A casino (or gambling house) is an establishment that allows customers to gamble through games of chance or with a small element of skill. Most casinos offer a variety of table games, such as blackjack, craps, roulette, and poker, and a variety of video slots and games. In some jurisdictions, casinos are licensed and regulated by government agencies. Others operate as independent enterprises or are a part of hotels, resorts, or cruise ships. The most famous casino in the world is probably Monte Carlo, which has long been a major source of income for the principality of Monaco.

Casinos may also feature one or more restaurants and other entertainment venues. Some are built in exotic locations, such as the Grand Lisboa in Macau, East Asia’s version of Las Vegas; and others are designed to be the center of attention, like the Bellagio, featured in Hollywood movies such as Ocean’s 11 and 21.

A casino’s customers gamble by placing bets against the house, which makes money based on the mathematical odds of each game and other factors such as how much the house takes in a game of poker (a commission known as the rake). Gambling has been part of human culture for millennia, with evidence of dice rolling dating back to 2300 BC and playing cards appearing around 800 AD. The modern casino grew out of 19th-century Atlantic City, New Jersey; during the 1980s and ’90s, many American states amended their antigambling laws to allow legal casinos. Some are located on Indian reservations, which are not subject to state regulations.