If you're reading this from a terrace in Tenerife or a beach bar in Gran Canaria, you already know that a proper summer break needs more than just sun. Add a bit of a flutter to the mix, and you've got a holiday formula that's been working for over a century, and it turns out the Canaries aren't the only islands and coastlines in on the secret.
A quick look through some of the world's most iconic casino summer spots throws up a name that will feel very familiar to anyone living out here: Benidorm. Just a short flight from the islands, this stretch of Spain's Costa Blanca has long been a staple of the British summer holiday, packed with bingo halls and small casinos tucked between the high-rise hotels. Its lively nightlife and affordable resorts have made it the go-to spot for holidaymakers who want their sun with a side of late-night games, which explains why generations of British families keep going back year after year.
For anyone missing a proper dab of the numbers since moving out to the islands, there's an easier fix than booking a flight home. The days of only being able to play at your local hall are long gone, and bingo bonuses from WhichBingo, home of the best bingo bonuses, mean you can get a taste of that same Friday night buzz from your sun lounger.
Across the Atlantic, Atlantic City tells a similar story of seaside towns turning to gambling to stay relevant. The city's famous boardwalk, the first of its kind in the United States, was originally built just to keep sand out of the luxury hotels lining the seafront. It took until a 1976 referendum for New Jersey voters to approve casino gambling within the city limits, a decision that transformed a fading resort town into the East Coast's answer to Las Vegas almost overnight.
Monte Carlo takes the glamour up several notches. The Casino de Monte-Carlo opened its doors in 1865, and the story behind it is a strange one: Princess Caroline of Monaco reportedly came up with the idea to save the House of Grimaldi from bankruptcy, after neighbouring towns refused to keep paying taxes on olive oil and fruit. It worked rather well. The French Riviera location quickly became a magnet for European royalty, and it's still the benchmark for old-world casino tourism today.
There's also a version of this holiday that plenty of Canaries residents will already know without leaving home waters. Cruise ships docking in Santa Cruz de Tenerife or Las Palmas often carry their own floating casinos, a tradition that dates back to the mid-20th century when long ocean voyages needed a bit of entertainment to pass the time. These days, nearly every major cruise line has an onboard casino offering everything from bingo to slots, meaning the gaming doesn't stop just because the ship has left port.
Then there's Macau, in a different league entirely. Once a Portuguese colony where gambling was legalised back in the 1850s, it's now the world's biggest gaming hub by a wide margin. Prior to the pandemic, Macau's gaming revenues ran at roughly six times those of Las Vegas, and the city has spent the years since clawing its way back towards those numbers. It's proof that the pairing of travel and a bit of a bet works just as well on the other side of the world.
None of this should come as much of a surprise to anyone living in the Canary Islands. British holidaymakers have always gravitated towards destinations that feel a little like home, whether that's a familiar pint, a fry-up on the seafront, or a game of bingo after dark.
From Benidorm's crowded beach bars to the casino floors of Monte Carlo, the summer holiday and the bit of a gamble have gone hand in hand for well over a hundred years, and there's no reason that tradition should stop just because you've swapped Blackpool for the Atlantic.
