Europe’s most visited cities are home to some of the world’s most storied casino venues — and new research confirms that London leads the pack when it comes to the casino experience travellers actually rate.
For travel professionals and destination planners, casinos represent a growing segment of entertainment tourism. Visitors who combine gaming with city breaks spend more, stay longer, and return more frequently than the average leisure traveller. Knowing which venues perform best on the ground — not just on paper — has real commercial value for tour operators, hotel partners, and destination marketers alike.
Research published by Gambling.com, home of the Coral Casino review and wider online gaming guides, ranked the highest-rated casino in each of Europe’s ten most visited cities using Google Reviews data. The results position London firmly at the top, with the Grosvenor Casino St Giles scoring an impressive 4.8 out of 5. Set in the heart of the West End’s theatreland, the venue combines a full gaming floor — American roulette, blackjack, three-card poker, Punto Banco and Shoot Dice — with the kind of central location that slots naturally into a broader city itinerary.
The European Casino Podium
Paris takes second place with Club Circus Paris scoring 4.5. Located within walking distance of Roland-Garros and the Parc des Princes, it offers 31 poker and dealer tables alongside restaurant and bar facilities — a strong pairing for sports event travellers moving through the city. Vienna’s Casino Baden rounds out the top three with a score of 4.4, a historically protected property regarded as one of the largest and most architecturally significant casinos on the continent.
The rest of the top ten covers a broad sweep of European capitals. Madrid’s Casino Gran Vía I Poker Room sits fourth at 4.2, followed by Amsterdam’s Holland Casino at 4.1. The two present contrasting approaches: Madrid’s offering is classical and historic, while Amsterdam’s venue leans modern and contemporary. Barcelona’s Casino Barcelona and Rome’s Slot Palace Le Palme Roma are tied in sixth with a score of 4.0 each.
The bottom three — Athens’ Regency Casino Mont Parnes (3.9), Milan’s Casino di Campione (3.9) and Venice’s Casinò Di Venezia (3.8) — still represent credible destination experiences, though their review scores suggest the visitor experience trails the leaders by a measurable margin.
What the Rankings Mean for Travel Planning
The research draws on visitor review volumes from 2019 to 2023, giving it practical weight for anyone building itineraries around entertainment tourism. Paris and London each attracted over 20 million inbound tourist arrivals annually in 2019 and 2023, according to Statista data on European city destinations. That footfall, combined with high-scoring casino venues, makes both cities strong anchors for gaming-focused city break packages.
One notable exclusion: Istanbul was removed from the study due to Turkey’s laws prohibiting casino operations. For operators working across the Turkish market, that context is worth flagging when advising clients on European entertainment itineraries.
The Broader Picture for Casino Tourism
Gaming as a driver of leisure travel has been consistently underestimated in mainstream destination marketing, but the numbers make a clear case. According to the European Casino Association, licensed casinos across Europe contribute billions in tax revenue annually and serve tens of millions of visitors — many of whom are international tourists integrating a casino visit into a wider trip, rather than dedicated gambling travellers.
The venues that perform best in visitor reviews share common ground: central locations, strong dining and bar offers, and a range of game formats that accommodate casual players and experienced gamblers alike. The Grosvenor St Giles ticks each of those boxes, and its position in London’s West End means it sits comfortably alongside theatre, hotels, and restaurants within a compact geography.
For travel professionals advising UK outbound clients on European city breaks — or inbound operators building London itineraries for international visitors — the rankings offer a useful, data-backed shortlist. The top three cities alone, London, Paris and Vienna, provide enough variety in atmosphere, architecture and cultural context to anchor meaningfully differentiated packages.
As entertainment tourism continues to grow as a distinct segment, casino destinations warrant the same curatorial attention as restaurant scenes, cultural districts or nightlife quarters. The venues at the top of this list have earned their ratings — and they are worth building around.
