Baccarat isn’t a new game by any means. In fact, it can be traced back to the 15th century. It’s hailed as one of the grandfathers of modern betting, so why isn’t it popular in the UK?
If you go to a standard retail casino outside of London, it’s unlikely you’ll even find it on offer in the pit. It’s more likely to be on offer in high-stakes casinos and, even then, it’s limited in tables. For those of you who aren’t sure what baccarat is, it’s a card game played between the player and the dealer. Both the player and the dealer, who is known as the ‘banker,’ are dealt two cards – and the hand closest to nine wins. The odds are simple, as the winnings are simply double what you bet. There are a few different variations, Punto banco, Chemin de fer, Baccarat banque, but they are still centred around the same idea. So, it’s simple to learn, it has a few different variations and it’s huge in other countries. But baccarat is not yet popular in the UK...
The history
There are a few different reasons as to why. One of the most likely is that while baccarat was traditionally always seen as something to be enjoyed by the upper class, other table games like blackjack and roulette grew in favour with everyone else. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, gambling was seen as something that the lower class fought over in dark pubs, while the elite classes were separated from them in private clubs, often found in the St James District in the West End of London.
So while baccarat was big during this time, it was only big behind closed doors. This divide between the classes was only widened in 1890 after the Royal baccarat scandal, which involved the Prince of Wales and future King of the United Kingdom, Edward VII. “He is ... condemned by the verdict of the jury to social extinction. His brilliant record is wiped out and he must, so to speak, begin life again. Such is the inexorable social rule... He has committed a mortal offence. Society can know him no more.” - A local newspaper, 1891.
The case itself is extensive, but the short version of the story is that Sir William Gordon-Cumming, a well-known socialite and lieutenant colonel, was accused of cheating during a game of baccarat. After he was observed acting suspiciously, he signed a document promising to never play cards again. Unfortunately, the situation spiralled until it was taken to the Royal Courts of Justice.
After an extensive trial, in which an heir to the throne was called to court for the first time since 1411, Gordon-Cumming was found guilty. But more importantly, he was dismissed from the army and had to spend the rest of his life ostracised by British society. He retired to a remote location in Devon...
But that was over a century ago, why does that matter? Well, the game in the UK never really recovered. Not soon after this, Britain sent a generation of young men off to fight in World War I. They gambled, but this was predominantly brag, pontoon and nap. A diary from a soldier at the time called Clifford Lane explains this perfectly: “I can’t remember exactly how it was played but it was a simple game. Nothing like bridge, nothing intellectual at all.” “Gambling? Good lord! People were gambling night and day; all day long, gambling. Oh, that was a very profound recreation, that. I wasn’t much good at that, myself.” - Clifford Lane, of the Hertfordshire Regiment, 1917.
So between the poor public view of baccarat, the rise of the middle class and the preference for other games by soldiers throughout the wars, the game slowly slipped out of public knowledge. If you ask most British citizens nowadays, many won’t even know what baccarat is. They might even get it confused with backgammon...
Mac-arrat
Still, that hasn’t stopped it from being the biggest game in other countries. Let’s start with Macau, one of the most iconic gambling locations in the world. Year after year, baccarat has been the most important table game in the jurisdiction, with the taxes from this one game contributing the largest single source of public funding in Macau.
Of course, the gambling industry in Macau is still recovering in the aftermath of Covid-19, so let’s start with figures from 2018. Gross income from baccarat, VIP baccarat and three public baccarat totalled MOP$269bn (US$33.4bn) during this year, far exceeding anything else. In comparison, blackjack brought in MOP$2.7bn and roulette trailed behind with MOP$1.1bn.
Despite it not being back at peak levels yet, figures from 2023 were still notable all the same. The three forms of baccarat came to MOP$156bn, while blackjack had MOP$2.3bn and roulette is yet to break into the billions at all. That’s just Macau though, right?
Actually, it’s not. Baccarat is booming in the West too, with Nevada and the Las Vegas Strip seeing bigger numbers than ever. In the FY2023 report by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, baccarat revenue increased 80% in the last three months of the year, making $1.49bn in revenue for the full annual timespan. When looking at the Las Vegas Strip, we can see that $1.47bn of the statewide baccarat revenue came from this area specifically. This isn’t even accounting for mini-baccarat or any of the other variants. To put this into perspective, in the same period blackjack accounted for $1bn, roulette saw $385m. Other than multi-denomination slots, baccarat was king in Las Vegas. While almost every other game was in decline in Vegas during 2023, including blackjack, three-card, Let It Ride and even sports betting on football, baccarat increased by 30% year-on-year.
Uniting the Kingdom
If it’s such a great source of revenue, why isn’t it offered in the UK? The short answer is: we don’t know. You would think the single biggest source of public funding in Macau and the biggest game in Las Vegas would be one of the priorities for UK casinos. For whatever reason, many of them have been slow in training croupiers for the game, ordering the tables, or showing any real will to offer the game at all.
Might it be difficult to keep ignoring the numbers, though? Perhaps it was easier to mark it down to simply being successful in Asia and that it wouldn’t translate well to the Western audience, but Las Vegas' recent success has added a little plot twist to that theory. Not only has baccarat earned its place at the table, it’s actually put the table – and everyone at it – on its shoulders and walked off into the proverbial sunset with them.
As Genting Casinos has quite heavy ties to Asia already, it could make senes to see this particular chain start to introduce it in more locations. A quick look at the Genting website will show you that it’s offering baccarat in more locations than ever; not only in the expected locations in London Chinatown and Resorts World, but also in Brighton, Glasgow and Newcastle now.
While Grosvenor hasn’t been quite as eager to pick up the game, it has recently launched live casino on its online platform which includes baccarat, among roulette and blackjack, of course. So while it isn’t risking offering it at retail yet, it’s definitely dipping its toes into the water. “As the largest casino operator in the UK, we’re on a mission to broaden casino gaming’s appeal to a new generation of players.” - Spyros Kanakis, Grosvenor Casinos Head of Gaming Commercial, on launching the Live Casino Studio.
Even if baccarat has had a rough few centuries in the UK, it seems like the game is slowly returning. Considering the results seen in other countries, it would be foolish to keep ignoring the potential baccarat has. Ultimately, it may take a few years to really gain traction with players, but don’t be surprised if you start seeing baccarat popping up across the market in 2024.