Roulette
A wheel with numbered pockets and a table for bets. European and French roulette have a single zero; American wheels add a double zero. The Casino de Monte-Carlo still runs French roulette.
Information
The casino, explained for first-time visitors
Norway has no land-based casinos, so for many readers the hotel casino abroad is the first real gaming room they will see. This section describes what is there, how entry works and what the rules mean - information only, never encouragement to gamble.
A casino hotel is a hotel first
Wikipedia defines a casino hotel as an establishment consisting of a casino with lodging provided in an on-premises hotel. In practice the balance varies enormously: at the Bellagio the casino is 156,000 sq ft at the heart of the building; at CasinoHotel Velden the hotel has 41 rooms and stands across the promenade from Casino Velden.
In Europe, the casino is usually a licensed venue with its own entrance, cloakroom, ID desk and often an entry fee. In Las Vegas the casino floor is the lobby, the corridor and the shortcut to breakfast. In Singapore the casino is a sealed section of a much larger integrated resort, with passport checks for visitors and a levy for residents.
All nine casinos on this site operate under a national or state licence. We list the operator and the regulator or support body for each, and we quote size facts only where the operator or an encyclopaedic source publishes them.
Six things you will see on the floor
A plain description of the common games. We do not describe strategies or odds beyond the basics, and we do not recommend playing.
Blackjack
A card game against the dealer: get closer to 21 without going over. Found at every casino on this site, from Copenhagen to Singapore.
Baccarat
A comparing card game between “player” and “banker” hands. Historically the game of Monte-Carlo and today the dominant table game in Singapore and Macau.
Poker
Played against other guests, not the house, with the casino taking a fee. Casino Copenhagen, Olympic Park Casino Tallinn and Casino Velden all host championships.
Slot machines
Electronic games with fixed rules displayed on the machine. Numbers range from around 76 machines in Tallinn to roughly 3,000 electronic games at Marina Bay Sands.
Electronic tables
Touch-screen roulette and card terminals - Casino Copenhagen has 20 TouchBet roulette terminals; Genting Birmingham lists live e-tables.
Sourced facts from our nine casinos
Figures published by operators or Wikipedia and linked in each review.
1638the Ridotto opens in Venice - Europe’s first sanctioned gambling house
160,000sq ft of gaming space at Marina Bay Sands
3,000 m²over three floors at Casino Copenhagen
76 / 18slot machines and gaming tables at Olympic Park Casino Tallinn
Rules by jurisdiction
Age limits and entry conditions as published by regulators and operators at the time of writing. Always check the operator’s website before travelling.
| Country | Minimum age | ID & entry | Support body |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monaco | 18 | Passport or EU photo ID; €20 gaming-room entry incl. €10 credit; residents barred | SBM Responsible Gaming |
| Denmark | 18 | Photo ID every visit; day pass DKK 30/100 | StopSpillet / Spillemyndigheden |
| Estonia | 21 | ID checked and scanned at entrance; open 24/7 | 15410.ee |
| United Kingdom | 18 | Challenge 25 ID policy; no membership required | GambleAware / GamCare |
| Austria | 18 | Official photo ID every visit; no phone copies | Spielsuchthilfe |
| Poland | 18 | Registration with passport or ID card | KCPU |
| Nevada, USA | 21 | Government photo ID on request; under-21s may not linger on the floor | Nevada Council on Problem Gambling |
| Singapore | 21 | Passport for visitors; S$150/day levy for citizens and PRs | NCPG |
| Norway (home) | 18 | No land-based casinos; Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto only | Hjelpelinjen 800 800 40 |
Sources: montecarlosbm.com, casinocopenhagen.dk, olympic-casino.ee, gentingcasinos.co.uk, casinos.at, casinospoland.pl, venetianlasvegas.com, gra.gov.sg, lovdata.no (pengespilloven § 7). Checked 26 August 2026.
Keep it a holiday
Every casino on this site is required by its licence to offer self-exclusion and to display help-line information. Use them if you need to. Decide in advance how much a visit may cost, treat it as the price of an evening out, and stop when it is spent.
Signs that gambling is becoming a problem include chasing losses, hiding play from others and gambling to escape worries. Help is free and confidential, in Norway and in every country we cover.
- Norway: Hjelpelinjen 800 800 40 · hjelpelinjen.no; Spillavhengighet Norge 477 00 200
- UK: GamCare 0808 8020 133 · gamcare.org.uk; GambleAware
- USA: National Problem Gambling Helpline 1-800-522-4700
- International: Gamblers Anonymous · gamblersanonymous.org
Where did all this begin?
From a Venetian palazzo in 1638 to Singapore in 2010 - the Casino History page traces the dates and the places.