Live Keno Casinos

Keno isn’t one of the classic big games of the casino world. However, it is a popular game – with a particular following in East Asia – and we think it’s a game that it’s well worth your while to check out.

You can play Keno as an RNG (random number generator) simulation, but why do that when you can play the game for real from your own home – in your own pyjamas if you so choose – at a live keno site.

In this guide, we’ll tell you how to play the game, how to use live casino sites and how to do the whole thing safely!

Let’s start then.

Top Casinos for Live Keno – Best Live Dealer Keno Sites

What is live Keno?

Like most casino games, the original keno is straightforwardly “live” in that it is played by real people in real rooms. The live versions we’re discussing here are “live” casinos that feature games played over internet links.

We’ll start with looking at the basics of keno.

Keno is something like a super-fast version of bingo, with a draw for prizes being made in a single round of play.

The game is played with a set of 80 numbers. A random draw picks 20 of these numbers. Players use a card to make a wager by picking up to 15 numbers (usually). Prizes are awarded for matches between the random draw and the player’s picks.

The game online has kept many of the attributes of the real-life game.

This includes a card, with choices made by placing a “spot” over the numbers of your choice with a giant pen like the one used in bingo.

(The simplest version of the game can also be known as “spot keno”, perhaps in honour of this quirky tool.)

The history of keno

The history of keno is too long to be told reliably. It is almost certainly of Chinese origin, and the favoured story is that the game was a fundraising effort for the government of Emperor Cheung Lung, around 200BC. The game gave big prizes and the results were shuttled around the Chinese empire by the white pigeons that the game was then named after.

This story is almost certainly not true. Though state lotteries have been around for a long time, and they were certainly played in ancient China, there’s no real way to link this nice, entertaining story to the keno we play today.

What is true is that keno was a popular game with China, and in the 19^th century, it started to go global as large numbers of Chinese people migrated to the United States to work on the railways. Tragically, they were met with widespread racism and often deadly violence.

Chinese travellers have taken keno wherever they go.

Like many casino games, there is also a French link. The name may be derived from the French number “quine” – a set of five lottery numbers.

How to Play Live Keno

The game is very simple to play.

There are of course different versions and variants of Keno as there are of every live casino game, and you need to check the rules on the game that you are playing to be sure that you’re following the right routines.

However, generally, keno is simple to play and easy to understand and most games that are branded as keno will use this as the framework for their gameplay however far they modify it or add frills to add thrills.

You start off with a board of cards of 80 numbers.

The player’s first move is to pick the numbers they would like to play from this set of numbers – picking their spots.

To the side of the board is a pay table of sorts. This should show you how much you will win for matching numbers.

You also need to set your bet. This will be done in the same that it is on most slots, by using a plus and minus selector under the screen.

We’ve established that you will be given a choice as to how many numbers you pick, with the maximum probably being 15.

You pick the numbers you want, and the pay table may adapt to show the prizes that are awarded relative to the number of matches that you get. So, if you pick just one number you may well win a prize for getting a single match. If you pick 10 numbers, for example, you are unlikely to get a prize for matching fewer than three or four numbers, and may not break even on your bet until much further up the pay table. Some games reward players for not matching any numbers.

Once the player has set their bet and picked their numbers the draw can go ahead.

Numbers are revealed on the board, and prizes will mount up as the player gets more matches.

Finally, all prizes are paid out.

We cannot cover all variants in this guide, but features you may see are lucky numbers that award extra prizes, form guides that show which numbers have appeared most recently (please read up on the “gambler’s fallacy” before you take this measure too seriously. Most games allow the player to switch on some sort of automatic play. This can be in the form of autoplay, running a single bet over a number of game turns, but also allowing some form of random number generator to pick the numbers for you.

Betting in live keno

Betting can be a straightforward win bet, with the money riding on all numbers for each game draw. This is called a “straight bet”.

Then you can pick a “way bet”. A way bet is a group of numbers made up of a set of subgroups (called ways).

A “split” bet is a bet on a two or more sets of numbers.

Combination tickets is a combination of straight bets and groups.

A “king ticket” is a split bet, but with a single number, called the king that appears in all the groups they bet on.

Playing live keno at a live casino

To play the live game online you need to find a safe and secure live casino site.

Live casinos are generally regulated online and you need to know what the laws are where you live and how to find out that the sites you use are following those laws. Please don’t ever play at sites that are not licensed and legal for you to play at.

In the UK, for example, you must not play at sites that are not licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. They will ensure that the site offers safe games and will also apply a set of standards to the site and its games.

You should be sure that you know the laws and regulations where you are and that you do your best to stick by them.

This includes holding up your side of any bargains. If you’re not old enough to play then don’t try to get around age limit rules. If you’re not allowed to play for any other reason then don’t try to get around geographic bans.

Playing live Keno safely

You should also make sure that you know how to gamble safely.

Safe gambling is an issue whether you gamble against your mates in a smoky bar or online at a super up-to-date website.

Gambling addiction is a real thing and it can have very serious consequences.

We divide safe gambling into three parts.

First of all, you need to know how to find safe sites,

Then you need to know a bit about cybersecurity and device security and safe online banking,

And you also need to understand your own personal safety.

