Keno odds explained: OLG DAILY KENO odds, payouts and return
Keno odds depend on how many numbers you pick and how many of them you need to hit. In OLG's DAILY KENO, 20 numbers are drawn from 1 to 70, and the odds of hitting every number range from 1 in 13 on a 2-spot ticket to 1 in 2,147,181 on a 10-spot. The more useful figure is the return: working through OLG's pay table, DAILY KENO pays back between 42% and 55% of what is bet, depending on the spot you play.
How keno works
You pick a set of numbers, called spots, and a bet size. The lottery then draws 20 numbers. You win if enough of your numbers are among the 20 drawn, and the prize depends on how many you picked and how many matched.
In Ontario's DAILY KENO, as OLG describes it:
- You pick your numbers from 1 to 70, and 20 are drawn.
- You can play between 2 and 10 spots.
- Bets are $1, $2, $5 or $10, and prizes scale with the bet.
- There are two draws a day, at 2 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Eastern.
- ENCORE can be added at checkout for $1.
- You can play on OLG.ca or at a retailer with a selection slip or a Quick Pick.
Other provincial lotteries and online casinos run their own keno games with different grids and pay tables, so the numbers below apply to DAILY KENO only.
DAILY KENO odds and return by spot
This table uses OLG's published odds and its $1 pay table. "Any prize" combines every winning outcome for that spot. The return column is our calculation from the pay table: the average amount paid back for each $1 bet.
| Spots | Top prize ($1 bet) | Odds of top prize | Odds of any prize | Return per $1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | $7 | 1 in 13 | 1 in 12.7 | 55.1% |
| 3 | $25 | 1 in 48 | 1 in 48 | 52.1% |
| 4 | $100 | 1 in 189 | 1 in 189 | 52.8% |
| 5 | $250 | 1 in 781 | 1 in 47 | 42.0% |
| 6 | $1,000 | 1 in 3,383 | 1 in 161 | 44.3% |
| 7 | $5,000 | 1 in 15,464 | 1 in 57 | 48.3% |
| 8 | $25,000 | 1 in 74,941 | 1 in 183 | 46.6% |
| 9 | $50,000 | 1 in 387,197 | 1 in 75.5 | 43.0% |
| 10 | $250,000 | 1 in 2,147,181 | 1 in 33 | 44.8% |
At $10 a play, the top prizes are ten times larger: the 10-spot pays $2,500,000 for matching all ten.
Some spots pay for partial matches. A 5-spot pays $5 for 4 of 5. A 7-spot pays $50 for 6 and $5 for 5. The 10-spot is the odd one: it pays $2 on a $1 bet for matching none of your ten numbers, which happens about 1 in 39 plays.
How the keno odds are calculated
Keno odds come from counting combinations. With 70 numbers and 20 drawn, the chance that all of your picks are among the drawn numbers falls quickly as you add spots:
- 2 spots: 20 of the 70 numbers are drawn, so your first pick has a 20 in 70 chance, and your second a 19 in 69 chance. Multiply them and you get about 1 in 12.7, which OLG rounds to 1 in 13.
- 10 spots: the same method, carried through ten picks, gives 1 in 2,147,181.
The partial-match odds use the same counting, which is why a 10-spot ticket that hits 7 of 10 (1 in 261) is far more likely than hitting all 10.
Which keno spot has the best odds?
It depends on what you want:
- Best return: the 2-spot, at 55.1 cents back per dollar on average. The 3-spot and 4-spot are close behind at about 52% to 53%.
- Best chance of winning something: also the 2-spot, at about 1 in 12.7. Among the bigger tickets, the 10-spot pays something about 1 in 33 plays, mostly thanks to the $2 prize for matching zero.
- Worst return: the 5-spot at 42.0%.
- Biggest prize: the 10-spot, which is also the longest shot by far.
None of the choices is cheap. Even the best spot keeps about 45 cents of every dollar on average, against 2.70 cents on a European roulette wheel. See our guide to European roulette odds for the comparison, and which lottery has the best odds for how keno sits next to LOTTO MAX, 6/49 and Ontario's other draws.
The $4 million prize limit
OLG caps the total paid in each of DAILY KENO's 22 prize categories at $4 million per draw. If winners in one category would together pass that amount, the prizes in that category are shared out in proportion. A ticket that wins counts in only one prize category. The cap rarely matters for small prizes, but it means a shared top prize could pay less than the table shows.
Do lucky numbers or Quick Picks change the odds?
No. Each draw picks 20 numbers from 70 with no memory of past draws. Numbers that came up often last week are no more likely tonight, and numbers that have not appeared in a while are not "due". A Quick Pick has exactly the same odds as numbers you choose yourself. Past results are useful for checking a ticket, not for predicting one.
Keno at online casinos
Casino keno is a separate game. Grids, the count of drawn numbers and pay tables vary by game and studio, and so does the return. Before you play, open the game's information screen and look for the stated RTP and pay table. If a keno game does not publish its RTP, compare it against one that does.
Tax and age
Lottery prizes from provincial games are covered in our guide to whether lottery winnings are taxed in Canada. You must be of legal age to buy a ticket; the minimum varies by province, as set out in our guide to the gambling age in Canada.
Play for fun, not for profit
With a return between 42% and 55%, keno is one of the most expensive games you can play. Treat each ticket as the price of entertainment, set a weekly amount, and stop there. Our responsible gambling page lists provincial help lines.
Sources
OLG: DAILY KENO odds and payouts, OLG: About DAILY KENO. Returns per $1 and odds of any prize are calculated from OLG's published pay table and the 20-from-70 draw.
Key terms
- Return to player (RTP)
- The percentage of total bets a game is designed to pay back to players over a very large number of rounds.
- House edge
- The casino's built-in average advantage on a bet, expressed as a percentage of the amount wagered.
- Deposit limit
- A cap you set on how much you can deposit into a casino account over a day, week or month.