Although it may not be famed for its casinos and gambling culture like Las Vegas or Macau, the UK does have a vibrant night life scene and plenty to choose from if you like to gamble.
Its gambling industry, which is today worth £14.5 billion, is also on the rise with the emergence of online gambling and the revitalisation of betting venues as we hopefully come out the other end of a near two year long pandemic.
The UK has had a shaky background when it comes to gambling after Henry XII banned all forms of gambling as he believed it was distracting to his soldiers and most forms of wagering in venues like casinos not being legalised until the 1960s.
Of course the UK has always been known for its horse racing and horse racing plus betting go hand in hand so there has always been this available to visitors and residents of the United Kingdom.
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The Diversity of Casino in the UK
The betting industry in the UK is really booming at the moment which has seen more and more venues being built, and these venues are being built bigger and bigger. The UK may not have an abundance of these ‘super casinos’ like Vegas but the competition to be the best is hotting up.
There is plenty of range in venue as you can find everything from small scale poker rooms, right through to full blown destination venues with everything from concert halls to 24 hour gambling and entertainment.
There is also a diverse choice of games available in these casinos with the majority offering the old classics such as Poker, Blackjack, Craps etc but also being able to find some of the more niche new games out there, such as Mah-jong, Kalooki and Wheel of Fortune.
Of course London is where you will find the majority of casinos but you can also find 100 brick and mortar casinos spread around outside of London. Cities like Manchester, Newcastle and Liverpool are all homes to popular casinos, so chances are you are always close to one of these venues if you have a major city nearby.
Some of the best known and popular venues in London are the world famous Hippodrome, the largest is Aspers Casino with over 150 games machines, 70 gaming tables on top of a dozen poker dedicated tables. Then you have Crockfords Club, one of the smaller venues but well known as the oldest member’s only club in the world.
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UK Gambling Market
The strength of the UK gambling market right now is one of the strongest across the world. Not only do the bigger venues offering you the full experience exist but also many other forms of gambling are available like horse racing courses, lotteries and bingo halls.
Both the lotteries and horse racing date back to the 1500s and the 18th century respectively as they were very much forms of gambling that the rich would partake in regularly, betting on chess and cards. The poor would bet on dice and coin based games. These days however gambling is much more accessible to all classes and types, and continues to become more reachable with the development of online gambling.
Best Places to Visit
It will be of no surprise to anyone that London is always going to be the number one spot in the UK for gambling but it does have many other vibrant spots to visit for this, for example, Belfast and Edinburgh.
One venue worth mentioning is the Grosvenor Casino Victoria, in London, otherwise known as ‘the Vic’ to those that regularly visit. One of the most popular and biggest venues in the country, boasting one of the most iconic and largest poker rooms in the whole of Europe. The casino has recently enjoyed its 50th anniversary, making it one of the longest running casinos in the UK. In the 60s many used to fly into London specifically to visit ‘the Vic’ and today it’s still seen as a place to visit when you’re in the capital.
In Conclusion
In summary, the UK is very much somewhere worth visiting if you would like options to gamble on your trip, but if it is a journey specifically to gamble then your best choice is to pick London. Those of you that are residents of the UK then you’re probably not too far from a city that has at least one casino but if not, there are always online casinos, and plenty of them.
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