A casino is a special establishment that houses a variety of gambling activities. It is usually combined with restaurants, hotels and resorts to form a complex. Some casinos also host live entertainment events.

A casino can be land-based or online. Most states and countries have laws to regulate the industry, but there are exceptions. Some casinos offer a high level of service and luxury, such as the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Others focus on the number of customers and provide perks like free drinks or food to attract gamblers.

Casinos make billions of dollars each year. They bring in money for the companies, investors and Native American tribes that operate them, as well as for local governments that collect taxes and fees. But something about the environment in a casino seems to encourage people to cheat, steal and scam their way into a winning hand. Consequently, casinos spend a great deal of time and money on security.

Many casino games have a significant element of skill, but the house always has an advantage over players. This advantage can be expressed mathematically as the expected value of a bet or, more precisely, the house edge. In card games where patrons play against each other, the casino makes its profit by taking a rake, or a percentage of the total pot.

In the beginning, most casinos were owned by organized crime figures. They financed their operations with money from illegal rackets such as drug dealing and extortion. But as the industry grew, legitimate businesses such as real estate investors and hotel chains began to buy out mob-owned casinos. Federal crackdowns on gangster involvement have helped to keep casinos clean and profitable.