New UKGC Casinos February 2026: Hippodrome and Horizons

February's two new remote casino release dates both went to land-based casinos a short walk apart in London's West End. Horizons Leisure Limited (account 51540), which runs Horizons Casino, received its remote casino permission on 4 February 2026. Hippodrome Casino Limited (account 29471) followed on 12 February 2026. Checked against the UKGC register in September 2026.

That makes February the odd month of the year. Every other 2026 month is dominated by online-first start-ups and sportsbooks, while these are long-established venues with decades of combined history on the square.

The catch for players is simple: neither licence has produced a new site to join yet. The registered domains are the venues' own websites, www.hippodromecasino.com and www.horizonscasino.com, and neither offers real-money play under the new permission.

The rest of this year's launches are on our New UKGC Casinos 2026 tracker.

The Hippodrome on Cranbourn Street is the bigger name. The building was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1900, and the casino opened on 13 July 2012 after father and son Jimmy and Simon Thomas took the lease in 2009. It is open 24 hours with free entry, and has hosted the PokerStars LIVE poker room since 2013.

Hippodrome Casino Limited is no stranger to the register. It has held its land-based casino licence since August 2011, non-remote betting since 2015 and a remote real-event betting permission since 1 October 2025. The February 2026 remote casino permission is the latest step in building up its own online permissions.

Here is where players get confused. The Hippodrome Online Casino people already know is a separate site, hippodromeonline.com, which launched in 2013 and is operated by Betway Limited under its own UKGC licence. It streams tables from the Leicester Square floor, such as Live Hippodrome Grand Roulette. The venue website links to it, but it is not the domain on the new licence.

We found no public announcement explaining what the Hippodrome plans to do with its own remote casino permission, so treat anything claiming to be a new Hippodrome online casino with caution until the company confirms it.

Horizons Casino sits in Queen's House, 1 Leicester Place, a building that opened as the Queen's Hotel in 1899. A casino has operated there since 1988, first as Napoleons before rebranding to Horizons in 2018. In 2025 it expanded onto the ground floor with a full refurbishment, adding card tables, a roulette table, new jackpot slots and electronic roulette terminals.

The owner is Mayfair Casino Limited, which has held 75% or more of Horizons Leisure Limited since 13 April 2018 and bought the Clermont Club in Berkeley Square for £23 million in 2019. The register lists the head office care of Mayfair Casino Ltd at 20 North Audley Street.

The licence change is administrative for now. Two days after its remote casino permission started, Horizons surrendered its ancillary remote casino permission, which only covered remote gaming on the premises. Its website says plainly that all gaming happens in person at Leicester Square, with no online play or app.

In the venue you will find American roulette, blackjack, baccarat, Three Card Poker, Heads Up Hold'em and 38 slot machines, with tables open from 11am to 6am. Horizons also holds the GamCare Safer Gambling Standard.

Famous casino names attract copycats, and both February venues have them. Searches for Horizons Casino surface horizonscasino.uk and horizoncasino.uk, both styled as an "official site". Neither is the registered domain, which is www.horizonscasino.com, and the real venue does not offer online play at all.

Hippodrome searches throw up thehippodromecasino.net, advertising a 500% bonus up to $50,000, and hippodrome-casino.com. Neither belongs to Hippodrome Casino Limited or to Betway's hippodromeonline.com. A dollar-denominated bonus is a giveaway that a site is not aimed at regulated British players.

February delivered two release dates, the same as April, May and July. The full year to date:

• January: 1 (Dabble)
• February: 2 (Horizons Casino, Hippodrome Casino)
• March: 1 (royalol.co.uk)
• April: 2 (Betty, Stakewise)
• May: 2 (Silkbet, proper.bet)
• June: 3 (Bigbangbet, Brillbet, DC Bet)
• July: 2 (lottofy.co.uk, rambobet.co.uk)
• August: 1 (Midnite)

Of the 14 operators so far, these are the only two that run casino venues. The trend they show is existing licensees upgrading paperwork rather than launching products, the same pattern as January's Dabble, which added casino to an existing sportsbook licence. The difference is that Dabble actually switched its casino on.

