Guide to Playing Keno Online in India

Keno – a famous lottery-based gambling game that can be played on several keno websites, is a preferred option for many avid, enthusiastic punters, who like the thrill of playing lotteries but don’t want to wait for it.

In many ways, this casino game is quite similar to your regular online lottery and yet, it has remarkable distinctions which separate it from the other.

Nonetheless, online keno is exciting enough to provide that adrenaline rush of playing with real money.

What is Online Keno?

At the core of the matter, Keno involves picking a bunch of numbers from a table featuring numbers from 1 to 80. Your payout depends on how many of these numbers you pick correctly: get all of them right and your payout will be massive. In essence, it is like instant lottery except the winning prize isn’t a gigantic sum! However, the payout odds are still amazing enough to give online keno a try!

To put it simply, playing online keno in India (or anywhere else) involves choosing 1 to 10 numbers (or more) from a given table of numbers, usually ranging from 1 to 80. Think of it like a bingo card where you see a bunch of numbers.

After this, the numbers are drawn from a virtual pot and depending on how many you get right, you will win an amount.

This is what your average online keno table looks like:

Screenshot how an online keno game.
Table of an online Keno game

Depending on the casino you are playing at, the payouts and the number of selections you get may differ – some online casinos may allow you to choose up to 20 numbers. There is also a house cut that you will have to consider. But at the end of the day, the premise of the online casino games are simple: to win big, you need to pick as many numbers as you can correctly.

If you are playing the live version of keno, then you will see an attractive dealer who will try to make things exciting and entertaining.

Screenshot of a blond keno live dealer
Live dealer Keno

You can see which numbers are being drawn from the pot and compare it to the ones you have picked. If you get all of them right, the odds of which happening are extremely low, you will get a massive payout. Conversely, if you get only a handful right, your payday won’t be that sizeable – for every rupee you play keno, you may win five times that amount or more.

In comparison to land-based keno, there are a few differences that you will observe:

  • When playing keno in an actual casino, you will be asked to fill in a keno ticket with a pen/pencil mentioning all the numbers you want to place your bets on, something like the betting slip shown below. On the same ticket, you will be asked to state your wager amount, the number of games you want to play, and the total betting price.
Image of a keno lottery slip
“Offline” or regular Keno
  • The play may not take place instantly or swiftly – the no-download version of keno requires you to wait for other players to fill in their keno cards before the game can begin.
  • Once the person at the table has got all the tickets, he/she will commence drawing the numbers. After that, it is just a matter of a few minutes before all the numbers are drawn and you can determine whether you have won or lost.

Hence, as you can see, there isn’t a lot separating the actual keno from online keno. The latter is faster, better, and more efficient.

Where Can I Play Online Keno for Real Money?

Thanks to all the wonderful online casinos, it is incredibly easy to play keno with real money over the internet. You don’t have to travel all the way to Las Vegas – all you need is an excellent internet connection, a system that doesn’t lag, and a little bit of luck! If you prefer, you can even play keno online on your mobile phone!

At SevenJackpots, we have compiled a list of top, reputed casinos online where you can play keno with Indian Rupees. Having reviewed every one of them, we can vouch for their reputation and assure that these players are legitimate, authorised, and trustworthy. Before you go about choosing a casino for keno from our list mentioned, considering the following:

  • The reviews of the operator, reputation, and popularity
  • Welcome Bonuses and promotions offered
  • Commitment to responsible gambling
  • Ease of making payments and withdrawals
  • Customer support provided
  • Mobile usability
  • Gameplay, site design, and live dealers

The Basics of Keno

Whether you are playing keno online or in a real casino, the basics will always remain the same: pick a bunch of numbers between 1-80 and depending on how many of them you get right once the draw is made, your prize will be decided. If the lady luck favours you, you may just walk away with everything.

Even though the word ‘keno’ has French origins, the game, by all means, is Chinese, just like Sic Bo, which is nowadays played internationally too. It is believed that the popularity of keno in China helped significantly in raising the money needed for the construction of the Great Wall! Eventually, the game crossed the Pacific and arrived in the west, where it picked up the name keno.

Is it Legal to Play Keno in India?

Even though doesn’t fall under the same category of legal casino games such as poker, rummy, or even lotteries for that matter, it is hard to imagine why keno would be illegal in India. Due to its close resemblance to lottery games, the game may very well be declared legal!

However, as of now, no laws discuss the legality or illegality of online keno in India. Furthermore, till date, no one has been prosecuted for playing this online and it is quite unlikely for it to happen in the future.

At the end of the day, we strongly urge you to play the game responsibly.

