A casino is a place where people can gamble and enjoy entertainment. Casinos can have a wide variety of games, including poker, blackjack, roulette, and slot machines. Some casinos also have restaurants and bars. Some are located in large resorts, while others are smaller gambling rooms. Casino-type games are also available at racetracks, on boats and barges, and in some states at private clubs.

In 2005 the average casino gambler was a forty-six-year-old female from a family with above-average income. This demographic accounted for 23% of all casino gamblers, according to Roper Reports GfK NOP and the U.S. Gaming Panel. Casinos employ a combination of technological and nontechnological methods to enforce security. Video cameras watch the action, and electronic systems track betting chips and roulette wheels to discover any statistical deviation from expected results.

Successful casinos make billions of dollars each year for the companies, investors, and Native American tribes that operate them. They also bring in taxes and fees for state and local governments. To guarantee a certain level of gross profit, casinos have mathematical expectancies for all their games and regularly offer big bettors extravagant inducements in the form of free spectacular entertainment and reduced-fare transportation, hotel accommodations, food and drink, and cigarettes while gambling. Casinos hire mathematicians to perform this kind of analysis, known as gaming analytics or game theory. Casinos also monitor their patrons by using closed circuit television and other surveillance equipment. Some use catwalks that allow surveillance staff to look down on the tables through one-way mirrors.