A casino is a gambling establishment where people can play various games of chance for money or other prizes. These games include slot machines, roulette, blackjack, craps, baccarat, and poker. Some casinos also offer sports betting and horse racing. Casinos are most commonly found in hotels and resorts, but they can also be located in standalone buildings or on cruise ships. Some of them are very large, comparable in size to a small city. Others are smaller, requiring only a few thousand square feet of floor space.

Most casinos make their profits by reducing the long-term mathematical expectation of winning for patrons, known as the house edge or vigorish. This is achieved by regulating the number of coins or chips that may be placed on a machine and by regularly monitoring the statistical deviation of results from expected values. Some casinos also employ skill-based games such as baccarat, where the ability to manage bankrolls and make decisions affects a player’s expected gain. Players with sufficient skills can reduce the house advantage to zero or less.

Most casinos also provide extravagant inducements to attract and keep high-stakes bettors. These may include free spectacular entertainment and transportation, elegant living quarters, and even meals and drinks while gambling. Casinos monitor the amount of money a patron wins or loses and are required to pay out winnings in accordance with established rules. In the United States, these are often governed by state law. In the twenty-first century, technological advances have made casinos increasingly secure and safe. They utilize video cameras, electronic betting systems (chip tracking), and computerized random number generators to supervise the activities of players.