A casino is a place where people can gamble. It is often combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, and cruise ships. Some casinos are owned and operated by governments, while others are independent. Some are famous for their architecture or interior design, while others have a wide variety of gambling games and entertainment offerings.

Casinos have a fairly uniform character throughout the world, with a few notable exceptions. They are very large, have a variety of gambling games and services, and are surrounded by luxury hotel rooms and other amenities. In the United States, casinos are regulated by state law and may only operate in those jurisdictions where gambling is legal. Most American casinos are located in cities with well-established tourist infrastructure, such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City. However, many American Indian reservations have casinos that are not subject to state anti-gambling laws.

Casinos offer a variety of perks to encourage gamblers to spend more money, including free hotel rooms, meals, and tickets to shows. These perks are known as comps. Casinos also focus on customer service. They use sophisticated data analysis to determine who their most valuable customers are and provide them with special treatment. The affluent customers are sometimes given access to private rooms and even limousines and airline tickets. The security staff is trained to notice suspicious behavior and recognize patterns that may indicate cheating or theft. Because so much money is handled within a casino, both patrons and employees may be tempted to cheat or steal, either in collusion or independently.