A casino is a place where people can gamble on games of chance. It may also have restaurants, theaters, rooftop pools, arcades, and other entertainment. People from all over the world visit casinos to try their luck at games of chance. Casinos earn billions of dollars each year for the companies, investors, and Native American tribes that own them. In addition, they generate taxes and fees for local governments.

Casinos have a wide range of gambling activities, including slot machines, blackjack, roulette, craps, poker, and bingo. In some places, casinos offer traditional Far Eastern games like sic bo and fan-tan. Some also feature horse racing and sports betting. Generally, these activities are supervised by a casino staff. Casinos have high security measures because of the large amounts of money handled within them. Cameras are located throughout the premises and casino employees keep an eye on patrons to spot cheating or stealing. Pit bosses and table managers oversee table games with a broader view, looking for marking or palming techniques and betting patterns that indicate cheating.

Because casino gambling relies on probability rather than skill, the house always has a mathematical advantage over the players. This edge can be small, but it adds up over time. To offset this mathematical disadvantage, casinos give out complimentary items to players (complimentaries or comps). This helps balance the books and make the casino profitable. In addition, they hire mathematicians to calculate odds and house edges.