A casino is a facility for gambling. The most common form of casino is a building that houses a variety of games of chance for public use. These buildings may be devoted to gaming alone, as is the case in Las Vegas or Macau, or they may be combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shops, and entertainment venues. In addition to a range of gaming options, casinos also offer security, surveillance, and maintenance services.
Gambling in some form or another has been a part of human culture for millennia. Archeological evidence of dice-playing dates back to 2300 BC, and card games became popular in the 1400s. Modern-day casinos have become a global industry and are often located in exotic locales. They can be found in cities such as Las Vegas, Monaco, and Macau and on Native American reservations in the United States.
The popularity of casinos has led to many jurisdictions passing laws to regulate the industry. Regulatory agencies may oversee the operation of casinos, set minimum age requirements, and limit the number of people allowed inside at any one time. Various technological measures are used to control cheating and theft, especially of money or chips. Security cameras are a staple of casino design, and many casinos have elaborate security systems that monitor the behavior of patrons and employees. Casinos employ mathematicians and computer programmers to analyze house edges and variance, the mathematically predictable long-term profit that a casino can expect from its games.