The 5 most famous casinos in Italy

Italians gamble (gioco d’azzardo) for a long time. In 1638 the wealthy bourgeoisie of Venice amused themselves with gambling at the Ridotto. You didn't just come in there. You had to wear a special suit, a mask or a special hat. And you also had to bring a big wallet. The Ridotto was Italy's first casino, but the history of gambling goes back further.

A piece of gambling history in Italy

Bingo has been played in Italy since the Middle Ages. Bingo is a corruption of Beano, as the form was called that Bingo was played with. That came from the beans, which the numbers were covered with.

The Ridotto ('the private room') in Venice was wildly popular with the elite of its day. Later, Ridotto faced competition from various gambling halls. Gambling took off in Italy, because the Italians were (and are) fond of it.

In the Middle Ages there were the baratterie medievali, the predecessors of the later casinos. Here you could gamble, where it was strictly prohibited in other places in the city.

After this time, the casinos quickly spread all over the Boot, so that at the beginning of the 20th century there was a casino on every street corner.

In 1923, rampant gambling came to an end. The Mussolini government passed a law banning gambling. Gambling was restricted and only a few select casinos were licensed.

But of course the desire to gamble did not disappear. Not so strange that Italians still play a lot of Bingo today.

In addition to Bingo, there is also Raffle popular, a similar game that is especially brought out during the holidays.

That is why it is often played for real money.

Gambling in Italy – legal vs illegal

As in other southern countries, betting on sports results is a real popular sport. It doesn't really matter which sport it is: tennis, football, horse racing and Formula 1 are all good gambling sports.

Betting takes place a lot in the Serie A, the Italian football league at the highest level. Billions are involved here.

The gambling laws in Italy are considered quite liberal compared to the laws of the rest of the European countries.

Back in 2006, the country introduced legislation that allows companies to offer sports betting in stores and on the Internet.

This happened at a time when many of the EU countries were taking measures to restrict gambling on their territory.

Today there are more than 200 betting websites in Italy. About 150 of these are online casino websites, while the rest are online bingo websites, online poker websites and mobile casinos.

Online gambling is regulated in Italy and subject to a local licensing regime. Once every 9 years, Italian and foreign companies can submit applications during specific licensing windows in order to offer online gambling to Italian consumers.

Online slot machines, video poker and other gambling games via the internet can count on growing interest, just like in the Low Countries. Of course, the online gambling market is subject to strict rules, so that it remains a lively illegal market.

For example, the police continues to hunt for mafiosi of especially the 'Ndrangheta, a mafia group engaged in gambling, fraud and money laundering. Every year millions of euros and fat cars are seized and dozens of leaders arrested, but the weeds are difficult to weed.

The profits of illegal gambling companies amount to tens of billions of euros per year. The profits of the legal gambling market pale in comparison.

In 2020 there was such a 88 billion euros in the regulated gambling market to bring in more than $7 billion in tax revenue.

The largest and most beautiful casinos in Italy

Now there are only 5 traditional casinos left in the whole country. By this we mean the classic casinos with table games.

There are a total of about thirty gambling halls, most of which only have slot machines and of which a dozen are already located in the international city of Milan.

The casinos of Italy can all be found in the northern regions. They attract tourists from all over the world, but of course also Italians.

Chic dressed is no longer necessary, just like at Holland Casino, but too casual clothing is also not appreciated.

Gambling laws are expected to be relaxed further in the near future. It brings in much-needed tax money (Italy is privately rich, but publicly poor).

There are only 5 real casinos in Italy. But those are all special buildings.

1. Casino Municipale di Sanremo

The casino of Sanremo is a majestic and impressive building, which opened its doors at the beginning of the last century.

In addition to many slot machines and table games, this casino also offers rooms for avid poker players, a spacious bar and various restaurants.

2. Casino de la Vallee

The Casinò de la Vallée is the largest casino in Italy. You can find it in the northwestern tip of Italy, in the smallest region it Aosta Valley hot. It is a luxury resort with all the facilities you could wish for.

You can gamble here while surrounded by the high peaks of the Alps. The casino has 2 floors, hundreds of slot machines and dozens of table games.

The casino is connected to the adjacent hotel via an underground tunnel.

3. Casino di Campione d'Italia

The Italian City Campione d’Italia is located about 60 km from Milan and is enclosed by Swiss territory. This makes it an Italian exclave, which makes clever use of the liberal gambling laws and the non-applicable VAT law.

This tiny tax haven of 2.000 residents is a popular destination for gamblers from all over Europe and Asia.

The Campione casino is also very welcome. Not so long ago it was expanded considerably. In addition to slot machines, you can also play the classic gambling games at the tables here.

4 & 5. Casino di Venice

This immediately puts us in one of the most beautiful casinos on our continent. The casino is located in Venice and has been around for 400 years, which should say enough.

Venice Casino has 2 locations, bringing the number of official casinos in Italy to 5.

The most beautiful location is the Ca' Vendramin Calergi, a Renaissance palace overlooking the Grand Canal in the heart of the city.

This was the residence of Venetian patricians and the house in which the composer Richard Wagner spent the last days of his life, together with his wife Cosima.

Then there is Ca' Noghera, a modern building of more than 5.000 m² close to Marco Polo Airport.

The Casinò di Venezia attracts many international celebrities. George Clooney could already be found on the gaming floor of this casino. You'll have fun for hours (or until you run out of money) on more than 600 slot machines and with many table games and baccarat tournaments.