The house may be, for example, a casino, a card club or other private company or institution. The games of chance are played on casino floors, in casinos, or on casino-style tables in private rooms (“private gaming environment”), in restaurants or bars. There are other types of establishments that offer gambling, such as those described in Casinos & Gambling.

Customers place bets by placing chips (or similar small objects) or coins, notes, or tokens (collectively “chips”), usually upon the casino surface of one or more of the games being played. If the game is a card game such as blackjack, craps, baccarat, poker, Caribbean Stud Poker, Pai Gow poker, Let It Ride, Let It Ride BlackJack, Rummy, Poker, and many others, chips are placed on a wager area of the table (“the betting layout”). For non-card games such as roulette, dice, or video poker, chips are often placed on the gaming table itself, either directly or on an area referred to as a “dice layout.” A player who places chips is said to be “playing the game.” A casino generally refers to a building having a gaming area and a non-gaming area.