Casinos are fun, exciting and buzzing places where champagne glasses clink and locals and tourists mingle to try their hand at luck in games of chance and skill. There’s always something new to see and do, ranging from gambling tables to live entertainment shows. No one really knows if they will win or lose, but the energy is infectious and the experience is truly intoxicating.

Whether or not a person gambles at a casino, it is important to understand that casinos are business enterprises and they need to generate profit in order to stay in operation. This profit is often derived from the house edge in various gambling games, which gives the casino an advantage over players that is uniformly negative (except for baccarat).

The house edge is largely due to the mathematics of the games themselves, but it can also be partially attributed to rules and regulations set forth by gaming authorities. In the United States, this means that most of the time, players will lose.

Statistical analysis and research into consumer behavior are critical tools in casino marketing. The demographic information of the average casino visitor is helpful, but this is not enough to understand what drives consumers to gamble. For instance, women in their late 20s and early 30s may be a key audience for some casinos, but they are not necessarily all there to gamble. They could be there on a work-related trip or to celebrate a friend’s bachelorette party. Understanding what they want and need will help marketers target them with more targeted messaging.