What is Keno
Playing Online Keno at Platinum Play Casino
Ever wanted to know where exactly the game of Keno originated from? Platinum Play Online Casino has the answers.
Your guide to what online Keno really is
Keno is perceived to have come into existence more than 1,000 years ago and is considered an ancient casino game.
As historic scrolls indicate, the game of Keno finds its origins in the heart of Chinese heritage through Cheung Leung of the Han Dynasty more than 2 100 years ago in 200 BC. Cheung introduced the game of Keno as a means to supply much needed funding for his city’s army, when the citizens refused to supply contributions.
The lotto style game which used 120 characters, become a firm favourite with the locals, and provided the funding needed to restore the city. With its popularity growing, the revenue collected by the success of Keno, it also helped fund the construction of the Great Wall of China. Making it a more global game, Keno also became known as the White Pigeon Game, due to the carrier pigeons which were used to send winning numbers to various players in the Keno games from town to town.
From its humble beginnings, Keno saw a migration to the America with the influx of Chinese immigrants helping with the construction of the railroads and on the mines in the west during the 19th century. Known throughout the USA as the Chinese Lottery, the original Chinese Keno characters as numbers were replaced with more familiar westernised numbers towards the end of the 19th century.
The name ‘Chinese Lottery’ was changed to ‘horse race keno’ as lotteries were not considered legal under the gambling act of Nevada in 1931. When a law of the taxing off-track betting was passed by government, horse race keno was subsequently changed to the shortened 80 character version of Keno, as we all are familiar with it today.
And the rest as they say, is history!
For even more information as to the ins and outs of the world of Keno, visit the Keno guide. The entertainment is yours for the taking with a few simple steps at Platinum Play Online Casino.