Frequently asked questions

18 in Berlin, Wiesbaden and Bad Homburg; 21 in Baden-Baden and at the Bavarian casinos in Bad Wiessee and Lindau, where adults aged 18–20 may be admitted only with a companion aged 21+ and may not play.

A valid official photo ID. Baden-Baden wants the original passport or ID card; Bad Homburg refuses residence permits, driving licences and digital IDs; Berlin refuses driving licences, work, student and press IDs and credit cards. See First visit.

Wiesbaden: free. Berlin: €2. Bad Homburg: €2.50 day ticket for the classic games. Baden-Baden: €5 for the classic games. Slots are free at Baden-Baden, Wiesbaden and Bad Homburg. Bad Wiessee and Lindau: free according to a dated state magazine.

Baden-Baden asks men for a jacket (loan jacket €10). Bad Homburg asks guests to avoid very casual wear and lends a jacket. Wiesbaden accepts casual dress and bars sportswear, hoodies and similar. Berlin publishes none. Bad Wiessee and Lindau ask for neat clothing.

Wiesbaden says there is no obligation to play. Baden-Baden runs €10 morning tours. See Visiting without playing.

Berlin bans photography outside designated selfie areas. The other casinos do not state a rule on their public pages; ask at the door.

Mostly. Baden-Baden, Wiesbaden, Bad Homburg and Berlin close on 24 and 25 December, and Wiesbaden, Bad Homburg and Berlin on Good Friday (Baden-Baden's 2026 list included 3 April). In 2026 Baden-Baden is also shut on 1, 15, 18 and 22 November; Wiesbaden and Bad Homburg on 15 and 22 November. The Bavarian state magazine lists 24 December for Bad Wiessee and Lindau. Each dossier has the dates.

No. The six hotels we feature are separate from the casinos. In Berlin the Grand Hyatt (Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 2) stands next to the casino (number 1). Elsewhere we found no official walking time, so each dossier says what is and is not known. Baden-Baden's casino names Roomers and Maison Messmer as its package partners, not Brenners.

On our scorecard the spa criterion gives Baden-Baden and Tegernsee 5 of 5 and Berlin 4. Club Olympus in Berlin is free for hotel guests; Wiesbaden's Badhaus and Bad Homburg's Kur-Royal are separate tickets.

Grand Hyatt Berlin: any size, €35 a night. Althoff Seehotel Überfahrt: €45 a night, not in restaurants or the spa. Seegarten in Lindau: €37 a night; the Bayerischer Hof takes no pets. Brenners welcomes dogs in rooms with a dog sitter. The Schwarzer Bock says pets are "allowed, ask for details". Bad Homburg's hotel pages do not state a pet policy.

Berlin: BER to Potsdamer Platz station takes 19 minutes by the FEX express. Wiesbaden: Frankfurt Airport by S8 in about 42 minutes. Bad Homburg: Frankfurt Airport in about 41 minutes with one change (fastest sample). Baden-Baden: Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden airport is about 17 km away. Lindau: Friedrichshafen is 25 km. Tegernsee: the hotel states 95 km to Munich Airport.

Not the six featured, but the Nassauer Hof in Wiesbaden is closed until 2028 and the Hotel Bad Schachen in Lindau until 2028–29. See Hotel news.

Berlin and Tegernsee have the most nearby. In Berlin, FACIL (two stars) is about 120 m from the Grand Hyatt and several more starred restaurants lie within about 1.3 km. At Tegernsee, Restaurant Überfahrt (one star) is in the Althoff Seehotel, with Haubentaucher (one star) and Dichter (two stars) in Rottach-Egern. Baden-Baden has Le Jardin de France and Maltes hidden kitchen (one star each); Lindau has KARRisma and VILLINO (one star each). Each hotel's kitchen guide has the details, for example Tegernsee.

Joker'S serves playing guests only, daily 18:00–22:00, on a reduced menu since January 2026; the traditional Kurhaus restaurant is closed for renovation and due to reopen in 2027.

Free, confidential: 0800 1 37 27 00 (BIÖG, formerly the BZgA), Monday to Thursday 10:00–22:00, Friday to Sunday 10:00–18:00. See responsible play.

Request it from the casino or the authority; the minimum is a year by default and it must be lifted by written application. The exclusion is recorded in the nationwide OASIS system.

No. We do not operate a casino, accept bets or deposits, or link to any online gambling service.

No commercial relationship unless stated. Photography is from Unsplash and credited.

The Bavarian state casinos publish hours and menus on a site that needs JavaScript, so we could not read them. We say so rather than guess.