Protective Service · Holland code CER
Gambling Surveillance Officers and Gambling Investigators
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.
Also called: Surveillance Agent, Surveillance Observer, Surveillance Officer, Surveillance Operator, Casino Enforcement Agent, Gaming Investigator, Security Officer, Surveillance Investigator.
O*NET 33-9031.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $43,370
- Middle half earn $36,270 to $49,210. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
- 84% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 2 of 5
- Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- 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.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Monitoring4.1 / 5
- Critical Thinking3.8 / 5
- Speaking3.6 / 5
- Reading Comprehension3.3 / 5
- Active Listening3.3 / 5
- Writing3.1 / 5
Knowledge areas
- English Language4.3 / 5
- Public Safety and Security4.0 / 5
- Computers and Electronics3.7 / 5
- Mathematics3.6 / 5
- Administrative3.6 / 5
- Education and Training3.4 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic52
- Investigative19
- Artistic0
- Social19
- Enterprising63
- Conventional77
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- director of compliance and information security in gambling · DE Direktor für Richtlinien und Informationssicherheit beim Glücksspiel/Direktorin für Richtlinien und Informationssicherheit beim Glücksspiel · FR responsable de la sécurité des données dans les jeux de hasard
- gambling manager · DE Leiter einer Glücksspieleinrichtung/Leiterin einer Glücksspieleinrichtung · FR directeur des jeux/directrice des jeux
- gaming inspector · DE Spielhallenaufsicht · FR agent du service central des courses et jeux/agente du service central des courses et jeux
- bingo caller · DE Bingo-Spielleiter/Bingo-Spielleiterin · FR animateur de bingo/animatrice de bingo
- bookmaker · DE Buchmacher/Buchmacherin · FR bookmaker
- casino cashier · DE Casino-Kassierer/Casino-Kassiererin · FR caissier de casino/caissière de casino
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Leisure and sports managers and proprietors (1224)60,500 employed
- Charitable organisation managers and directors (1135)48,600 employed
- Actuaries, economists and statisticians (2433)85,900 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Clerical support workers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €40,035 |
| Austria | €38,296 |
| Germany | €37,844 |
| Netherlands | €35,854 |
| Sweden | €33,483 |
| Ireland | €32,144 |
| Italy | €29,311 |
| France | €25,943 |
| Spain | €22,026 |
| Portugal | €12,602 |
| Poland | €10,250 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.73. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (33-9031).
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