Casino party rentals: what casino table hire costs at a wedding or a company party

What suppliers publish, and what they do not

How to price casino hire

1. Count the guests who will actually play. A table serves a crowd around it rather than a seat each. Suppliers will tell you how many guests one table entertains comfortably, and it is more than people expect.
2. Pick the hours from the timeline. Casino tables usually run in the gap between the meal and the dancing. Two to three hours is the common slot and longer is rarely used.
3. Ask what a table includes. Croupier, chips, fun money, prizes and the table itself. Ask which of those are in the figure and which are extra.
4. Check the space and the power. Tables are large and need a room the venue can give up for the evening. Confirm the footprint with the venue before booking.

What you are actually hiring

The croupier is the product. A fun casino table without an experienced dealer is furniture, and the difference between an evening that works and one that empties after twenty minutes is almost entirely the person running the table and teaching people who have never played. That is why the price per table is far closer to the cost of a skilled hour than to the cost of the equipment.

Nothing is gambled for real money at a fun casino: guests are given fun money, play for chips and often compete for a prize at the end. That is what keeps the hire outside gambling regulation, and any supplier proposing otherwise is proposing something you do not want at your wedding.

How to make it work in the room

Put the tables where people already are. Casino hire fails when it is placed in a side room nobody walks through, and works when it is between the bar and the dance floor. Ask the supplier where they would put the tables when they see the floor plan, because they have watched this succeed and fail more often than the venue has.

Time it against the rest of the evening. Tables that open when the band starts compete with the band. Tables that open during the changeover, when the room is being turned round and guests have nothing to do, fill the exact gap that most evening receptions have.

Questions organisers ask before they book

How many tables do I need?

Fewer than most people assume, because a table entertains a crowd rather than a seated few. Give the supplier your guest count and ask them for the number, and be sceptical of a quote that adds tables without asking how many guests there are.

Is it legal at a private party?

Fun casino hire uses fun money and prizes rather than stakes and winnings, which is what keeps it outside gambling rules. Any supplier suggesting real stakes is offering something different.

How long should the tables run?

Two to three hours covers the usual slot. Longer bookings tend to sit idle at the end of the night once the dancing has started.

What does the venue need to provide?

Floor space, a load-in route and enough light to play by. Tables are heavy and awkward, so a venue with stairs and no lift is worth mentioning when you ask for a price.

What this costs where you are marrying

• What a wedding costs in the UK, from published supplier prices