A casino is an establishment for certain types of gambling. These casinos may be standalone facilities or located near hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and/or other tourist attractions. Some casinos may also host live entertainment such as musical performances, stand-up comedy, and/or sports events. In military and non-military usage, casino can refer to an officers’ mess.

The casino industry has become a major global industry, and it is growing even faster in the developing world. There are approximately 3,000 legal casinos worldwide. Some of the larger ones are in exotic locations such as Venice, Monaco, and Singapore. In the United States, the first modern-era casino was opened in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1978, and from the 1980s onwards casinos began opening on various American Indian reservations which were exempt from state antigambling statutes.

Gambling in some form or another has been part of human civilization for millennia. The earliest known game of chance was dice, followed by playing cards in the 1400s. In the modern era, casinos have become major destinations for vacations and business trips, as well as being frequented by local residents for recreation and socializing.

Although there are many different games played at a casino, the most common is probably the slot machine. There are also card games, roulette, craps, and baccarat, all of which require skill. A number of other casino games are based on luck and/or chance, such as lottery-type games, bingo, and keno.