A place where people wager money on games of chance. Casinos are located in cities throughout the world, and include large gambling resorts like those in Las Vegas, but also smaller facilities where people play table games, such as a card room. There are also floating casinos on barges and boats, as well as electronic machines on racetracks and in some bars, restaurants, and truck stops. Some states have laws regulating the use of casino game machines, and many have banned them entirely.

The vast majority of people who go to casinos do not gamble for a living; rather, they visit to have fun. Surveys show that more than 80 percent of casino patrons consider gambling to be a fun pastime, and only 16% consider it to be unacceptably dangerous or immoral. Most people who gamble in casinos do so with friends or family members, and some do it as part of organized groups, such as church fellowships, social clubs, or work-related functions.

Casinos have gone to great lengths to design their facilities in ways that appeal to gamblers. Color, music, smells, and other sensory elements are carefully calibrated to create particular moods that stimulate certain types of gambling behavior. Large companies spend millions of dollars experimenting with these factors to determine what kinds of sounds, lights, and other stimuli most appeal to different types of gamblers. In addition to the obvious visual appeal, many casinos offer food and drinks to lure gamblers in and keep them gambling longer.