The 7 oldest casinos in the world still open
From a Venetian gaming house licensed in 1638 to Monte Carlo in 1863, these are the oldest casinos that still welcome players today.
The oldest casino in the world still open is the Casinò di Venezia, which traces its history to 1638, when the Venetian Republic authorised a public gaming house. Most of the other contenders are spa casinos in Belgium and Germany founded in the 18th and 19th centuries, with the Casino de Monte-Carlo, opened in 1863, completing the list.
How we ranked them
The casinos below are ranked by the year in which gambling at that venue or in that town began, using the dates the operators and local authorities give themselves. Every entry was operating as a casino in October 2026.
'Still open' needs a caveat. Very few of these houses have run without a break. Venice's original Ridotto was closed by the city's own government in 1774, and the German spa casinos all stopped when gambling was banned in the new German Empire in the early 1870s. Some reopened decades later, in some cases in a different building. We have noted the gaps in each entry.
Why spa towns dominate the list
Before Las Vegas or Macau, Europe's spa towns were where the wealthy went to gamble. Places such as Spa, Wiesbaden and Baden-Baden attracted aristocrats who came for the thermal waters and stayed for the gaming rooms. When France banned casinos in 1837, the German spas gained even more visitors, according to the Kurhaus Baden-Baden and the Spielbank Wiesbaden. The German ban of the early 1870s then left Monaco as the great casino resort of the era.
- 1638: Casinò di Venezia, Venice, Italy
- 1720: Spielbank Bad Ems, Germany
- 1763: Casino de Spa, Belgium
- 1771: Spielbank Wiesbaden, Germany
- 1824: Casino Baden-Baden, Germany
- 1841: Spielbank Bad Homburg, Germany
- 1863: Casino de Monte-Carlo, Monaco
- 1
Casinò di Venezia
Venice, Italy · history dates to 1638
In 1638 the Venetian Republic authorised the Ridotto, a public gaming house intended to bring gambling under state control and raise revenue. The Casinò di Venezia describes itself as established in 1638 and as the oldest gaming establishment in the world. The continuity is not unbroken: the Ridotto was closed by the Venetian government in 1774 amid concern about gambling. Today the municipal casino operates from Ca' Vendramin Calergi, a Renaissance palace on the Grand Canal where Richard Wagner died in 1883, and from a second site, Ca' Noghera, on the mainland.
- 2
Spielbank Bad Ems
Bad Ems, Germany · gambling since 1720
Bad Ems on the river Lahn issued its first fee schedule for gambling on 30 August 1720, when a hall in the newly built Kurhaus was leased as a casino. That makes it the oldest licensed casino in Germany, according to the local tourist board. The casino closed in 1872 under Prussian rule and stayed shut for well over a century, reopening only in 1987 in a former concert hall of the spa complex. It is now run by the operator of the Mainz and Trier casinos and offers roulette alongside slot machines.
- 3
Casino de Spa
Spa, Belgium · founded 1763
The Belgian town that gave its name to spas everywhere also has one of the oldest casinos. The Casino de Spa says it opened in 1763 under the name La Redoute, a place where European nobility met to play, dance and drink. The building has been through fires, reconstructions and renovations since, but the casino still stands on the site of the original. It says its croupiers were once so highly regarded that they were invited to train the staff at Monte Carlo. Belgian operator Gaming1 took it over in 2003.
- 4
Spielbank Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden, Germany · licence from 1771
The Spielbank Wiesbaden dates its oldest known local gambling licence to 1771. Roulette arrived in 1782 and gaming moved into the newly built Kursaal in 1810. Fyodor Dostoevsky visited between 1862 and 1866, and his novel The Gambler drew partly on his experiences at the tables. The casino closed in 1872, reopened in 1949 in the foyer of the state theatre and returned to the Kurhaus in 1955. Since 1985 it has occupied the Kurhaus's former wine hall, with table games including roulette, blackjack and poker as well as slot machines.
- 5
Casino Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden, Germany · in the Kurhaus since 1824
Gaming rooms were part of the Conversationshaus, now the Kurhaus, when construction was completed in 1824. In 1838 the Parisian operator Jacques Bénazet took over and expanded the rooms, and the town became a favourite of Europe's elite, as the Kurhaus records. Play stopped on 31 October 1872 under the German ban and resumed on 3 October 1933 with the first casino licence issued in Germany after the prohibition. After closing again in 1944, it reopened on 1 April 1950 and is today run by the state-owned Baden-Württembergische Spielbanken.
- 6
Spielbank Bad Homburg
Bad Homburg, Germany · opened 1841
Brothers François and Louis Blanc opened the casino in the spa town of Bad Homburg near Frankfurt in 1841. They became known for removing the double zero from the roulette wheel, which improved the odds for players and drew crowds. François Blanc later took the same model to Monaco. The Bad Homburg casino closed when Prussia outlawed gambling in the early 1870s and reopened in 1949. In memory of Blanc it calls itself the 'Mother of Monte Carlo', G3 Newswire reported.
- 7
Casino de Monte-Carlo
Monaco · opened 1863
The Société des Bains de Mer was created by decree of Prince Charles III in 1863, and its casino opened that spring, according to the company's own history. François Blanc, brought in from Bad Homburg, made it a commercial success. On 1 June 1866 the prince named the district Monte Carlo after it. The building was redesigned by Charles Garnier, architect of the Paris opera house, and reopened in 1879. It remains operated by the same company and is one of the best-known casinos in the world.
Frequently asked questions
What is the oldest casino in the world?
The Casinò di Venezia in Italy is generally considered the oldest, dating its history to 1638, when the Venetian Republic authorised the Ridotto as a public gaming house. The original Ridotto closed in 1774, and today's casino operates from Ca' Vendramin Calergi on the Grand Canal.
What is the oldest casino in Germany?
Spielbank Bad Ems is regarded as Germany's oldest casino, with its first gambling fee schedule dating from 1720. It was closed between 1872 and 1987.
When did the Monte Carlo casino open?
The Casino de Monte-Carlo opened in spring 1863, the year the Société des Bains de Mer was founded. The Monte Carlo district was named after it in 1866.
Why is Bad Homburg called the Mother of Monte Carlo?
François Blanc, who founded the Bad Homburg casino with his brother Louis in 1841, went on to develop the casino in Monaco. The German casino adopted the nickname in his memory after it reopened in 1949.
Sources: Casinò di Venezia, Bad Ems-Nassau tourist board, Casino de Spa, Spielbank Wiesbaden, Kurhaus Baden-Baden, Stadtwiki Baden-Baden, G3 Newswire, Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer, checked and rewritten by the Casino Courant desk. Spotted an error? Tell us.
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