A casino, also called a gaming house or a gambling establishment, is a place where people can gamble. Casinos are usually located in the vicinity of hotels, restaurants, and other entertainment venues. Some casinos specialize in certain types of games, such as poker or blackjack. In some countries, casinos are licensed and regulated by law.

Casinos are usually large, lavishly decorated buildings. Their interior design aims to keep patrons engrossed and minimize their awareness of passing time. The ambiance is often enhanced by carefully designed lighting and music.

Throughout the 1990s, technology was rapidly integrated into casino operations. Video cameras provide surveillance; betting chips have built-in microcircuitry to enable casinos to oversee bets minute by minute and to quickly detect any anomaly; and roulette wheels are electronically monitored to discover any statistical deviation from their expected results. In addition, many casinos employ a special class of computer programmers and mathematicians to analyze game data and identify patterns.

In the past, mobsters provided much of the capital for early casinos. They were willing to take on the taint of gambling, which had a seamy reputation, because they saw potential profits in illegal rackets like drug dealing and extortion. Some mobsters even took sole or partial ownership of some casinos.

The most famous casinos in the world are often based in exotic locations, such as Venice, Monaco, or Singapore. In terms of sheer size, however, East Asia’s glitziest casino, the Grand Lisboa in Macau, may trump them all. Its exterior is a glittering spectacle, lit up with a million LED lights, and it features eighty gaming tables and more than 1,000 slot machines.