Keno Lottery
Keno differs from most other types of lotteries in that you get to choose how many winning numbers you want to try and match. Each number you predict is known as a 'spot' and the more of them you match, the bigger the prizes. You therefore have the opportunity to try and balance the odds of winning with the amount of prize money that it's possible to win.
How to Play Keno
Keno is simple and fun to play, and it provides a lot more flexibility than other lotteries because you get to choose how many numbers to match. Different providers may offer different variations of the game, but they all tend to operate according to the same rules. The step-by-step guide below details how to play Keno:
1. Choose your spots
The first thing to do is choose how many numbers, or 'spots', you want to try and match. You'll most commonly find that you can choose 1-10 spots, but some providers may allow you to choose more than this. Just select the relevant number on the online playslip to confirm the number of spots you want to play.
2. Pick your numbers
Here's where you pick the numbers you want to try and match. A typical Keno game will allow you to pick numbers from a range between 1 and 80. Select your numbers based on how many spots you chose to play. For example, if you're playing a five-spot game, pick five numbers from 1 to 80; for a 10-spot game, pick 10 different numbers.
Alternatively, most online providers usually offer a Quick Pick or Lucky Pick option, where your numbers are chosen randomly for you.
3. Choose your bet amount
In addition to choosing how many numbers you want to match, the amount you wager is also up to you. Most Keno games have a minimum stake and you can bet up to 10 times that amount to increase your prize money.
For example, a Keno provider may set a minimum bet of Rs. 15 per ticket and a top prize for a 10-spot game of Rs. 20 lakh. On that basis, you could bet twice the minimum amount to potentially win Rs. 40 lakh, or three times the minimum to win Rs. 60 lakh, and so on. Check the options and decide how much you want to bet when you fill out a playslip.
Prizes and How to Win
Twenty winning numbers are drawn in a typical Keno game, and your objective is to match your numbers with the winning set. The more numbers you match, the bigger the prize amount. The number of spots you choose to play also has an effect on the prizes you can win.
For example, the prize for matching two numbers in a 3-spot game will be higher than matching two in a 4-spot game. That's because it's harder to match two numbers in a 3-spot game. The table below shows the prize structure that was available in Playwin's version of Keno, which came to an end in 2019:
| Numbers Predicted | Numbers Matched (prizes shown in ₹) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 2-Spot | 150 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3-Spot | 45 | 225 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 4-Spot | 20 | 50 | 750 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 5-Spot | - | 30 | 250 | 5,000 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 6-Spot | - | 20 | 100 | 900 | 7,250 | - | - | - | - |
| 7-Spot | - | 20 | 35 | 150 | 1,500 | 60,000 | - | - | - |
| 8-Spot | - | - | 20 | 100 | 1,200 | 7,000 | 4.5 lakh | - | - |
| 9-Spot | - | - | 20 | 50 | 300 | 1,250 | 70,000 | 10 lakh | - |
| 10-Spot | - | - | 15 | 40 | 130 | 1,000 | 10,000 | 1 lakh | 15.5 lakh |
Note that some of the fields in the table are empty. In those instances no prize was offered, either because it was impossible to win (you can't match four or more numbers in a 3-spot game, for example), or it was too easy to win (such as matching two numbers in a 10-spot game).
Playwin Keno
Playwin, the Indian lottery operator that shut down in 2019, offered a version of Keno that could be played online or in-stores. The price of a ticket was Rs. 15, although you could place more than one bet on your numbers, with prizes rising accordingly. Draws took place twice a day at 18:00 and 21:00.
As the table above shows, the top prize on offer in Playwin Keno was worth Rs. 15.5 lakhs, and that could be won by matching all 10 numbers in a 10-spot game. You picked your numbers from a range of 1-80 and had to match them with the 20 winning numbers that were selected in every Keno draw.
Like all Playwin games, players could purchase Keno lottery tickets from retailers or the official Playwin website using a Playwin card. Playwin cards were available to purchase from authorised lottery retailers or could be ordered via SMS or email. The cards were pre-loaded in the amounts of Rs. 200, 500, 1,000 and 5,000 and were the only way to pay for Playwin's games online.