A prestigious Mayfair casino looks set to come under new ownership following an announcement that Wynn Resorts will acquire Crown London Aspinalls. It’s an intriguing development for a venue whose owners have suffered a problematic few years outside of the UK following fines from the Australian government for Crown Resorts.
The venue on Curzon Street will change owners in the second half of 2025, its new owners announced. The rubber stamp on the name and operator change will occur following the relevant customary regulatory approvals. It sees the casino switch hands from Australian ownership to American, but it is yet to be confirmed whether any significant changes are afoot.
With an iconic private gaming venue transitioning from one foreign casino operator to another, what does this mean for London gaming and the wider casino industry in the UK?
An Industry Pivoting Following Digitalisation
It will come as no surprise to anyone that physical casino venues are, much like everything else on the British high street, experiencing a rapid change in how they operate. Following the introduction of online casinos, gaming houses had to adapt or risk losing their player bases to the new, sleek sites that players were choosing to visit at home.
The casino experience was successfully transposed to the online sphere and that has only continued to evolve in the decades since it first happened. Taking the online casino site karamba.co.uk as an example, you can see that all the luxurious table games that high-end venues would offer are available. Additionally, they are also available in real-dealer live casino format, further replicating the luxury casino vibe.
Because of that, the casino’s place at the heart of UK cities has had to change. Some have taken the Las Vegas approach and become more akin to sports bars, particularly renowned for showing boxing bouts in something of a hark to their Nevada cousins. Others, like Aspinalls, now appear to be targeting the high-roller jet-setters of the world.
Wynn Looking to Introduce Brits to Middle-Eastern Casinos
The high-roller jet-setters are of particular note for Wynn Resorts in their decision to acquire the former Crown location. According to businesswire.co.uk, the American operator is looking to use the London venue as a means of introducing UK players to their yet-to-open Middle-East casino, as well as some of their established resorts elsewhere in the world.
In a press release, CEO Craig Billings said that the Mayfair casino will “create a conduit for Wynn guests to visit our resorts, particularly Wynn Al Marjan Island, which is slated to open in the first quarter of 2027 in Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates.”
It’s clear with that in mind that the venue will act as an advertisement of sorts for the other Wynn locations. That isn’t to say that it won’t be a successful casino in its own right. Rather, there’s an obvious lean towards luxury and becoming a playground for London’s rich and famous, who can then afford to enjoy a tour of the other casinos.
Casinos Changing Hands but Not a Dying Breed in the Capital
Ultimately, any casino venue in Mayfair was always going to be for the highest earners of London. However, as a whole, the city is still a well-served one when considering casinos. Yes, the Crown – soon to be Wynn – is for the highest of rollers to whom money is no object. But there are also plenty of options at all other levels and price points across the capital, just as not all restaurants have to be Scott’s.
There are still a handful of the traditional, gentlemen’s club-style gaming houses that will play host to the rich and famous. However, as the city has expanded and each borough has established its own unique identity, less exclusive venues have appeared that serve other markets. This can only be healthy for a recreation market that has experienced a culture shock in the wake of the spread of the internet.
If the Wynn Resorts venue can truly be a gateway to the Middle East, who knows, it could bring plenty more investment into the city and boost the already impressive local economy in Mayfair. It is also worth noting that Crown Resorts has struggled for the last five years in its native Australia, so a fresh operator could be exactly what is needed to reinvigorate an iconic venue in the heart of Mayfair.
