🎲 Hippodrome Casino Limited

This company was a land-based casino operator in Great Britain, holding an operating licence from the Gambling Commission. Its current status on the Gambling Commission public register is listed as inactive. The company is associated with the operation of the modern casino business at the historic Hippodrome venue in central London, which opened in its current casino form in 2012.

Company Background

The company is incorporated in the United Kingdom under the name Hippodrome Casino Limited. Public corporate records indicate that it was incorporated in 2005 under company number 05497987. It has been used as the corporate vehicle for the casino business developed at the Hippodrome building on the corner of Charing Cross Road and Cranbourn Street in London.

The Hippodrome building itself opened in 1900 as a circus and variety theatre designed by architect Frank Matcham. Over the 20th century it was used for a variety of entertainment purposes, including theatre, music hall and nightclub uses. In the mid‑2000s, the leasehold interest in the building was acquired by Jimmy Thomas and Simon Thomas, entrepreneurs from Leicester with an established background in gambling and entertainment, including the operation of bingo halls.

Following acquisition of the lease and the securing of a gaming licence by 2008, redevelopment work to convert the site into a large-scale casino and entertainment complex began in July 2009. The project incorporated adjoining premises (Cranbourn Mansions), increasing the total floorspace to around 80,000 square feet across multiple levels. The redeveloped casino opened to the public on 13 July 2012. At opening, the venue offered several floors of casino gaming, restaurants, bars and a theatre space, reflecting the broader entertainment-focused model enabled by the Gambling Act 2005.

Ownership of the company is closely associated with the Thomas family. Simon Thomas has been identified in public sources as executive chairman and majority shareholder, and his father Jimmy Thomas was a co‑founder and later an adviser until his death in 2022.

Licence Status

The company has held a Gambling Commission operating licence authorising it to provide casino facilities in Great Britain. On the Gambling Commission public register, the account is recorded under an operating licence with the status shown as inactive. An inactive status indicates that the licence is not currently in force for providing licensed activities, although the Commission’s register does not, by itself, specify the detailed reason (such as surrender, lapse or revocation) or the precise date on which active operations ceased.

The operating licence covered non‑remote casino activities at licensed premises, including the Hippodrome casino venue in London. The public register also associates the company with at least one licensed premises used for casino operations. There is no information in the cited sources indicating that the company held remote (online) gambling licences, or licences for other gambling sectors such as betting or bingo, beyond its land-based casino authorisation.

Regulatory History

Publicly available material consulted for this summary does not report any formal enforcement actions, regulatory sanctions or financial penalties imposed on this licensee by the Gambling Commission. No information has been identified regarding licence revocation or formal regulatory settlements involving this company.