A casino (or gaming house) is an establishment offering gambling. These are often located near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shops, and/or other tourist attractions. In some countries, casinos are also licensed to host live entertainment events.

In modern times, most casinos are large building complexes that feature several types of games. The largest of these is the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, with a floor area of about. It has a multitude of slot machines, table games and poker rooms. It also features three restaurants, five bars, a cabaret and meeting and convention facilities.

Casinos are governed by strict regulations and have security measures to prevent cheating and stealing, both by patrons and staff members. This includes a high level of surveillance and the use of cards for all transactions. In addition, a number of games have mathematically determined odds that give the house an advantage over players; this is commonly known as the house edge. These calculations are typically made by gaming mathematicians and are reviewed by a group of independent auditors called the Gaming Control Board.

While the house edge on most online casino games is low, there are some exceptions. Those looking for the best casino online Canada should look for games with a low house edge and fast payouts. These are often found on websites that use SSL encryption and offer a padlock symbol in the address bar or https:// at the start of the URL to confirm a secure connection.