A Casino is a place where a variety of games of chance are offered. Its gambling activities are regulated by law in some countries. In addition to gambling, casinos usually offer restaurants, bars, non-gambling game rooms and other entertainment to attract people.

Gambling in its various forms probably predates recorded history, with primitive protodice (carved knuckle bones) and dice buried in archeological sites. But the modern casino grew out of a 16th-century gambling craze in Europe, when wealthy nobles would gather at places called ridotti to gamble and socialize.

In the United States, a casino is a public or private establishment that offers a variety of gaming activities regulated by law. Its gambling floor offers a variety of table and slot machine games and often provides live entertainment. Casinos are also known for giving out free goods and services to players, such as hotel rooms, meals and show tickets. This is called comping.

Most casino games have a mathematical expected value that gives the house an advantage over players. The advantage can be expressed as a percentage of total bets, or more precisely as the house edge. Some games have no house edge, such as keno and video poker, while others have a negative expectation, such as blackjack and roulette.

A casino can be a great place to visit, but there are some important things to keep in mind. The first is to understand that the overall economic impact of a casino on a community is negative, owing mainly to the cost of treating problem gambling and lost productivity among gamblers.