Before you push the door
The rules are the same in Knightsbridge and in Glasgow: adults only, ID ready, smart-casual, no credit. Here is the whole list, with the law behind each point where there is one.
Age and ID: 18+, checked under Think 25
Every casino floor in Great Britain admits adults only. Under the Gambling Act 2005 it is an offence for a casino to let anyone under 18 onto the premises, and every entrance must carry a notice saying so. The Gambling Commission’s licence conditions go further: staff must check the age of anyone who looks under 25 — the Think 25 policy, in force since August 2024 — and refuse entry to anyone who cannot show acceptable identification.
Acceptable ID means a document with a photograph and a date of birth that is still valid: a passport, a UK or EU driving licence, or a PASS-hologram proof-of-age card. Carry it even if you are well past 25; a venue can ask anyone. A photograph of a passport on a phone is not a document.
Membership: the 24-hour rule is gone
Before September 2007 a British casino was a club: you joined, waited 24 hours and only then walked onto the floor. The Gambling Act 2005 abolished that rule. What remains differs by operator. Genting’s open-door floors — Resorts World Birmingham, Derby, Sheffield — need no membership at all; The Palm Beach in Mayfair is not open-door, so you register at the desk with photo ID. Grosvenor asks you to bring photo ID and “get signed in on your first visit”, free and on the spot; after that you walk in any time. Alea Glasgow publishes no policy, so ask. Each venue page states which applies.
Dress code
Both large operators publish a smart-casual code. Genting’s FAQ spells it out: smart jeans and trainers are fine; football shirts, vest tops and caps are not — the hats because of CCTV. Grosvenor’s FAQ calls smart-casual the safe choice, prefers long trousers to shorts and allows team shirts on match days. Alea Glasgow publishes no code. A jacket is never required, and nobody is turned away for wearing one.
Self-exclusion: SENSE
SENSE — Self Enrolment National Self Exclusion — is the scheme that covers every licensed land-based casino in Great Britain. Anyone who enrols is refused entry at every casino floor in the country, not only the one where they signed up. You can enrol at any casino desk or online, and the exclusion runs for a minimum period set by the scheme. The safer gambling page has the details and the links. SENSE is separate from GAMSTOP, which covers online sites only.
House rules you meet on the floor
- Phones and photographs. Genting’s FAQ: phones may be used in non-gaming areas; photography is “strictly prohibited” next to the gaming area, with exceptions only by a manager for special occasions. Grosvenor’s house terms: no filming of gaming without management’s consent. Follow the dealer’s instruction, which is final.
- Smoking. Indoor smoking has been banned in England, Wales and Scotland since 2006–07. Some floors have an outdoor terrace; Resorts World Birmingham lists one.
- Drinks. Bars and restaurants inside a casino sit behind the 18+ entrance, so a hotel guest who wants only dinner still passes the ID check. Genting and Grosvenor pages list bars and restaurants; opening times for food are shorter than for the floor.
- Cash and chips. You buy chips at the table or the cash desk and cash them in at the desk. See payments for what the desk accepts, why credit cards are refused and when the casino must ask for ID and proof of funds.
- Limits and breaks. Every licensed casino offers tools to set a time or spend limit and a “take a break” option; staff are trained to intervene. Ask at the desk.
How the games work, in one paragraph each
Roulette. A wheel with 37 numbered pockets (0 to 36 on a European or “American roulette” table as named by British operators). You place chips on numbers, groups or colours; the ball settles; matching positions are paid at published rates. Electronic roulette terminals offer the same game on a screen.
Blackjack. A card game against the dealer: draw cards to a total closer to 21 than the dealer’s without going over. Tables show a minimum and maximum per hand on a sign; those figures change by venue and by hour and are not published here.
Baccarat and punto banco. Two hands are dealt, “player” and “banker”; you choose which will come closer to nine. There is no decision to make after the deal.
Three-card poker and Ultimate Texas Hold’em. Poker-style games against the house rather than other guests, with fixed rules printed at the table.
Cash poker and poker rooms. Real poker against other players, with the house taking a fee; six venues here list a room or a lounge with cash games and tournaments on set evenings.
Slots and e-tables. Machines with published return percentages and a ticket-in, ticket-out system at most venues. Genting’s floors list “BOOM slots” and “live e-tables”, which stream a real dealer to a terminal.
Every game is built so that the house keeps a margin over time. Treat the evening as entertainment with a price, decide the price before you push the door, and stop when it is spent. The safer gambling page lists free help if it stops feeling like a choice.
Bringing children to the hotel
The hotels are hotels: families stay at all of them, and three publish a minimum check-in age of 18 for the person booking (The May Fair, Holiday Inn Derby Riverlights, voco Sheffield, Holiday Inn Express Portsmouth). The casino floor, its bars and its restaurants are a separate 18+ premises even where they share the building. Resorts World Birmingham’s Santai Spa is also over-18s only.