You walk into a casino brimming with confidence, wallet in hand and plans for a bit of enjoyable, sensible gaming and maybe two rounds of cocktails. Hours later, you have no idea what time it is, how many drinks you’ve consumed and where your money has gone.

There is a reason you won’t see clocks in casinos, the people managing them want you to lose track of time and continue trying your luck. They use sounds, lights and physical design to lead you into spending more money.

Almost all games in a casino are pure chance, with the exception of video poker (which allows players to make decisions based on skill). This means that casinos need to understand the house edge and variance of every game they offer so they can maximize their profits and minimize their losses. These calculations are performed by mathematicians and computer programmers who specialize in gaming analysis.

While some of the success factors in this article may seem obvious, it is crucial for an online casino to be up-to-par on all of them. This way, they can ensure that their players are treated with courtesy and that they don’t face any issues with withdrawals or other aspects of the gambling experience. If a casino doesn’t meet the standards of this list, it might not receive the best reviews on the Internet and will most likely suffer from low customer retention rates. This in turn can harm their brand and ultimately make them less profitable.