A casino is classified as an entertainment and gaming business under federal industry codes, but what type of business a casino is under the law depends on which agency is asking. The Census Bureau places standalone gambling venues in the Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation sector and hotel-casinos in the Accommodation sector. The Treasury Department, meanwhile, treats any casino with more than $1 million in annual gaming revenue as a financial institution, applying the same anti-money laundering rules it uses for banks. State gaming commissions or, on tribal lands, federal law layer a third regime on top of that. These overlapping classifications shape how a casino files taxes, reports cash activity, structures its ownership, and gets licensed in the first place.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 U.S. Code 5312 – Definitions and Application
Industry Code: Entertainment or Lodging
The North American Industry Classification System sorts casinos by what they primarily sell. A venue that earns most of its revenue from table games, slot machines, and sports betting falls under NAICS code 713210, inside the Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation sector. Floating casinos and racinos also use this code.2U.S. Census Bureau. North American Industry Classification System – NAICS
When a casino is really a hotel with a gaming floor attached, the code changes. NAICS 721120 covers casino hotels and sits in the Accommodation and Food Services sector. The gaming floor becomes an on-premises amenity next to lodging, food service, valet parking, and conference facilities.3U.S. Census Bureau. Sector 72 – Accommodation and Food Services – NAICS
The split has practical consequences. Revenue from a Las Vegas megaresort with 3,000 hotel rooms shows up in accommodation statistics; revenue from a standalone card room downtown feeds entertainment data. Operators need to verify which code fits their primary revenue stream, because classification follows the business into tax and regulatory treatment.
A Casino Is Also a Financial Institution
The least intuitive piece of the answer: under the Bank Secrecy Act, a casino licensed by a state or operating under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act with more than $1 million in annual gaming revenue is a financial institution. That is the same legal category that covers banks, broker-dealers, and money services businesses.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 U.S. Code 5312 – Definitions and Application
The label carries real obligations. Qualifying casinos must file a Currency Transaction Report for any cash transaction above $10,000, counting multiple transactions by the same person in a single day.4Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). CTR CPamphlet If staff spot behavior suggesting money laundering, tax evasion, or structuring to dodge reporting thresholds, the casino must file a Suspicious Activity Report for any transaction involving at least $5,000.5eCFR. 31 CFR 1021.320 – Reports by Casinos of Suspicious Transactions
Every qualifying casino must also keep a written anti-money laundering program with internal controls, independent testing, employee training, a designated compliance officer, and procedures for verifying patron identity.6Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Casino or Card Club Compliance Program Assessment FinCEN and its delegates examine casinos for compliance, and failures can bring civil penalties.7eCFR. 31 CFR Part 1021 – Rules for Casinos and Card Clubs
Commercial Versus Tribal Ownership
The legal framework around a casino depends on who owns it. Casino ownership in the United States splits into two different regimes.
Commercial Casinos
Commercial casinos operate under the authority of state gaming commissions or control boards, which license the business after background investigations into owners, key employees, and major investors. State gaming tax rates on casino revenue range from fractions of a percent to over 60% of gross gaming revenue depending on the jurisdiction, and typically apply to the casino’s “win” (what it keeps after paying out to winners) rather than the total handle.
Publicly traded casino companies carry an extra layer. Gaming regulators in most states require prior approval before a casino entity can make a public securities offering tied to gaming facilities, and anyone acquiring beneficial ownership above a threshold (often 5%) of voting securities typically must report the acquisition and may need a suitability finding.8U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Gaming and Regulatory Overview
Tribal Casinos
Tribal casinos operate under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, which divides gambling into three classes:
- Class I covers traditional social games played for minimal prizes, typically tied to tribal ceremonies, with almost no federal oversight.
- Class II covers bingo (including electronic versions), pull-tabs, and certain non-banked card games authorized by state law. It specifically excludes banking card games like blackjack and any slot machines.
- Class III covers everything else, including slot machines, roulette, craps, and blackjack. This is the broadest and most commercially significant category.