All of these overlap and interact and you’re doing yourself a big favour if you take them seriously.

Safe sites we have covered in part. Your best helper in this regard is the licensing and regulation set up in your own home country (but specifically the country from which you are accessing a gambling site).

Cybersecurity is something we hope you take seriously in any case. It’s fairly easy to find good advice on this subject so we won’t go into too much detail here.

You should be aware of how to keep your device updated and how to guard yourself against the usual online threats, such as viruses, ransomware, and malware and so on.

Online banking and money transfers are other issues. Learn how to use these sites and protocols safely, how to set safe passwords, and how to keep your accounts safe. Don’t use the same password across accounts.

Now we come to the big one for us, safe gambling behaviour.

The good news is that this area is being taken more and more seriously. You will no doubt have seen some news coverage about damage caused by gambling addiction or unsafe gambling behaviours.

This is a big and complex subject. All we can really say here is that you should take this seriously and find out more and that you should use the tools that are available to you.

The biggest tool in stopping addiction is self-knowledge and self-awareness, so you need to be on top of this yourself and you need to know how to spot signs of danger.

In the UK the industry has settled on a very simple slogan to sum up its safe gambling efforts.

When the fun stops, stop.

It sounds rather too simple, but it’s a good starting point for safe gambling behaviour.

Gambling is entertainment. You should do it for fun while it is fun. You should not gamble in order to win money. This sounds counterintuitive to most people, but it is the best and most healthy way to approach gambling.

The games you play will be “fair” within the parameters set by the gambling industry. Which. Is. Enormously. Profitable.

That should end any argument. You may win money, but the vast majority of players will lose relatively small amounts of money, certainly fi they play for any length of time.

Don’t use gambling as a source of money and don’t use gambling as a way to deal with difficult feelings or with difficult real-life situations.

Gambling won’t love you and it won’t sort your life out.

The tools available to you should be shown prominently on most legitimate gambling websites. They include the opportunity to set limits on the amount of time you spend on a site, and the amount of money you spend on a site.

You should take these limit-setting tools seriously and we advise you to use them. If you’re not ready to do this yet, then try to keep a note of your spending.

Look out for danger signs in your own behaviour. If you’re uncomfortable about speaking about your gambling behaviour that’s a bad sign. If you’re worried about the idea of never gambling again that’s a bad sign. And if you’re keeping secrets around your gambling then that’s a bad sign too.

Honesty – with yourself and with others – is a good practice in general, and it can be very helpful when it comes to fending off addictions, in gambling as in anything else.

There are a number of specifics around live casino sites that should be borne in mind.

Live casinos are slightly different. While we’ve touched on the use of relatively low-paid workers to run these sites, no worker will ever be as cheap as a machine – we hope! This means that gambling at live casinos is likely to be more expensive than using simulation games.

It is also the case that live casino sites use attractive staff and the idea of sociability and attraction and friendship as selling points. By all means, enjoy your time at these sites but don’t make decisions about your gambling behaviour based on the perception of a relationship with the staff there.

And you cannot generally play live casino games for free or in demo mode. This being the case we always advise that players do their research before playing. Find RNG games that you can use, watch videos of gameplay online, and always make sure you read the rules.

Live Keno Casinos FAQ

Is it safe to play live keno online?

It is safe if you follow good safe gambling practices. That means keeping your computer safe, finding safe sites, and keeping your gambling behaviour within safe and healthy limits. There’s a lot of good information out there to help you and good quality sites will give you a lot of stuff to get you started. The first and most important step is to use legal, licensed sites. Do that, and you’re setting off in the right direction.

How do you win at live keno online?

By luck! We’re not fans of strategies and tactics in gambling as we think it encourages gamblers to have too much regard for their own role in games. All gambling games are random. The skill element is almost always negligible – that is certainly the case in keno – and the best thing that a player can do is to play safely for themselves, their bank balance, and their health. Anyone who offers to sell you gambling advice or strategies is trying to scam you – you wouldn’t buy a guide to winning coin tosses, would you? – and should almost certainly be avoided. Most gambling “strategies” amount to little more than money-saving schemes that aim to limit losses.

How many numbers should I pick at keno?

Up to you and your bank account. There are a lot of variants of the game, but many allow you to pick up to 15 numbers. Make sure you read the rules on any game that you play and make sure that you understand how the game works and how much each game turn will cost you.

Can I play live keno on my mobile?

Almost certainly yes. All casino sites these days offer a mobile version. Almost all casino games are these days designed to work on the small screens of mobile and tablet devices. You may be given a choice between playing at a mobile site or via a downloaded app. That’s a choice that is up to you, but our main concern is that apps are more likely to make you stick to a single site rather than shopping around.

What are the best live keno games?

That’s a question that only you can answer and the only way to answer it is by playing the games yourself. There are a number of keno providers in the live arena, but the two biggest are probably Evolution Gaming and NetEnt. The companies have recently merged into one. There are smaller providers, including Pragmatic Play. All of these companies are legitimate and legal operations that you can trust. As to game variants, we recommend you take a look at what is available at live sites and then look for the equivalent game in an RNG version so you can check it out. Play safely and have fun!