Why Exeter's Nearest Casino Is in Plymouth
Search for a casino near Exeter and you will get results in Exeter. Look them up on the gambling registers, though, and not one of them is a casino.
That is not a technicality. The venue type changes what is legally allowed inside, which is worth understanding before you plan an evening around a name you saw on a map. The Exeter Daily already runs a guide to where to gamble in the wider Exeter area, so rather than repeat it, we asked the research team at Gambling.com, an independent resource for licenced casinos and betting, to answer the narrower question the search results get wrong.
How this was checked
Three sources, all consulted on the same day: the official venue pages of the casino operators trading in Devon, the Gambling Commission's public register of licensed premises, and the Gambling Act premises register kept by the relevant local council. Machine limits come from the Gambling Commission's own published guidance on gaming machine categories. Where something is not published, this piece says so rather than estimating.
What Exeter actually has
Exeter has adult gaming centres. It does not have a licensed casino.
An adult gaming centre is a distinct category under the Gambling Act, licensed by the local authority, and it is the category that most high street slots venues fall into. In November 2024, Exeter City Council granted Merkur Slots a licence for a 24-hour adult gaming centre on Sidwell Street, attached to a condition that its CCTV cover 25 metres of street in both directions. That was reported at the time by BBC News, and it remains the clearest recent illustration of what is opening in the city and under which licence.
Alongside those, listings sites tend to file bingo halls and even Exeter Racecourse and Newton Abbot Racecourse under the heading of Devon casinos. All are real places to have a day or a night out. None is a casino.
The Torquay one that trips people up
The most common wrong turn is Torquay, because the venue on Union Street trades under the Admiral Casino name.
Two separate public registers say otherwise. The Gambling Commission's public register lists the premises at 43 Union Street, Torquay as an adult gaming centre, operated by Luxury Leisure. Torbay Council's own Gambling Act premises register records it the same way. The Merkur venue on Victoria Street in Paignton sits in the same category.
The word casino in a trading name is not a licence class, and in this case the register and the shopfront do not agree.
There was a licensed casino in Torquay, and that is the source of much of the confusion. Genting closed it in 2020, which is why Devon's casinos are now both at the far end of the county.
Why the distinction changes what you can do
The categories are not cosmetic. The Gambling Commission sets what each type of premises may offer, and the gap is concrete.
Category B1 machines carry a maximum stake of £5 and are permitted in casinos and nowhere else. The highest category an adult gaming centre may offer is B3, where the stake is capped at £2 and the prize at £500.
The bigger difference is the one the machine categories do not cover. Live dealer tables, roulette and blackjack dealt by a person rather than a screen, and a poker room, exist at the licensed casinos and not at an adult gaming centre. If a dealer and a table is the thing you actually want from the evening, no venue in Exeter or Torbay provides it.
|
Adult gaming centre |
Licensed casino |
|
|
Nearest to Exeter |
In Exeter and Torbay |
Plymouth |
|
Licensed by |
Local authority under the Gambling Act |
Gambling Commission and local authority |
|
Top machine category |
B3, £2 pounds stake, £500 prize |
B1, £5 stake |
|
Live dealer tables |
No |
Yes |
|
Poker room |
No |
At Grosvenor Plymouth |
What is actually in Plymouth
Devon's two licensed casinos sit within a few minutes of each other near the Theatre Royal.
Grosvenor Casino Plymouth is at 15 Derry's Cross. It is open 24 hours, with live gaming from midday to 5am daily, and of the two Plymouth venues it is the one that lists live poker, alongside food and drink.
Genting Casino Plymouth is at 2 Union Street, PL1 2SR. Its page does not publish opening hours, so ring ahead rather than assuming, particularly for a late arrival.
Both are a cross-county trip from Exeter rather than a night out on the doorstep, which is the honest answer to the question and the reason the search results are so misleading.
The practical version
If you want machines and a short journey, Exeter and Torbay have plenty, and the Admiral and Merkur venues are exactly what they are: high street gaming, licensed as adult gaming centres, capped at the B3 limits.
If you want a dealer, a live table, or a game of poker, you are going to Plymouth. Grosvenor at Derry's Cross is the one with the poker room and the 24-hour licence, so it is the safer bet for a late finish. Take photo ID either way.
If you have not been to a casino before and would rather arrive knowing how the room works, gambling.com's rundown of what a first casino visit involves covers the practical ground.
Every venue mentioned here, casino and gaming centre alike, is for over-18s only. Set what you are prepared to spend before you travel, and stop at it. GambleAware offers free and confidential support to anyone who wants to set limits or take a break.
