Free keno: how to play, the odds and a free demo

Play free keno online

The demo below is a standard 80-ball keno game loaded with virtual credits. Pick up to ten numbers on the board, choose a stake and press Play One to watch 20 balls being drawn. The payouts panel shows what each number of hits pays for the amount of numbers you have picked, so you can see how the pay table changes as you add more.

Demo credits have no cash value. No sign-up, no deposit. 18+.

How to play keno

A round of keno follows the same four steps in almost every version of the game:

• Choose your stake for the round.
• Pick your numbers. Each number you choose is called a spot. Most games let you pick between 1 and 10 spots from 1 to 80, and many have a quick pick button that chooses for you.
• Start the draw. The game draws 20 numbers at random from the 80.
• Count your hits. Every one of your spots that is drawn is a hit (some games call it a catch). The pay table for the number of spots you picked shows what that many hits pays.

That is the whole game. You make no decisions once the draw starts, and each round is independent of the one before. Online keno uses a random number generator (RNG), and sites licensed by the UK Gambling Commission must have their games tested for fairness. New to the jargon? Our glossary of betting and gambling terms explains RNG, RTP and more.

Keno odds: how likely are your numbers?

Because 20 of the 80 numbers are drawn, any single number you pick has a 1 in 4 (25%) chance of coming up. The more spots you pick, the less likely you are to hit all of them, which is why pay tables pay more for bigger catches.

Look at the bottom row: you are about 1 in 8.9 million to catch all ten numbers on a 10-spot ticket. The biggest advertised keno prizes are paid for results that almost never happen.

Here is how a typical 4-spot ticket breaks down across every possible draw:

So on a 4-spot ticket you catch two numbers or fewer about 95% of the time.

Pay tables and the house edge

Unlike European roulette, keno has no single fixed house edge. The chance of each result is fixed by the maths above, but every keno game sets its own pay table, and the gap between what it pays and the true odds is the house edge. Two keno games can look identical and return very different amounts over time.

Keno’s house edge is usually higher than that of table games such as blackjack, baccarat or European roulette (2.70%). Online, the game’s help screen should show its pay table and its return to player (RTP), so compare that figure with other games before you play. Our casino house edge guide shows how the main games compare.

Picking more spots does not improve your odds. It only changes the shape of your results: with fewer spots you get smaller returns more often, and with more spots you get rare, bigger ones and many more losing rounds. Some games pay a small amount for catching none of your numbers on a large ticket, so read the pay table rather than assuming.

Keno myths to ignore

Hot and cold numbers. Many keno games show which numbers have been drawn most often recently. Each draw is random and independent, so a number that has come up a lot is no more likely to appear again, and a number that has not come up for a while is not due. Believing otherwise is the gambler’s fallacy.

Patterns and lucky numbers. Picking a row, a column, birthdays or the same numbers every round makes no difference. Every set of the same size has exactly the same chance of being drawn.

Betting systems. Raising your stake after a loss does not change the house edge. It only makes losses bigger and faster, and keno rounds take seconds, so set a budget before you start.

Playing keno online in the UK

Keno is offered by some UK online casinos and lottery sites, usually as an RNG game rather than a live draw. The rules above apply either way, but check the game’s help screen for its pay table and RTP before you play. Only play at sites licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. They must verify your age before you play, including on demo games.

If you want to compare keno with games that have a lower house edge, try our free European roulette, free blackjack and free baccarat games, read how to play craps, or browse every game on our free casino games page.

If you decide to play for real, here are two current welcome offers from casinos we have reviewed. Both are free spins on slots, so they cannot be used on keno:

• Lottoland: Deposit + Wager £20 Get 100 Free Spins. See our review for the full terms.
• Lottomart: Wager £10 – Get Free Spins. See our review for the full terms.

Before you start, set a budget and a deposit limit, and stop when it is no longer fun. You can also block all UK-licensed gambling sites at once with GAMSTOP.