Gambling Surveillance Officers and Gambling Investigators
US occupation · SOC 33-9031
Job titles people report: Casino Enforcement Agent, Gaming Investigator, Security Officer, Surveillance Agent, Surveillance Investigator, Surveillance Monitor, Surveillance Observer, Surveillance Officer, Surveillance Operator, Surveillance Technician
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $43,370
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $36,270 – $49,210
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 9,520
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- -1.8%
- Shrinking (below 0%)
- Openings a year (projected)
- 1,100
- New jobs plus replacing people who leave
- Typical education to enter
- High school diploma or equivalent
- BLS
- All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
- Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
- Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.
What the work involves
Observe gambling operation for irregular activities such as cheating or theft by either employees or patrons. Investigate potential threats to gambling assets such as money, chips, and gambling equipment. Act as oversight and security agent for management and customers.
Main tasks
- Monitor establishment activities to ensure adherence to all state gaming regulations and company policies and procedures.
- Observe casino or casino hotel operations for irregular activities, such as cheating or theft by employees or patrons, using audio and video equipment and one-way mirrors.
- Report all violations and suspicious behaviors to supervisors, verbally or in writing.
- Develop and maintain log of surveillance observations.
- Inspect and monitor audio or video surveillance equipment to ensure it is working appropriately.
- Review video surveillance footage.
- Act as oversight or security agents for management or customers.
- Supervise or train surveillance observers.
Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter (BLS)
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Work experience in a related job: less than 5 years
- Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training
- O*NET Job Zone 1–2
- Little to some preparation
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Interests it suits
The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.
- Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
- Enterprising: leading, persuading and making business decisions
- Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Fields of study that lead here
From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 2 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.
Criminal Justice
- Security and Loss Prevention Services
Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Criminal Justice at the Major step.
Where many students take criminal justice
- Southern New Hampshire UniversityManchester, NH · 6% of degrees · 163,164 undergraduates
- CUNY John Jay College of Criminal JusticeNew York, NY · 46% of degrees · 11,590 undergraduates
- Sam Houston State UniversityHuntsville, TX · 20% of degrees · 17,743 undergraduates
- Liberty UniversityLynchburg, VA · 6% of degrees · 50,012 undergraduates
- University of Maryland Global CampusAdelphi, MD · 6% of degrees · 49,664 undergraduates
- The University of Texas Rio Grande ValleyEdinburg, TX · 9% of degrees · 28,666 undergraduates
Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.
Other fields
Our college matcher doesn't offer this field as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for it here.
Culinary, Entertainment, and Personal Services
- Casino Operations and Services, General
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers
$55,940 median · +3.7% projected
- Private Detectives and Investigators
$51,220 median · +5.5% projected
- First-Line Supervisors of Gambling Services Workers
$63,820 median · +3.5% projected
- Gambling Managers
$93,220 median · +3.6% projected
- Detectives and Criminal Investigators
$93,790 median · +0.2% projected
- Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film
$74,990 median · +1.3% projected
Sources
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0
Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk