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How to Play Online Keno for Real Money
Playing online keno for real money can be fun. It can be educational. It can be relaxing. But shouldn’t it also be profitable? Obviously, keno is a game of pure chance, as unpredictable as a carnival wheel or a blind date.
But the game’s longevity and worldwide popularity suggest that it’s more than fascinating. The key to winning when you play keno is in optimizing your chances.
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Our Recommended Gambling Sites
Best Sites to Play Keno Online for Real Money
- BC.Game – Best Overall Site for Keno
- Best Keno Variety – Best App for Keno Game Customization
- EveryGame – Best Mobile Keno Site
- TrustDice – Best Keno Games with Bonus Features
- DuckyLuck Casino – Best Keno Pay Tables
BC.Game Best Overall Site for Keno
If there were an Olympic event for Most Keno Variants on One Site, BC.Game would win the Gold, the Silver, and the Bronze. I’m talking 18 (count ‘em, 18!) different keno games.
Well-known providers like Caleta Gaming, Evoplay, SmartSoftGaming, and 1×2 Gaming supply the bulk of the games, although BC.Game also has a couple of their own proprietary keno games, including a multiplayer version that is almost like a real keno lounge.
Here are two of my favorites:
- Book of Keno: Even those who enjoy keno can attest to the fact that the payouts are few and far between. This novelty keno game from Evoplay makes those long grinds a thing of the past by simply removing the top 44 numbers on the keno grid and leaving 1 through 36 remaining. You can still select two to 10 spots, but with more than half the grid of numbers removed, it’s far more likely that a win will occur.
Of course, the tradeoff here is that the wins are much smaller than those from a standard 80-number grid. How often can you play 100 rounds of keno and end up with more than you started with? Sure, it happens, but not nearly enough. Book of Keno should be on everyone’s online keno list.
- Xmas KenoCat: Also from Evoplay is this 30-number grid arranged as ornaments on a Christmas tree. As with Book of Keno, you’ll see more wins, but those will be smaller. Both of the “mini-keno” games make for a great break from those long lonely wanders through the “just one more!” wilderness.
BC.Game has 16 more keno games to choose from—one of the best selections you’re likely to find online. Bear in mind that BC.Game serves many different countries, and some its games are unavailable in various locations. The good news is most keno games you are able to access offer a free demo you can play to decide whether you want to risk real money on it.
The one drawback to BC.Game’s interface is that you actually have to use the search bar to find their keno games; they don’t come up under table games, lottery, or bingo categories. They do, however, come up in the listing of all Slots—not helpful when there are 8400 non-keno games listed there, as well. Still, type “keno” into the search bar and eureka! Eighteen of your newest favorite keno games.
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- Bonus: 360% up to 100,000 BCD
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Best Keno Variety Best App for Keno Game Customization
Technically, SlotsDreamer hosts even more keno games than BC.Game. Along with the 16 variants of video keno, it does something most other online casinos don’t: it features live keno, 24 hours a day. And not just one game. We’re talking five real life keno machines here. It’s like a keno lounge opened up inside another keno lounge, then started a keno lounge business on the side. Twice.
Even better: you won’t find the same video keno games here you find spread far too liberally among the other online casinos. I play a lot of keno, and even I wasn’t aware of some of these variants.
Even without live dealer games, SlotsDreamer has the best inventory of keno. The one drawback is that they’re everywhere. You’ll discover random keno games where you least expect them—one under Live Dealer, a couple under Slots, a few under Lucky Games, and the rest stashed under Table Games. Well, the site won’t be winning any organizational awards any time soon, but in terms of sheer variety,
SlotsDreamer is truly G.O.A.T.
Here are a couple of my favorites from the SlotsDreamer inventory:
- Powerball Keno: This game from Saucify is a standard 2-10 video keno game with one important difference—If the last ball drawn hits one of your numbers, any win is immediately multiplied by four. Add that to the fact that the pay table returns your bet on four hits (most ten-spot keno games only start paying at five hits). If you are playing keno for the long haul, every win is a plus.
- Vegas Jackpot Keno: This keno game pays for 0-10 hits (you need to be playing a ten-spot card to see a payout on zero hits). The key here is that for six-spot cards up to ten-spot cards, the payout for hitting all your selected spots is much larger than usual. Sure, the odds are very very long for hitting ten out of ten (in the nine million to one area), but who hasn’t hit six out of six? On this game, 6 out of 6 pays 2000x your wager at SlotsDreamer.
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- Bonus: 400% up to £1200
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EveryGame Best Mobile Keno Site
Keno is one of those games where legibility is important, and an 80-number grid where each number is selectable presents a real challenge to developers creating a mobile version of such a game.
Everygame chose its keno selection well. The site may not host dozens of keno games, but those that it does host work quite well on both PC and mobile screens. In fact, the games seemed to load faster on my Android than they did on my laptop, and they all played well in either portrait or landscape view. That said, the standard keno game is “optimized for landscape play.” Frankly, it looked and played fine from either perspective.
