A casino is a place where games of chance are played for money or other prizes. Its main goal is to encourage players to gamble as much as possible, which leads to the highest profits for the establishment. To achieve this, casinos use design to encourage players to play for longer and to keep coming back even after they’ve lost all their money.

Although many of us associate casinos with glitzy, opulent venues that offer free drinks and stage shows, there have been less extravagant places that house gambling activities and would still technically be called a casino. However, most casino guests don’t consider a space’s architecture or design when they’re betting their hard-earned cash. That’s because the best casinos are designed to trick guests into playing for more, whether through clever psychology tricks or the use of a few key features.

In his movie Casino, Martin Scorsese lays bare the massive corruption that ran through Las Vegas in the 1980s. It was an intricate web that had tendrils reaching into politicians, Teamsters unions, and mob families across the Midwest and the Chicago area. It was also a time when a small group of mafia families controlled a city that was minting billions in revenue.

To compete in this crowded market, casinos must understand what attracts their audiences and what they’re willing to spend their money on. Historically, this has been determined by demographics such as age, income, and education. However, this is a limited piece of the puzzle.