A casino, also known as a gaming house or a gambling establishment, is a place where people can gamble. It offers customers a variety of gaming activities and is managed by a hierarchy of employees called croupiers or dealers. Typical casino games include gaming machines, table games and random number games. Gaming machines usually require the player to insert paper tickets or coins into the machine in order to win a prize. Table games, such as blackjack and craps, involve one or more players competing against the casino rather than each other. The casino makes a profit by taking a percentage of the winnings or charging an hourly fee to play. Random number games generate a series of numbers using a random number generator (RNG) or a computer program.
A large portion of the income for casinos comes from slot machines. The payouts and simplicity of these games make them popular with many customers. Other casino games offer a greater skill element and allow players to control the outcome of their wagers. These games, such as roulette, black jack, poker, and keno, are the main sources of the billions in profits that casinos earn annually.
In the United States, casinos primarily exist in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and on Native American reservations. Many state antigambling laws were repealed in the 1980s and ’90s, allowing casinos to open. In some cases, casinos are located on riverboats.