And Everygame is one of the few gambling sites that actually has enough respect for keno players to give the game its own category, which makes the games incredibly easy to locate. Just go to Everygame, select “Classic Casino”, then tap on the three-line square in the upper left-hand corner. This displays a dropdown menu of categories. Tap on Keno, and you’ll be presented with the available games.
In addition to the standard 1 to 15-spot 80-number keno game, Everygame serves up The Cat in the Box from Wager Gaming Systems. This 3 to 10 spot keno game packs a 5x to 10x bonus at the end of each round. Once the usual 20 numbers have been drawn, three cats in boxes appear randomly on the grid. Two hits on your numbers earns you a 5x multiplier to any win, while three cat-hits scores a 10x multiplier.
The other game is Cleopatra’s Pyramid Keno. It may look like a standard keno game, but a random pyramid hitting one of the 20 drawn numbers on a winning ticket, and whoosh! You’re in the bonus pyramid round, where you choose stones on the pyramid to increase your win. Keep choosing stones until you uncover the mummy, which is—as the movies have taught us—not a good thing.
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- Bonus: 200% up to $7,777
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TrustDice Best Keno Games with Bonus Features
Eight of TrustDice’s nine keno games feature bonuses. You won’t find that many different “keno with a bonus” games at sites with double the keno games in their inventory.
It’s obvious that TrustDice spent some quality research time finding so many feature bonus keno games to offer its patrons.
Here are two of the best of those bonus keno games at TrustDice:
- Amaterasu Keno: TrustDice found this gem among the quirky offerings of Mascot Gaming. Not only does this 80-number game generate three bonus numbers each round that can trigger multipliers (1x, 3x, 5x) for a win, but whenever the last number drawn hits one of a player’s chosen spots, five free games are awarded—and those multipliers double 2x, 6x, and 10x.
- Superb Keno: Another bonus game is Superb Keno from Euro Games Technology. The bonus here is a simple switch to activate special add-on wins whenever the last number drawn hits a player’s selected number on a winning round. This bonus can double, triple, even quadruple a win. Good times.
So when you decide it’s time to substantially improve your keno wins, you’re going to want to head to TrustDice.
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- Bonus: 100% up to 3 BTC/$90,000
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DuckyLuck Casino Best Keno Pay Tables
DuckyLuck has three keno games to choose from, and all three are worthy of your consideration, if for no other reason than their pay tables are higher than you might find at other online casinos.
You’ll find all of DuckyLuck’s keno games in the “Casual Games” category on the site’s home page. All of DuckyLuck’s keno games load quickly, and play flawlessly.
- Keno: This standard 1-15 spot 80-number grid has a hidden surprise—its pay table at DuckyLuck is better than most. Sure, the top end (15 spots marked and hit) pays 10,000 times your bet. But the numbers below that (the ones you’ll actually see hit every now and then) are 10% to 20% higher than usual. In fact, a 15-spot card pays half your bet back on three and four hits, and your full bet back on five hits—most 15-spot keno pay tables don’t pay anything until you hit six or more on the draw. The RTP for this game at DuckyLuck is 96.54%—several percentage points above the usual keno return-to-player.
- Keno Draw: Want a shot at winning a hundred thousand dollars with a $1 bet? Then try DuckyLuck’s Keno Draw, a 15-spot 80-number grid from Qora Gaming where hitting 14 or 15 of your spots puts $100K in your pocket. You’ll find Keno Draw at other online casinos, but few offer as good a pay table as DuckyLuck.
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Comparing Keno at Online Casinos
| Casino | Keno Variants | B.E.S.T. Rating | Review | Visit Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BC.Game | 18 | 4 / 5 | Read Review | Visit BC.Game |
| SlotsDreamer | 21 | 4 / 5 | Read Review | Visit SlotsDreamer |
| Everygame | 3 | 4.5 / 5 | Read Review | Visit Everygame |
| TrustDice | 9 | 4 / 5 | Read Review | Visit TrustDice |
| DuckyLuck | 3 | 4.5 / 5 | Read Review | Visit DuckyLuck |
How We Choose the Best Keno Sites
You deserve the best recommendations we can give you. And to do that, we’ve developed our B.E.S.T. grading system—an extensive list of the characteristics and attributes that go into an online casino that is fun, safe, and enriching.
- Bonuses — Online casinos attract new patrons (and keep them coming back) mainly through the use of bonuses. From the Welcome Bonus to the reload and referral bonus, we grade a site for the value, availability, and fairness of each.
- Entertainment Features — Keno may sometimes feel like a grind, but it shouldn’t be work. In fact, they call them “games” for a reason. They’re fun. Sometimes they’re clever. We examine everything about an online casino that contributes to the enjoyment of its keno games. How many different variations are there? Do they offer a truly engaging user experience? Do they support different devices, like mobile phones and tablets?