Rules

As you may have guessed by now, the rules of online keno are very simple:

  • You need to first select a keno game – there are many variations that primarily feature how many numbers you can bet on and the payout/reward system.
  • Once you are in the game, select the numbers – pay attention to how many you can choose. Some games may allow you to choose up to 20 while others may restrict your selections to just 15. You cannot select all the 80 numbers.
  • Before placing a wager, you can clear your bets and the number selection, or have the system at random pick the numbers for you.
  • Understand the paytable. Like mentioned earlier, the payout will differ across different online casinos.
  • Place your real money bets for the draw.
  • Once you have placed the bet, you may have the option to ‘Play One’ or ‘Play Five.’ In the first case, the bets, as well as the numbers you have chosen, will be valid for one game only. In the second case, you will play five consecutive rounds with the same bet and numbers. Decide wisely!

Strategies

Fundamentally speaking, online keno is a pure game of luck. There is no skill or art in picking up the winning numbers – it is determined mathematically; it is an artwork of absolute randomness. However, what you can do is play keno with a betting strategy. Here a few of them that have worked for different punters through the years:

  • You can always bet on the same set of numbers through different rounds to track which numbers are bringing you luck. It isn’t a surefire recipe for success, but it can work well if you stick to the same table for a long time.
  • Increase your bets as you win, decrease them as you lose.
  • Manage your money wisely. Every bet you make must be driven by logic and reasoning rather than just nothingness. You get to choose how much money you want to spend here.

Winning Potential and Payout

Statistically speaking, the odds of winning big in online keno are astronomical. To give you a sense of what we are talking about, here are the odds of landing the respective number of strikes:

Strikes Odds
0 1 in 843.380
1 1 in 46.446
2 1 in 20.115
3 1 in 8.009
4 1 in 4.877
5 1 in 4.287
6 1 in 5.258
7 1 in 8.826
8 1 in 20.055
9 1 in 61.420
10 1 in 253.801
11 1 in 1,423.822
12 1 in 10,968.701
13 1 in 118,084.920
14 1 in 1,821,881.628
15 1 in 41,751,453.986
16 1 in 1,496,372,110.872
17 1 in 90,624,035,964.712
18 1 in 10,512,388,171,906.553
19 1 in 2,946,096,785,176,811.500
20 1 in 3,535,316,142,212,174,320.000

As you can see, your chances of getting all 20 numbers right on the keno betting slip are way above 100 trillion to 1! This is absolutely mind-staggering! In the same way, the payouts are also huge.

However, as we mentioned earlier, it varies from casino to casino. Some casinos may offer you 10,000 times your initial bet for getting 10 numbers right. Others may reward you with 15,000x for getting 20 numbers correct. Whatever may be the case, familiarize yourself with the payout before jumping in.

Variations of the Game

Depending on the casino you are in, you may find a few variations of keno. While the basic rules will remain the same, things like payout tables, the maximum chosen numbers, and other intricate things may vary. For example, some variations may quadruple your winnings for hitting a particular strike.

Here are a few variations of the game that you may come across:

  • Circus Keno
  • Balloon Game Keno
  • Golden Hits
  • Redneck Keno
  • Thunder Power
  • Super Spot Keno
  • among others…

Playing Keno Virtual or Live

Another thing to consider while playing keno online is to decide between the virtual or live streaming versions. The first one is very quick: you are playing with the AI where everything is done instantly. There is no delay, no waiting time, it all happens within seconds.

By contrast, the live streaming keno will feature an attractive, sexy dealer who will be drawing the numbers from a pot (or read them out aloud). Plus, there will be a waiting period of a few seconds where you may have to pick your numbers online before the draw commences. Since there is a human touch here, the gameplay will not be as fast as the virtual keno. But on the flip side, you may find this to be entertaining as live casino dealers often try to keep things as engaging as possible.

If you are interested in exploring live streaming casinos, then you check out our extensive section dedicated to the same.

Play Keno for Real Money vs. Free

There is no denying the fact that keno is a fun casino game. Driven by nothing but blind luck, it can make you a lakhpati in no time! But before diving in an online keno casino with rupees, we suggest you play it for free first, right here on our site.

This way, you will get acquainted with all the rules of the game and understand the different aspects of it. It is also a good way to build the habit of bankroll management and practice other strategies that may come in handy when you play for real money! Once you are comfortable, you can check out the list of casinos below which accept Indian customers and provide world-class customer service.

Take your first steps in this exciting, thrilling casino game and be on your way to win big money! Sign up and play at one of our trusted casinos today.