A casino is a gambling establishment that accepts players from various jurisdictions and offers games of chance, such as poker, baccarat, blackjack, roulette, craps, and slot machines. Casinos are often regulated at the state and/or federal levels and may be operated by public or private entities. The term casino is also applied to a group of casinos that are connected to one another or to a central management system.

Casinos are places where large amounts of money are handled, making them attractive targets for cheating and theft, either in collusion or independently. To prevent this, casinos employ a variety of security measures. Most of these are technical, such as cameras that monitor the casino floor and are able to spot suspicious betting patterns. Table managers and pit bosses oversee the table games and can quickly detect blatant cheating such as palming or marking cards or dice.

Casinos are also designed to be visually appealing and to stimulate the senses of smell, sound, and touch. They use color, music, and lighting to create an environment that is pleasant and enticing to gamblers. Many casinos invest millions of dollars in determining what colors, sounds, and scents appeal to gamblers. In addition to these physical attributes, casino design also focuses on the psychology of the customers: how they are likely to behave and what type of atmosphere they will enjoy.