At the door

Age: 18, with no exceptions

Under the Gambling Act 2005 nobody under 18 may enter the gaming area of a casino, and it is an offence for the operator to let them in. There is no “accompanied by an adult” route. Restaurants or bars that sit outside the licensed gaming area may set their own rules, but the floor itself is adults only.

Think 25: bring photo ID

Casinos apply a Think 25 policy: if you look under 25, staff will ask for proof that you are over 18. Accepted documents are a passport, a photocard driving licence or a card carrying the PASS hologram. Photographs of documents on a phone are routinely refused. Some venues check every guest at busy times: the Empire in Leicester Square says it asks everyone for ID after 9 pm, and Bally’s Newcastle states that photo ID is required to enter.

Membership, sign-in and registration

The old rule that made you join a day in advance is long gone, and most floors are now open-door. In practice you will meet one of four arrangements, and every venue page on this site says which one applies:

• Walk in. Genting, Metropolitan Gaming and the Hippodrome run open-door floors. No card, no fee.
• Sign in once. Grosvenor asks first-time visitors to show photo ID at reception and be signed in. It is free and immediate, and after that you come and go.
• Register first. A few rooms, such as the Palm Beach in Mayfair, register each guest with ID before entry.
• Not published. Where a venue publishes no policy we say so. Bring ID and expect to register.

Loyalty cards are a separate matter and always optional.

Dress codes

Smart-casual covers almost every floor in the country. Smart jeans and clean trainers are fine at Genting and Metropolitan venues; Grosvenor prefers long trousers to shorts; the Hippodrome enforces no code at all. What gets people turned away is consistent everywhere: sportswear and tracksuits, football shirts, caps and hoods worn indoors, work clothing, and anything torn or dirty. Each venue page quotes the operator’s own wording.

House rules you will notice

• Staff will refuse entry or service to anyone who appears drunk. That is a licensing condition, not a whim.
• Photography and filming on the gaming floor are normally not allowed.
• Phones must usually be put away at live tables.
• Bags and coats may be searched or checked into a cloakroom.
• If you have excluded yourself through SENSE, the national scheme for land-based casinos, you will be refused at every participating casino in the country.

If you are visiting from abroad

A passport is the simplest ID; ask the venue before relying on a national identity card. Large cash transactions need additional checks; see Paying on the floor.