You might think that being a casino dealer is like playing all day with a paycheck at the end of the month. However, when you are on the other side of the game table there are some downsides to it as well, just like any other service-industry job. There is a certain glamour to being a casino dealer and it is certainly less boring than pushing a pencil all day but what about the pay?
In this article, we are discussing what a casino croupier salary is in the United Kingdom and how it compares to a Las Vegas salary or to one as a live-dealer in an online casino in a gambling jurisdiction. Samuel Richardson, British iGaming expert helped us with the numbers. Read more about Samuel here.
Online casinos
If you frequent online casinos you might have come across live-dealer games and you might have even played them. Live-dealers are in fact, usually not the online casinos’ employees but work for a game provider, such as Evolution Gaming. These companies operate studios where live-dealers deal the cards, spin the roulette wheel or throw the dice.
If you are looking for an online casino that accepts players from the UK, check out our list of instant withdrawal casino.
Malta is a gambling jurisdiction where you can find these studios. Dealers there make a higher salary than the average in Malta. An online casino croupier salary is €18-22k per annum. Even those who speak little English and don’t have dealing experience can get a job as shufflers and make about €16k per year. Just in comparison, the minimum salary in Malta is €9,300 per annum and the average salary is €17k. It is easy to see why casino jobs are the most desired jobs in Malta.
UK croupier salary
According to payscale the average croupier salary in the UK is £19,102. The more experience you have the more salary you are going to receive while the pay scale is between £17k and £23k.
On top of the salary casino employees often get private health and dental insurance and when the casino is based in a hotel or it has a restaurant, usually, free meals are provided to the employees as well.
The downside (or upside?) of being a croupier is the working hours. Croupiers often have to work night shifts as the casino business is a 24-hour operation. Assuming that people who want to work in a casino like working in shifts the irregular hours might work out well.
If you start working as a dealer and get a few years of experience there is a career path in sight. You can become a floorman who supervises the dealers and eventually a pit manager or pit boss who manages all the floormen.
USA croupier salary
As salaries in the US are generally higher than the ones in Europe it is no surprise that an average croupier can make $50,000 per annum. However, infancy Las Vegas casinos, an experienced croupier can even double this figure. While casino workers in the US often get additional perks similarly to European ones, such as private health insurance and free meals there is a difference in the salary per se. Most of a US croupier’s salary is made of tips. In the US it is customary and expected to tip and while you are playing a table game you should tip about $5 an hour. So when you do the math you can figure that a croupier can easily make $25-30 an hour.
Being a croupier is not an easy job. There is a lot to learn as some of the games can be complicated with lots of rules. Casino dealers also have to be able to count quickly without a calculator and they have to be polite and pleasant all the time, even if you are having a bad day.
Conclusion
As a casino dealer, you can expect higher pay than in other service-industry jobs. Apart from a better than average salary the job often comes with perks. If you like the odd hours and enjoy chatting with people being a croupier might be the right choice for you.
