San Marino’s Casino: From History to Reality
Yes, San Marino has a casino. We had one. We lost it. Now it’s back.
You might think San Marino is all towers, medieval stone, and stunning views.
But hey, we also know how to roll the dice.
Yes: San Marino had a casino.
Then it didn’t.
And now… it does again.
Here’s the story of Kursaal, pressure from Italy, and the modern return via Giochi del Titano.
Kursaal: Beginnings and Italian Trouble
In 1949, San Marino opened the Kursaal Casino.
It was bold.
Almost scandalous, depending on which side of the border you asked.
The idea: draw in tourists, tourists spend money, San Marino collects cash. Simple.
But Italy, well… Italy had other plans.
The Italian government wasn’t thrilled at the idea of a tiny microstate siphoning off gambling revenue - especially when some of the customers were Italians crossing the border for a cheeky flutter or a quick spin in a tax-friendly republic.
So what did Italy do?
They tightened the screws.
Customs checks. Border harassment. Bureaucratic chokeholds.
There were even reports of visitors having to remove the wheels from their cars before entering the country.
All this, aimed at making life harder for would-be gamblers and crushing the casino’s business model.
And behind the scenes, there was a political element too.
San Marino had a socialist government at the time - democratically elected - in the early days of the Cold War. Not exactly what Italy, aligned with NATO and the West, wanted on its doorstep.
After just 17 months, San Marino waved the white flag.
The Kursaal Casino was shut down in 1951, and Italy had made its point.
The building itself?
It was turned into a conference hall, and it still is to this day.
The Long Silence
What followed was a long, awkward decades-long pause.
The Kursaal - with its elegant floors and faded glamour - became a civic building. And the idea of a casino in San Marino became something you whispered about, not something you proposed.
Officially, there was no casino.
Unofficially, the idea never really died.
San Marino still had the location. It still had the incentive.
But it also had Italy watching… and small countries don’t get to play bold too often.
So, for years, gambling remained a no-go. No roulette wheels. No blackjack tables. No flashy slot machines. Just silence.
Until that changed.
The Comeback: Giochi del Titano
Enter: Giochi del Titano (literally: "Titano Games").
A different name. A different vibe. A different century.
This wasn’t a flashy Riviera-style casino. It wasn’t trying to steal customers from Venice or Sanremo.
It was state-owned, regulated, transparent. And very much legit.
No underground scene. No international incident.
Just a modern gaming facility with slot machines, entertainment, and yes: taxes going back into the local economy.
Giochi del Titano is part of the tourism strategy, part of the entertainment landscape.
It draws visitors. It creates jobs. It contributes to the budget.
Still…
To make Italy okay with it, we suspect San Marino made some concessions.
Customs flows, regulation, maybe revenue-sharing. Or maybe it agreed (unofficially) not to position itself as a competitor to Italian casinos.
Because of legal complexity and scarce archival transparency, we don’t always know the details.
But what matters is this:
The casino is no longer underground, and no longer controversial.
It’s open. It’s official. And it’s here to stay.
The Game Was Rigged (But We Played Anyway)
The Kursaal is now a monument to a time when San Marino dared to take a bold leap… and got slapped down for it.
Giochi del Titano, on the other hand, is the quieter evolution: less glamorous, more sustainable, and less likely to trigger a diplomatic crisis.
In a way, it tells a familiar story:
Even the Oldest Republic in the world has to learn how to play the game.
And in this case, we’ve decided to keep playing - just with a better strategy.