Keno was introduced to online casinos at much the same time as the casinos themselves developed. Because of its mystique and the aspects of keno history, Keno has become one of the most popular of the online casino games. Online Keno is played in much the same way as the original game of keno, exactly like online baccarat which maintains is antique vibe. There is a board of 80 numbers and the player can choose up to 15 of these numbers. The online keno computer then selects the 20 winning keno numbers. How much the player will win depends on how many of his chosen numbers match the winning keno numbers.

The history of keno is quite ancient. Keno has been there ever since the beginning of the written word. There is evidence of Keno in early China, where children used to read rhymes with picture cards. Keno Games

Keno is believed to be introduced in 200 B.C. by Chéung léung of the Han Dynasy in China. It was apparently born out of the necessity to combat the shortage of funds and keep the supplies up for the army, needed to win the war. Keno winnings were probably used to build the Great Wall of China. The game being an instant success is also seen as the major reason for the victory of Cheung’s forces.

Since carrier pigeons were used to inform surrounding towns and villages of the winning numbers, the keno game soon became well known as the White Pigeon game. With as many as 120 characters were used in the original game, today only a more familiar 80 characters are left. The keno history paused for a while at this stage.

The Chinese immigrants, who entered the U.S. in order to work on the railways in the 1800’s., brought the game of Keno with them. Initially outlawed, Keno was played in secrecy by these new immigrants. The “Chinese Lottery”, it continued to use the Chinese characters. Under the pretext that it was a horse race game and not an actual casino game, it was legalized in Nevada in 1931. It didn’t enter popular mainstream American culture until it was modified to include the numerical system. After few days, it has become known as horse race ‘Keno’ and was played off of the idea that the numbers are horses, where one simply wanted their horses to finish first. With the government passing a law that taxed off-track betting, Nevada quickly changed the name again and shortened it to just Keno. The online keno history may be written in cyberspace from this time onward.

In 1963 the keno payout limit in Nevada casinos was $25,000. In 1979 it was doubled to $50,000. In 1989 the limit was removed, and now casinos are free to set their limits as they please. Keno history has certainly made a long way, and with online keno just added in recent years to various online casinos, it is expected to increase its popularity even more.