The History of Keno

While often compared to Bingo, the game of Keno has very different origins. Unlike Bingo, which originated in Italy in the 1500’s, Keno dates back to the Han Dynasty in China. This means that Keno has been played since about 200 B.C., far longer than Bingo.

Keno spread through Ancient China because ruler Cheung Leung needed to finance a war. He was aware of a mathematical game called “The White Pigeon Game” (due to the fact that white pigeons were used to deliver results from city to city). Leung began using this game to produce revenue for his war and it quickly became popular throughout China.

Some historians maintain that Leung called his game “Kino,” others state that he kept the name “The White Pigeon Game.” Regardless, his usage of this game resulted in the widespread popularity of the game. Funding from the game was also said to have been used to build the Great Wall of China.

When the game was first played, Keno tickets had 120 Chinese characters. Players would select 10 characters using an ink brush. This procedure led to the term “keno spots” that is used today.

In the 19th century, Chinese immigrants migrated to America to help build the trans-continental railroad. At this time, they brought the game of Keno with them—but, the game was called the “Chinese Lottery” among Americans at this time. As the game gained popularity, the name changed to “horse race keno” as a way of getting around the strict gambling laws in America at the time.

Eventually, the Chinese characters on the Keno tickets were changed to numbers and the number of characters was reduced from 120 to 80. This is the version of Keno that is played today, and it is quite popular around the world.