To start the Diamond Casino Heist in GTA Online, you need to own an Arcade and then use the planning board there to begin the setup. The Diamond Casino Heist is an Arcade-based heist in GTA Online, and guides published in 2026 still describe the Arcade as the required starting point.

Steps

  1. Buy an Arcade property.
  2. Go to the Arcade in free roam.
  3. Interact with the heist planning board in the basement area.
  4. Complete the initial setup missions to scope the casino and prepare the heist.
  5. Choose your approach and finale when the prep work is done.

Common issue

If you do not see the option to start it, the most likely reasons are that you do not own an Arcade yet or the heist is temporarily unavailable in your current game version or session. One 2024 report noted that Rockstar disabled planning for the Diamond Casino Heist due to an exploit, so availability can matter depending on the state of the game.

Quick note

A recent guide also states plainly that to start the casino heist, you need an Arcade. Information gathered from public web sources and portrayed here.