Casino di Venezia

Casino di Venezia is the oldest casino in the world, tracing its history to 1638 when the Great Council of Venice established the Ridotto — a controlled gambling house designed to manage the disorderly gambling that had proliferated during the city's famous carnival season. The word "casino" itself derives from the Italian "casa" (house), and the Venice Ridotto was the institution that gave the concept its name and its template: a dedicated public space for regulated gambling.

Today the casino operates from two locations: the historic Ca' Vendramin Calergi, a magnificent Renaissance palazzo on the Grand Canal where Richard Wagner died in 1883, and the more modern Ca' Noghera venue near Venice's Marco Polo Airport. The Ca' Vendramin Calergi location is the more famous — guests arrive by water taxi, stepping into one of the most atmospheric gaming rooms in the world, where frescoed ceilings, chandeliers, and gilded stucco surround the roulette and blackjack tables.

The casino offers French and American roulette, blackjack, punto banco, poker, and slot machines across both venues. Access to the Grand Canal palazzo requires smart dress, and the experience of gaming in a 500-year-old building on the water remains genuinely unique. The casino is municipally owned and has been an important source of civic revenue for the City of Venice for centuries.