A casino is a gambling establishment offering a variety of games of chance. Some casinos also have restaurants, hotels, shopping centers and other tourist attractions. The majority of a casino’s profits, however, are generated by the games themselves. The most popular games are slots, blackjack, roulette, craps, keno and baccarat. These games account for most of the billions of dollars in profits raked in by U.S. casinos every year.

The earliest examples of gambling date back to prehistoric times, with primitive dice known as protodice found in archaeological sites. However, the modern casino as a single location where people could find all of these games under one roof did not emerge until the 16th century, when a gambling craze swept Europe and led to the creation of aristocratic casinos called ridotti (plural of rizzo).

Gambling is a high-risk activity with the potential to lose a large amount of money in a short period of time. To limit the losses of their patrons, casinos employ a number of tactics to discourage them from betting more than they can afford to lose. These include limiting the size of bets that can be placed, requiring players to wear identifying tags, and placing limits on how long they can play each game. In addition, casinos are staffed with dealers who are trained to spot cheating, and they use video cameras to monitor table activities.

A casino’s built-in advantage over its patrons is known as the house edge. This mathematical advantage ensures that the casino will always make a profit, even if all patrons gambled their entire bankroll. The casino’s profit is usually made through a rake taken from games of chance, such as baccarat and chemin de fer, or from card games where the house takes a percentage of each pot, such as poker and trente et quarante.

Casinos are designed to appeal to the senses with bright colors and gaudy decoration, and noises like clanging bells and chiming slot machines are constant companions. Some casinos even have scents to appeal to the noses of their guests. In addition, human beings are attracted to light and the hypnotizing flicker of electric bulbs, which is why more than 15,000 miles of neon tubing are used to light Las Vegas casinos.

Because of the high stakes involved in casino gambling, it is not surprising that mobsters became heavily invested in them. Initially, the mob provided only financial support, but soon, real estate investors and hotel chains saw how much they could make through casinos. They began purchasing out the mafia and taking sole or partial ownership of casinos. The mobsters were not deterred, though, and they took steps to avoid detection. Despite this, federal crackdowns and the fear of losing their licenses at the slightest hint of mob involvement have forced many casinos to distance themselves from the Mafia. This has also led to a proliferation of newer casinos in the suburbs, where mob influence is less of an issue.