A casino is a facility that offers various forms of gambling, including table games (like blackjack and poker), slot machines, and sometimes entertainment shows. In order to gamble in a casino, patrons must be of legal age and must follow the rules and regulations of the establishment.

In addition to gaming tables and slots, many casinos offer other types of gambling, like sports betting and horse racing. They also feature restaurants and bars. Some even have nightclubs and other entertainment venues.

Casinos use a variety of security measures to prevent cheating by patrons and staff. For example, some casinos have catwalks above the gaming floor that allow surveillance personnel to look directly down on games via one-way glass. Other casinos have “chip tracking” systems that enable them to monitor exactly how much money is being wagered minute by minute, and to alert players quickly if there is a statistical deviation from expected results.

Casino has also come to refer to the games themselves, especially those that have a significant element of chance and are operated by live dealers, such as blackjack, craps, roulette, and baccarat. Most of these games have mathematically determined odds that give the house an advantage over the players, which is known as the house edge. Some table games, such as poker, do not have a house edge, but the casino still makes a profit by taking a portion of each pot or charging an hourly fee to play.