There are so many reasons to pay a visit to Soho. One of them is to go to the great land-based casinos the area has to offer. At all times of the day there are venues open that offer their customers not just the best casino games but plenty more forms of entertainment too.
Recent years haven’t been easy for land-based casinos. The COVID epidemic caused their temporary closure during the lockdown periods. Gamblers were still eager to be playing their favourite casino games so headed online.
When the pandemic came to an end, it was a slow process for land-based casinos to regain the attendance levels that they had previously had. Players had become used to gambling at home and the numbers going out to gamble have fallen.
While playing at online casinos remains attractive to many players mainly because of convenience and lucrative bonus incentives offered by UK sites, there is still nothing quite like going to a bricks-and-mortar casino. There is the level of excitement that is always present when going out for a night’s entertainment.
You see going to a casino isn’t just about hoping luck will be on your side and some big wins come your way. An evening in a casino can also include enjoying a tasty meal, having a few drinks and watching some top sporting events on the big screens. It’s all a bit different from playing at an online casino at home on your laptop or mobile devices.
Some of the best land-based casinos in the UK can be found in Soho. The Hippodrome Casino has had many different guises in the past 120 years. When it was a top cabaret venue, stars from all around the world appeared at the venue, including Judy Garland. Even professional wrestling has been held at the venue with Kendo Nagasaki taking part in a crazy disco ladder match.
Now the venue hosts one of the UK’s top casinos. There are three casinos in the 80,000 square feet venue. Whether it is baccarat, poker or roulette that is your passion, there’s plenty to keep you entertained.
Horizons Casino in Leicester Square is considered to be one of the friendliest casinos in the capital. It has years of experience and is open until 4am with food available from 2pm, so ideal for a pre-theatre feast. A stroll along Shaftesbury Avenue can include a visit to the Genting Casino,one of the top brands in the UK with a new venue in the Trocadero recently being approved.
Open 24/7 is Grosvenor Casino The Rialto in Piccadilly Circus and there’s so much on offer here. It’s perfect if you fancy some time playing casino games before or after a trip to a West End theatre or sightseeing. With excellent food and drink on offer too, you can see just why land-based casinos can be so entertaining to visit. Grosvenor Casinos have 120 licensed land-based venues in Great Britain. They employ more than 10,000 people with over 16 million customer visits per annum. This sees them paying over £300 million in taxes each year with them contributing around £800 million a year to the UK economy.
Also open all day and night in Leicester Square is the Empire Casino. The VIP balcony bar is hugely possible and a visit to their Asian fusion restaurant can be almost as entertaining as their excellent range of casino games.
The past year has seen stricter regulations being imposed on the online casino industry. It is a different story for the land-based venues. Several restrictions that had been hampering the way in which they operate have been lifted. This includes an increase in the number of gaming machines that are allowed in a land-based casino with a maximum number of 40, all dependent on the size of the venue.
Being able to gamble on major sport events is also good news for the casinos with top companies such as the Rank Group and Grosvenor now committing themselves to improving the services that they offer to their customers.
The increased regulations that have been introduced for online gambling have also helped their land-based counterparts. Slot machines have long been hugely popular in casinos. Those who play online in the UK at licensed and regulated sites now have maximum stake limits imposed on them. Those aged between 18 and 24 cannot stake more than £2 a spin and it’s £5 for older players.
Stricter affordability checks for online casinos players are unpopular and from April there will be significantly higher tax rates for online gambling sites. Statistics have shown that gambling online remains popular with players but the new rules may well see the numbers who go to land-based venues to play on the increase.
