table games, and what the operator describes as the biggest poker room in the country. And all within the Westfield complex surrounded by restaurants, a cinema, and a hotel. The casino was acquired by Genting in 2024 and reopened under the Genting brand, with the company investing in the venue's infrastructure. And as someone who's visited both before and after - I'll say the investment shows.

The scale is genuinely impressive. Over 55 table and poker games fill the 65,000 sq ft floor, and a sports betting shop makes it one of the few UK casinos where you can wager on football at one end and play live roulette at the other. The Tanzibar lounge and the rooftop Sky Bar are both popular in their own right. Especially with Sky Bar offering views across the Olympic Park that are hard to beat on a clear evening. Transport links are exceptional, too. Stratford station is minutes away, with connections across the Elizabeth line, the Overground, and the Jubilee line. It's open 24 hours and its free to park for members - so what's not to love?

Just a few steps away from the Hippodrome, the Empire takes a very different approach. The former ballroom holds 55,000 sq ft of gaming area across two floors, making it one of the largest single gaming floors in central London. And it sure leans fully into that scale. The legendary Empire offers 32 gaming tables including an Asian-themed area, a premium gaming area, and the main gaming floor, plus a wide range of slots, electronic table games, and a dedicated 80-seat poker room.

The atmosphere here is high-energy and unashamedly Las Vegas in its ambition. Four bars including the lively Shadow Bar and the exclusive Icon Balcony Bar above Leicester Square keep a party mood going around the clock. The Kings Sports Bar is one of the best sports viewing venues in the West End, and the 7th Cat Chinese Kitchen — developed in partnership with a Chinatown restaurateur — is its own reason to visit even if the tables aren't calling. Operated by Metropolitan Gaming, this is a true London institution. 

Ask anyone who knows London's casino scene where the serious poker players go, and the answer is always the same: the Vic. The Grosvenor Victoria Casino has been a fixture on Edgware Road for decades. offering one of the most storied poker rooms in Europe, and the long-time home of the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour. The venue recently completed a £15 million refurbishment, modernising the gaming floor, adding a new outdoor terrace, and giving the poker room a state-of-the-art overhaul. Though all without losing the character that made it famous. The poker room alone runs to 35 tables with cash and tournament games every day of the week, and the main floor adds 80 slots, electronic roulette, blackjack, and baccarat to the mix. For casual visitors there's also a shisha lounge, a restaurant, and a full bar. All waiting ten minutes' walk from both Marble Arch and Edgware Road tube stations. Bam!

Poker is the undisputed headline act here. This is the venue that hosts the GUKPT final, one of the biggest tournaments in European poker. But the Vic has always been more than just a card room. The refurbishment signals a clear intent to bring the broader experience up to the level of the poker offering, and on that front it delivers. It's a London icon, and one of the few casinos in the country that can genuinely claim a place in the history of the game.