Keno History

Keno is in many ways similar to a lotto game. That's because keno is in fact lotto. During the 3000-years of keno history the name has been changed a few times, mostly to get around the law or taxes or both. The one thing everyone agrees on is that the Chinese invented the game to fund their army and The Great Wall.

Keno started out using 120 Chinese characters. Before the game left China, that number was reduced to 90. Keno came to America in the 19th century, together with the wave of Chinese immigrants. These were mostly the Chinese railroad workers of folklore. About this time the game was reduced once again, this time to 80 Chinese characters.

Although illegal (or maybe because), keno flourished among Chinese immigrants, especially around big cities like San Francisco. It became known as the Chinese lottery. English speaking Americans became interested in the game, but had difficulty differentiating the Chinese characters used in the game (who wouldn't). Around the beginning of the 20th century, keno operators replaced the Chinese characters with Arabic numbers to attract more players.

Although Nevada legalized most forms of gambling in 1931, the legislature did not legalize lottery. And the Chinese lottery was definitely a lottery. To avoid this trouble, operators simply changed the name to Race Horse Keno (simply genius). Each number was regarded as a horse. Today many keno operations still call their games "races". When the U.S. Government passed a law taxing off track betting, the name was once again changed, this time to just Keno.

In 1963 the total keno payout limit in Nevada was $25,000. In 1979 it was changed to $50,000. In 1989 the Nevada Gaming Commission removed the limit, and casinos are now free to set their aggregate limits as they wish.

So when you're sitting at the keno lounge or more comfortably at home with the computer, waiting for the board to flash the numbers, just think what a long tradition you are continuing, sit back, relax and enjoy the game.