Keno History - Keno

Keno History

The game of Keno has been played for many centuries now. Keno history tells of its origin in the Han Dynasty of early China. It was the age of wars and support funds were decreasing thus the Chinese invented a lottery game which would help generate income. Keno history also mentions that the game was so popular at that time that it was made into an inter-town event. Results of draws were sent to participating towns and villages with the use of carrier pigeons. When the Chinese reached the American mainland during the 19th century, they brought along the game of Keno to remind them of their heritage. The Americans then played the game and thus have reached a wider audience.

However, the United States was not too keen with lotteries during the 1930s and since Keno uses a lottery system, the game was not legalized while most gambling formats were allowed. To work around this dilemma, the Keno operators simply added "horse race" to the name. A phony story about horse racing was used to hide the Keno game - the operators mention that the numbers on the Keno system symbolize horses and players are just betting on which "horse" would come in.

The history mentions another setback in the game's roots. As Keno gained popularity, the US government taxed off-track betting. This tax hit Keno since it was called "horse race" Keno. The clever operators again made a witty change to combat this problem. They just dropped the "horse race" title and simply labeled the game as Keno. Up to this day, it remains one of the most sought after games either in casinos, national lotteries or in Internet gaming sites.