Class III gaming is lawful on tribal lands only if the tribe adopts a gaming ordinance approved by the National Indian Gaming Commission chairman, the surrounding state permits that type of gaming for some purpose, and the tribe negotiates a compact with the state. Those compacts often include revenue-sharing in exchange for some degree of market exclusivity.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 25 U.S. Code 2710 – Tribal Gaming Ordinances10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 25 U.S. Code 2703 – Definitions
The National Indian Gaming Commission oversees tribal operations and can levy civil fines of up to $25,000 per violation for breaches of IGRA, Commission regulations, or approved tribal gaming ordinances.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 25 U.S. Code 2713 – Civil Penalties
How Casinos Are Structured as Legal Entities
At the entity level, the type of business a casino is tracks the scale of the operation and how it plans to raise money. Large gaming companies that want public stock markets typically organize as C-Corporations, which allow multiple classes of stock, attract institutional investors, and provide shareholders with liability protection.
Smaller or privately held gaming ventures often use the Limited Liability Company structure, which gives the same liability shield with more flexible management and pass-through taxation. Whatever the form, every casino must register with the relevant state business authority and identify its major stakeholders, officers, and directors. Gaming regulators typically require disclosure of anyone holding more than 5% ownership, and those individuals face background investigations of their own.
Formation costs run significantly higher than for ordinary businesses because multi-investor ownership structures and gaming-specific compliance requirements sit on top of standard corporate formalities. Ongoing maintenance includes annual state filings, a registered agent for service of legal documents, and gaming commission reporting. Letting any of these lapse can expose owners to personal liability or jeopardize the gaming license.
Publicly traded casino companies carry heavier disclosure burdens still. Gaming laws in most jurisdictions require detailed stock ledgers available for regulatory inspection, periodic reports to gaming authorities, and prior approval for acquisitions, changes of control, and certain debt offerings. A pledge of stock in a subsidiary that holds a gaming license can be unenforceable without gaming commission approval, a wrinkle most industries never see.8U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Gaming and Regulatory Overview
Taxes That Follow the Classification
Being classified as a gaming business brings a federal excise tax on wagers themselves, not just on winnings. For wagers authorized under state law, the rate is 0.25% of the amount wagered. Unauthorized wagers carry a 2% rate. The business accepting the wager owes the tax.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 4401 – Imposition of Tax
State gaming taxes sit on top and apply to gross gaming revenue. Rates vary widely by jurisdiction, type of gaming, and whether the operator is commercial or tribal.
Casinos also act as tax collection intermediaries for the IRS. Starting in 2026, the reporting threshold for gambling winnings on Form W-2G is $2,000, adjusted annually for inflation. When winnings exceed $5,000 from sweepstakes, wagering pools, lotteries, or pari-mutuel and sports wagers that also meet a 300-to-1 payout ratio, casinos must withhold federal income tax at 24%. Backup withholding of 24% applies regardless of game type if a winner fails to provide a valid taxpayer identification number.13Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms W-2G and 5754 (01/2026)
Land-Based, Riverboat, and Online Operations
Traditional brick-and-mortar casinos remain the backbone of the industry, ranging from integrated resorts with thousands of hotel rooms to modest card rooms. Some jurisdictions historically required casinos to operate on navigable waterways, which produced riverboat casinos. Many of those vessels now sit permanently moored and barely resemble boats, but still carry certain waterway-related requirements from their original licensing terms.
Online casino gambling is a narrower category than many consumers assume. As of early 2026, roughly eight states have authorized online casino play. The federal Wire Act adds another constraint, making it a crime for anyone in the business of betting to use wire communications to transmit bets or wagering information across state lines for sporting events, with penalties of up to two years in prison.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1084 – Transmission of Wagering Information
Where online gambling is authorized, operators must deploy geofencing technology to verify every player is physically located within the state’s borders before placing a bet. These systems check location before the first wager and recheck during the session, with more frequent checks near a state boundary, and must block location spoofing tools, VPNs, and jailbroken devices. Digital operators carry the same financial institution classification and anti-money laundering obligations as physical casinos, with cybersecurity requirements added to protect consumer data and the integrity of random number generators.