• For Horizons, there is nothing to sign up to online. Any site taking deposits under the Horizons name is not the Leicester Square casino; check the Horizons Leisure register entry if unsure.
• For the Hippodrome, the established online casino is hippodromeonline.com, run by Betway Limited. Check its footer names Betway, and compare the venue's own details on the Hippodrome Casino register entry.
• Ignore any site using either name that quotes its bonus in dollars.
• Visiting in person? Decide your budget before you walk in, leave the cards at home and stop when it is gone. Gambling is paid entertainment, not a way to make money.

Leicester Square casino venue, open since 2012, adding its own remote casino permission; its known online casino is run separately by Betway. · Release date: 12 February 2026

The domain on this licence is www.hippodromecasino.com, the website of the Hippodrome Casino on Cranbourn Street, Leicester Square. Hippodrome Casino Limited's remote casino permission has a release date of 12 February 2026.

The company also holds a land-based casino licence from 2011, non-remote betting and bingo permissions, and remote real-event betting from 1 October 2025. The venue opened as a casino in July 2012 under Jimmy and Simon Thomas, who took the lease in 2009.

The Hippodrome Online Casino at hippodromeonline.com is a separate product operated by Betway Limited, and it streams live tables from the casino floor. We found no public detail on how Hippodrome Casino Limited will use its own remote casino permission.

No regulatory action appears on the register entry. For more on the brand and its online options, read our hippodromecasino.com review.

Full operator page: Hippodrome Casino Limited. UKGC register: account 29471. Official site: www.hippodromecasino.com/. Read our hippodromecasino.com review.

Leicester Square casino owned by Mayfair Casino Limited; holds a remote casino permission but offers no online play. · Release date: 4 February 2026

Horizons Casino trades at www.horizonscasino.com, the single domain and trading name on Horizons Leisure Limited's licence. Its remote casino permission has a release date of 4 February 2026, and its ancillary remote permission was surrendered on 6 February 2026.

Horizons Leisure Limited was incorporated in 1984 and has been controlled by Mayfair Casino Limited since April 2018, the same group that bought the Clermont Club in 2019. It holds a land-based casino licence dating from April 2018.

The venue at 1 Leicester Place has operated as a casino since 1988, rebranded from Napoleons in 2018 and was refurbished and extended in 2025. Its website says there is no online play or app.

Ignore lookalike domains such as horizonscasino.uk and check the register entry if in doubt. Our Horizons Casino review covers the venue in more detail.

Full operator page: Horizons Leisure Limited. UKGC register: account 51540. Official site: www.horizonscasino.com/. Read our Horizons Casino review.

What new UKGC casinos launched in February 2026?

Two land-based operators received remote casino release dates in February 2026: Horizons Leisure Limited, which runs Horizons Casino, on 4 February, and Hippodrome Casino Limited on 12 February. Both are Leicester Square venues, and neither has launched a new online casino under the permission. The full 2026 list is on our year tracker.

Can you play Horizons Casino online?

No. Horizons Leisure Limited holds a UKGC remote casino permission from 4 February 2026, but the Horizons website states that all gaming happens in person at its Leicester Square venue, with no online play or app. Sites such as horizonscasino.uk or horizoncasino.uk are not the registered domain, which is www.horizonscasino.com.

Is the Hippodrome online casino new?

No. The Hippodrome Online Casino at hippodromeonline.com launched in 2013 and is operated by Betway Limited under its own UKGC licence. What is new is Hippodrome Casino Limited's own remote casino permission from 12 February 2026, registered to www.hippodromecasino.com, the venue's website. No new Hippodrome-run site had been announced by September 2026.

Who owns the Hippodrome Casino?

The Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square is run by Hippodrome Casino Limited, UKGC account 29471. Father and son Jimmy and Simon Thomas acquired the lease on the building in 2009 and opened the casino in July 2012, with Simon Thomas as executive chairman. The separate Hippodrome Online Casino is operated by Betway Limited.

Who owns Horizons Casino in Leicester Square?

Horizons Casino is run by Horizons Leisure Limited, which has been controlled by Mayfair Casino Limited since April 2018. Mayfair Casinos also bought the Clermont Club in Berkeley Square for £23 million in 2019. The Leicester Place venue operated as Napoleons before rebranding to Horizons in 2018.