The history of gambling is something we often touch on and for good reason. The gambling industry is something that constantly grows and changes to make it better. If you looked at betting from the 1600s to now, you would see the differences but sometimes you see similarities (which is more shocking in this case) Some of the best casinos in the world have been around for hundreds of years and today, I want to show you the oldest casinos around the world and maybe add some places to your bucket list.
Casinò di Venezia – Venice, 1638
The oldest casino in the world resides in Venice and no your eyes aren’t deceiving you, it has actually been around since the 1600s. The Casino di Venezia was the first casino to be built in the Western side of the world and has lasted a remarkable amount of time. However, in 1774 the casino closed when a reformer started a campaign to close it to ‘preserve the Piety’ of the city. Even though this didn’t result in a long-standing closure, it set the tone for the issue that gambling would face for the next few centuries.
After a few years of closure, the palace reopened and later became a casino and a museum for iconic composer Richard Wagner because of his history with this palace. In 1959 the palace became the winter home of the casino and stayed there ever since. This casino has always been somewhere I’ve wanted to go, unfortunately, it’s not as easy to go to this as it is to find a Lotto Casino UK to join, but I hope one day I will be able to go and bring home some money!
Casino de Spa – Spa, 1763
The Casino de Spa is the oldest casino in Belgium and was first opened as a thermal bathhouse until it was bought and turned into a fresh and flashy casino, which is absolutely amazing to look at from the outside. It has always been regarded as one of the prettiest and well-maintained casinos in the world. In 1872, the Belgian government banned casinos until the early 20th century.
After WW1, buildings around the world were in ruin and the Casino de Spa was one of them. Because of the history that surrounded this building and the look that it had, the casino was restored back to its best and since 1918, no one has looked back. Now this iconic casino holds regular poker tournaments, which I have been to and lost miserably. As well as having a wide range of slot machines all players needs.
Casino Wiesbaden – Wiesbaden, 1771
The oldest casino in Germany, Casino Wiesbaden is a casino that all casino enthusiasts should know of, because of the interesting stories circulating its history. In 1771, the Duke granted the casino a gaming license and started the trend of famous people visiting this casino. One of the most famous is the writer Fyodor Dostoevsky who wrote a book inspired by a bad night he had at the casino. I read this book, named The Gambler, a few years ago and found the way he painted the pictures of the casino and the night really interesting considering when it came out.
Now, the casino is filled with blackjack tables, roulette and poker games that dominate the floor and bring in the most players. But, fear not slot players, they also offer 190 slot machines, so you are welcome too. This is one of the casinos that I really want to go visit, especially after reading that they pay out a whopping €2.5 million per day. So hopefully when I visit, I can be proud of these winnings.