A casino is a building or room where people can gamble. Casinos are often combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, and cruise ships. They also feature entertainment such as stand-up comedy, concerts, and sports. Some casinos are legal in the United States and others are illegal. Some are located on American Indian reservations, which are exempt from state antigambling statutes. In modern usage, the term casino may refer to a computerized system for running and monitoring games, tracking player accounts, and handling various forms of payment.

While musical shows, lighted fountains, shopping centers, lavish hotels and elaborate themes help draw visitors to casinos, they would not exist without games of chance such as slots, blackjack, roulette, craps and keno. These games account for the billions in profits that casinos rake in every year.

A typical casino has a specialized security department and a physical security force. Security staff patrol the floors and are alert to shady behavior, suspicious activity and any reports of theft or robbery. In addition, most casinos have a specialized surveillance department that operates closed-circuit television systems and is tasked with catching cheaters.

Some casinos also offer a small number of table games such as baccarat (or chemin de fer in French), the British game of blackjack and its variants, and trente et quarante in the continental European casinos most frequented by the wealthy. Many of these have a large following among high rollers who are offered extravagant inducements such as free spectacular entertainment, limousine service, and rooms in the best parts of the hotel.