Question of the Day - 15 November 2025

Having established yesterday that the oldest casino in the world, though it dates back nearly 500 years, hasn't been operating continuously and in fact was closed for centuries, we dug a little further to determine which casino is the world's oldest continuously operating joint.

Casino de Spa, located in Spa, Belgium (roughly 75 miles southwest of Brussels), opened in 1763. Like yesterday's Casino di Venezia, it hasn't operated continuously, having closed periodically through the ages, but unlike the one in Venice, it's been located in the same place and in the same building, mostly, for the past 262 years. The original building has endured a number of ordeals, not the least of which were partial destruction during World Wars I and II. Thus, it's been renovated many times and today's casino dates back to the last renovation in 1918. Because it's occupied the same acreage since it opened, many consider it older than Casino de Venezia, which moved several times around Venice. 

Then there's the Kurhaus Casino in Baden-Baden, Germany, which opened in 1824 and is the oldest and most famous in Deutschland. Like di Venezia and de Spa before it, Kurhaus closed from time to time, once in 1872 when gambling was prohibited throughout the country (it didn't reopen until 1933) and once in 1944, when the building was taken over by the French Army command. It was fully restored and reopened in 1950. 

Casino de Monte Carlo in Monaco dates back to 1863, but moved several times until it settled into its permanent home in 1878, where it remains to this day. And at last, we have a winner in the continuously operating part of the world's oldest question. This casino has never closed in 147 years, at least that we could confirm. It remained open for business under occupation by both Italians and Germans in the 1940s. It was even used by the Nazis to operate a propaganda radio station, Radio Monte-Carlo. It did close for 10 or so weeks in 2020 for pandemic protocols, but we don't count that, as almost all casinos did.