A casino is an establishment for gambling. Casinos are usually located in cities with large populations and are often combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shops, and other attractions. Most casinos are licensed and regulated by government authorities to ensure fair play and compliance with gambling laws. Casinos also employ a wide range of security measures to protect their customers and property.

In most casinos, customers gamble by playing games of chance or skill, and in some cases both. These games are generally based on random number generators, although some have an element of skill, such as blackjack and video poker. Players wager cash or other types of value on the outcome of a game, and the house always has a mathematical advantage over the players. This advantage, expressed as the house edge or expected value (EV), is mathematically determined for most games, though it varies by game type and rules.

In the United States, casinos are generally found in Las Vegas and other destinations in Nevada. They are also legal in some American Indian reservations and on certain riverboats operating in American waterways. The casino industry is highly competitive and requires significant capital investment to maintain profitability. This includes the purchase of new gambling equipment, marketing and advertising, floor renovations, as well as investing in the latest gambling innovations. Countless operations are executed on a daily basis in a land-based or online casino, and these may include managing the games, offering and distributing bonuses, handling various forms of payments, and tracking customer accounts and behavior.