Grosvenor Casino, St Giles has done what half of London's tourist board couldn't manage on its own. It has put the capital's casino scene ahead of Paris, Vienna and every other major city break destination in Europe, according to a new study of Google Reviews scores across the continent's busiest tourist hubs.
The venue, tucked into London's theatreland, scored 4.8 out of 5 in the research, the highest mark handed to any casino in the ten most visited cities in Europe. Researchers used tourism data on Europe's most visited cities and then checked which casino locals and visitors rated best in each one. Between 2019 and 2023, London and Paris were the only two cities on the list to pull in more than 20 million inbound tourists a year, excluding the pandemic years, which gave London's casinos an especially deep pool of reviewers to draw from. A 4.8 average against that kind of footfall isn't easy to come by.
Paris and Vienna Take the Rest of the Podium
Paris took second place. The Club Circus Paris scored 4.5, helped along by its 31 tables for poker and dealer games, plus an on-site restaurant and bar just a short walk from the Parc des Princes and the Roland Garros tennis complex. Vienna's Casino Baden rounded out the podium on 4.4, a fitting result for a venue that's protected as part of the city's cultural heritage and ranks among the largest and most elegant casinos in Europe.
Madrid's Casino Gran Via I Poker Room came fourth on 4.2, just ahead of Amsterdam's Holland Casino on 4.1. The two cities lean into old world grandeur in different ways. Madrid's venue feels classical and formal, while Amsterdam's is sleeker and distinctly modern. Barcelona and Rome tied for sixth with a score of 4, while Athens, Milan and Venice made up the bottom three, all sitting between 3.8 and 3.9.
It's worth noting what got left out. Istanbul, despite being one of Europe's most visited cities, was excluded from the study entirely because casinos have been banned there since the 1990s. That leaves a clearer run for the ten cities that did make the cut, and it's a reminder that not every major tourist destination in Europe treats gambling the same way. Regulation varies wildly from country to country, which is part of why a like for like comparison based on reviewer sentiment, rather than turnover or table count, makes for a fairer test.
Licensed Play, On the High Street or at Home
Every casino on Britain's high street, Grosvenor's London flagship included, has to hold a licence from the UK Gambling Commission, the same regulator that oversees every operator running a casino online in Britain. That's worth bearing in mind for anyone who'd rather skip the flight and play from the sofa instead. Bookies.com, leading experts on top online casinos in the UK, keeps a running list of the country's best licensed sites, several of which are run by the same operators behind London's biggest venues.
It says something about London's standing that a casino a few minutes' walk from the West End can out-rate destinations built specifically around gambling tourism. Grosvenor Casino, St Giles offers American roulette, blackjack, three card poker, Punto Banco and Shoot Dice on its floor, and its location in the heart of theatreland means it picks up a very different crowd to a purpose-built resort casino. Visitors often pair a night at the tables with dinner and a West End show, something that's harder to pull off in cities where the casino district sits well away from everything else. Reviewers seem to like the mix, and the reviews back it up: 4.8 out of 5 is not a score that comes from one lucky quarter, it's built up over years of consistent visitor feedback.
Anyone tempted to turn a European city break into a small flutter might also want to look at our own guide to city breaks for gloomy weather, which covers Vienna and Amsterdam among its picks for destinations that hold up just as well on a wet afternoon. A casino floor is one more reason to book the flight, but it's rarely the only one.
For now, the numbers say what plenty of visitors to London already knew. If you want the best rated casino experience in Europe, you don't need to leave the capital to find it. Please gamble responsibly, and remember that all gambling products are aimed at those aged 18 and over.