- Safety and Security — We examine each site’s security features so you can relax and enjoy your visit. We get answers to questions like: is the site licensed? Does the site use Transport Layer Security (TLS) for data encryption on every page? Does the site have a complete and clearly written privacy policy? How useful and convenient is the site’s customer support system?
- Transactions — No part of an online gambling site’s make-up is quite so important as how well it takes care of business. Does the site accept deposits from an adequate number of sources? Does it perform withdrawals with speed and convenience? Is it clear about fees and withdrawal restrictions? Does it use banking-level encryption during both deposit and withdrawal transactions?
How to Find the Best Keno Site for You
Virtually every online casino offers us at least one opportunity to get our keno on. But if you’re a dedicated kenomeister, you’ll want to try out the sites with more keno options first. When you’re choosing a new keno game to play, two main considerations should hold sway:
How Much Would You Like to Bet?
Some keno games offer the choice to make very low minimum wagers, but others start at $1 and go up from there. You may think betting 20 cents on a keno round is hardly worth the effort; you may not feel that you have enough skin in the game with 20 cents. Or you may think $1 keno is only for the rich and famous.
On the other hand, you may have refined your keno knowledge enough to feel comfortable with $10 wagers on a five-spot card. Be sure your individual wagers reflect your overall bankroll.
What Kind of Keno Do You Want to Play?
With all the varieties of keno out there, you may have found some games that suit you. and other games that might feel as though you could have saved a lot of time simply mailing the casino a check. Keno is like that.
If you like wins more often, consider the 36- or 30-number grids offered by keno games like Book of Keno or Cat in the Box. These trade off more frequent wins with lower pays. Some people find that switching between regular keno and one of these boutique games is a useful way to change their luck.
How to Play Keno
Once you’ve decided to check out a particular online gambling site, navigate to the site’s home page. Most sites have a number of gambling categories to choose from, such as Live Dealer, Sportsbook, and Table Games. Typically, you’ll find keno games under the Casual Games or Other Games heading, although it’s sometimes listed under Table Games.
Once you’ve found the keno games, select one to play. Many sites offer new visitors the option to try out a game in demo or free mode; if the specific game is unfamiliar to you, this is probably the best way to see if that version of keno is for you.
Keno Game Rules
The standard form of keno is a simple 80-number grid (1 through 80) arranged in eight rows of ten numbers each. Twenty numbers are drawn at random each round. The object is to select between one and ten numbers of your own, and then hitting the Play or Start button. If enough of the 20 drawn numbers match your selected numbers (usually called a hit or a catch), you’ve won. And the more matches there are, the bigger the win.
Some keno games allow for the selection of up to 20 numbers, but most stick with either ten or fifteen. While keno lounges still use the ping-pong ball-vacuum cleaner method of number selection, electronic and online versions use a special computer algorithm to generate a random number. Each number is marked on-screen as it is selected, with numbers the player has chosen marked differently to indicate the match of selected and drawn numbers.
Keno Game Strategy
As with any game of chance, a player’s goal must be minimizing the chance of loss. There are a variety of strategies the wise keno player can use to improve the chance of winning.
- Bet the quantity of numbers that is most likely to hit. This should always be the first arrow in your quiver, keno-wise. Yeah, that $10,000 payout for hitting 10 out of 10 looks juicy, but the odds of it hitting are around 9,000,000 to 1. Six out of six may not be so sexy, but hitting it is more than 1,000 times more likely. Regardless of which version of keno you play, six-spot keno is always going to have a better RTP than ten-spot.
- Play the pay tables. Choose the keno game that offers the best pay table for your chosen playing style. If you always go with a ten-spot card, then find the game that has the best pay table. And not just the ten out of ten payout. Does the pay table show that you’ll also get a reward for hitting no numbers? How about what it pays for six hits out of ten? Go with the game that awards better pay for less than stellar hits.
- Bet less when you’re losing. In fact, bet the minimum. On most keno games, there is no real incentive to wager more. Sure, doubling your bet means your wins will also be doubled. Unfortunately, if you’re losing, you’ll do so twice as fast. Since the true key to winning at keno is outlasting the losing streaks, the longer your bankroll lasts, the more likely you are to have see some wins.
- Don’t put too much faith in overall RTP. Return to Player is a benchmark number used for almost all forms of gambling but is most often used to compare slot machines. It’s expressed as a percentage, and for most slots, it’s in the 85% to 95% range. For keno, RTP is next to useless, because the top award is often gobsmackingly huge, and if it ever pays out (how long does it take to play 8.9 million keno games, btw?), it will justify that high RTP percentage. Until then, that game’s real RTP can be significantly lower, often in the 45%-65% range.
Need more? Here is some additional advice for winning at Keno.
