Best degree programs for Gambling Surveillance Officers and Gambling Investigators, ranked by enrollment
1 college programs and 24 schools train Gambling Surveillance Officers and Gambling Investigators. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $43,370 median wage, 9,520 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
1 college programs at 24 schools train gambling surveillance officers and gambling investigators, graduating 497 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Security and Loss Prevention Services. The job pays a median of $43,370 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About 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.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
1 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 43.0109 | 497 | 100.0% | 24 | $37,408 | $24,069 |
Top 24 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hillsborough College Tampa, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 79 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 34% | — | — |
| 2 | Gateway Technical College Kenosha, WI Public · 1 feeder programs | 66 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 51% | — | — |
| 3 | UEI College - Fresno Fresno, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 58 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 61% | $30,005 | — |
| 4 | University of New Haven West Haven, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 44 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 63% | $32,614 | 60% |
| 5 | UEI College - Bakersfield Bakersfield, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 40 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 68% | $29,687 | — |
| 6 | UEI College - Ontario Ontario, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 33 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 66% | $27,167 | — |
| 7 | UEI College - Huntington Park Huntington Park, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 70% | $29,313 | — |
| 8 | UEI College - Chula Vista Chula Vista, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 71% | $28,465 | — |
| 9 | Miami Dade College Miami, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 21 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 46% | — | — |
| 10 | UEI College - Oceanside Oceanside, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 21 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 69% | $26,941 | — |
| 11 | UEI College - Garden Grove Garden Grove, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 63% | $26,221 | — |
| 12 | UEI College - Gardena Gardena, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 60% | $28,919 | — |
| 13 | UEI College - West Covina West Covina, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 67% | $27,767 | — |
| 14 | Oakton College Des Plaines, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 37% | — | — |
| 15 | William Rainey Harper College Palatine, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 48% | — | — |
| 16 | Kaskaskia College Centralia, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 49% | — | — |
| 17 | College of Lake County Grayslake, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 37% | — | — |
| 18 | Delta College University Center, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 27% | — | — |
| 19 | Cuyahoga Community College District Cleveland, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 31% | — | — |
| 20 | New England College Henniker, NH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 35% | $30,086 | 92% |
| 21 | Northern Michigan University Marquette, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 52% | — | 84% |
| 22 | Ivy Tech Community College Indianapolis, IN Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 40% | — | — |
| 23 | Passaic County Community College Paterson, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 19% | — | — |
| 24 | Westmoreland County Community College Youngwood, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Security and Loss Prevention Services | 31% | — | — |
What gambling surveillance officers and gambling investigators earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $44,740 | 990 | 0.89× | 9 | 252 |
| Floridalimited | $39,060 | 230 | 0.37× | 2 | 100 |
| Wisconsinlimited | $42,150 | 260 | 1.44× | 1 | 66 |
| Connecticutlimited | $56,300 | 180 | 1.74× | 1 | 44 |
| Illinoismoderate | $42,760 | 330 | 0.89× | 4 | 21 |
| Michiganlimited | $46,620 | 330 | 1.23× | 2 | 6 |
| Ohiolimited | $45,880 | 190 | 0.55× | 1 | 3 |
| Indianalimited | $46,910 | 380 | 1.93× | 1 | 1 |
| New Jerseylimited | $48,620 | 270 | 1.03× | 1 | 1 |
| Pennsylvanialimited | $38,930 | 570 | 1.53× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- 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
- Monitoring4.1
- Critical Thinking3.8
- Speaking3.6
- Active Listening3.3
- Reading Comprehension3.3
- Writing3.1
- Active Learning3.1
- Learning Strategies2.5
Knowledge areas
- English Language4.3
- Public Safety and Security4.0
- Computers and Electronics3.7
- Mathematics3.6
- Administrative3.6
- Education and Training3.4
Abilities
- Problem Sensitivity4.3
- Far Vision4.0
- Selective Attention4.0
- Oral Comprehension3.9
- Near Vision3.8
- Inductive Reasoning3.8
Core activities
- Documenting/Recording Information4.8
- Working with Computers4.6
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings4.6
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.6
- Getting Information4.6
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events4.5
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Gambling Surveillance Officer
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Work experience needed
- Less than 5 years
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 2 majors mapped to Gambling Surveillance Officers and Gambling Investigators1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 12.0601Casino Operations and Services, General(no graduates reported)
- 43.0109Security and Loss Prevention Services
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Gambling Surveillance Officer?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Security and Loss Prevention Services, which awarded 497 degrees in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Gambling Surveillance Officer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Criminal Justice and Corrections. Together they graduate about 497 people a year.
How much do gambling surveillance officers and gambling investigators earn?+
The median is $43,370 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $32,730 at the 10th percentile to $61,970 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for gambling surveillance officers and gambling investigators growing?+
BLS projects a +0.3% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 1,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
24 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 1 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do gambling surveillance officers and gambling investigators work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Surveillance Agent, Surveillance Officer, Surveillance Observer, Surveillance Operator among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 33-9031.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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