A casino is a gambling establishment that offers games of chance or skill. It may also offer tournaments and other competitions. Casinos generate billions of dollars each year for the companies, investors, and Native American tribes that operate them, as well as for state and local governments that regulate them and tax them.

Table games are a mainstay of casinos, where patrons wager against the house. They include card games such as poker and blackjack, dice games such as craps, and wheel games such as roulette and baccarat. These are all played on tables with live croupiers and require some degree of strategy, decision-making skills, and luck.

Most casino games have a house advantage, which is a mathematically determined disadvantage for players. This edge can be reduced by applying a basic strategy that takes into account the rules, number of decks, and betting structure of the game. In games where players compete against each other, such as blackjack and poker, the house earns a profit by taking a commission on winning bets called the rake.

In addition to table games, casinos feature a variety of electronic and video machines with different themes. Slots are the economic engine of most casinos, providing high-volume, rapid play at sums ranging from five cents to a dollar. Casinos use bright and sometimes gaudy floor and wall coverings to stimulate their customers and make them lose track of time. They avoid clocks on their walls, which would distract gamblers from keeping track of how much time they have spent at the tables. They also encourage the use of comps (complimentary goods and services) for their highest-spending patrons.