Lottoland Granted 20-Year Keno Licence

KenoGO - it's Keno, but not as you know it

Table of contents:

• WHAT IS KENO?
• WHAT IS KenoGO
• THE HISTORY OF KENO: 'PAKAPOO'
• FROM 'PAKAPOO' TO KENO
• KENO IN AUSTRALIA
• ONLINE KENO IN VICTORIA

Lottoland is pleased to announce that in accordance with sections 6A.3.8 and 6A.3.10 of the Gambling Regulation Act 2003, it has been issued a licence to conduct Keno.

KenoGO is now available at KenoGO.com.au and offers Victorian's the chance to win the world's biggest Keno jackpots!

These insane jackpots can be guaranteed by Lottoland's insurance model.

Here's everything you need to know about Keno, one of Australia's most popular jackpots.

WHAT IS KENO?

Keno is a gambling product in which a bet is made on the outcome of a set of numbers which are selected from a larger pool of numbers. The numbers which are selected from the pool are produced by a random number generator.

Keno payouts are determined by how many numbers are chosen and how many of those numbers match with the numbers which were randomly generated, multiplied by the proportion of the wager.

Example:

There are 80 numbers in a pool. 20 numbers will be randomly generated from the pool of 80.

A customer can select up to 10 numbers from the 80, meaning that a customer could chose to wager a stake on just 1 number if they wish, but of course, the more numbers chosen means the higher the payout if those numbers appear.

If 10 of those numbers which are selected by the customer match those randomly generated, the customer will win the jackpot.

The amount the customer can stake depends on how many numbers selected.

WHAT IS KenoGo?

KenoGO is online Keno which is offered by Lottoland to customers in the State of Victoria on a dedicated website KenoGO.com.au. KenoGO offers the Victorian's the chance to win up to $20 MILLION on the world's biggest Keno jackpots.

The great thing about KenoGO is that it’s a fast-paced event. You don’t have to wait long to find out if you’ve won anything - and with FOUR fantastic Keno game variations for you to enjoy, Keno has never been more exhilarating!

You can play KenoGO every 3 minutes, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and potentially win a jackpot of up to $20 MILLION.

THE HISTORY OF KENO: 'PAKAPOO'

If you've ever wondered about the origin of the saying, “it looks like a pakapoo ticket” to refer to any writing which is illegible or difficult to decipher, you will probably be surprised to know that this very Aussie phrase is linked to the origin of Keno.

According to legend, during the Han Dynasty of ancient China, a lottery style game was developed as a means to raise funds for the later stages of the construction of the Great Wall during the 2nd Century BCE.

It is said that the draw results were sent out across rural regions via carrier pigeons, this practise was referred to as báigē piào (“white dove ticket”), pronounced 'baak-gap-piu' in Cantonese which sounded like ‘pakapoo’  to English speakers. 

The sheets used to play pakapoo used the first 80 characters from an ancient Chinese poem known as the Qian Zi Wen ('Thousand Character Text') which only uses each character once, arranged into 250 lines of four characters. Other sources state that the name 'pakapoo' name originates from when people used to wager on pigeon racing and the birds were identified with names from the Qian Zi Wen.

The saying that something 'looks like a pakapoo ticket' if it's hard to read is a reference to the Chinese characters on the pakapoo tickets which were illegible to English speakers.

Pakapoo eventually became known as Keno.

FROM 'PAKAPOO' TO KENO

The name ‘Keno’ itself derives from the Latin quini 'five each', or 'five at a time'.

The Portuguese quina, Spanish quiniela and French quine share the same etymology.

Despite the legends of its ancient origins, the Chinese lottery isn’t documented until 1847, when the Portuguese legalised games of chance in the colony of Macau. 'Pacapio' is an official lottery in modern-day Macau.

The first reference to 'Keno' comes from an article from the New York Times published in 1866 which mentions the popularity of Keno in Houston, Texas. 

Chinese miners introduced báigē piào to California during the gold rush of 1848 - 1855 and pakapoo, as it became known, spread across the US.

It is claimed that the name 'Keno' came about in the US from the French quine ('group of five').

Another theory is that it may have originated from the Portuguese quina. Many Macanese immigrants who arrived in California would have spoken the Portuguese-based creole language Patuá. There was also a significant Portuguese community in the San Francisco Bay Area by the 1840s, mostly from Madeira, the Azores and the Cape Verde islands. Many Portuguese whalers and fishermen who called at the port of San Francisco decided to stay on when the gold rush began.

KENO IN AUSTRALIA

Australia had established important trading links with Macau and Canton by the 1840s. 

Between 1848 and 1853, over 3,000 Chinese arrived in Australia as indentured labourers. 

During the Victoria gold rush, from 1851 to the late 1860s, 40,000 Chinese migrated to Australia, most of them arrived as prospecters seeking their fortunes as gold miners, the majority of these immigrants were Cantonese.  

Báigē piào (pakapoo) was introduced to Australia during this period. According to sources written at the time, pakapoo was imported via miners who came to Victoria from California, but it may also have been imported directly from China at the same time, via the miners who came to Victoria straight from China.

Either way, by the early 20^th century, pakapoo was well established in Australia.

The Argus, a daily morning newspaper from Melbourne, reported in 1921:

"‘Pukka-poo’ is a gambling game imported from San Francisco, and is based upon an attempt to select 10 winning numbers out of 100 possibles. If the selector gets five right, the player gets his or her shilling back; if six are right, the winnings are £7; if 10, £42. Otherwise the Chinese wins! The draws are called 'races', and take place every hour.” 

The reference to San Francisco is a clear link to the miners of the California gold rush who moved on to Victoria. The format of pukapoo described in The Argus is identical to modern Keno, the main difference being 100 numbers instead of 80. Even back then, pukpaoo 'races' were held very frequently.

The report continues:

'In some of the places devoted to 'pukka-poo', dice, crown and anchor, and other gambling games are played. The police do their best to break up these haunts of vice, but little can be done unless there is an actual disorder. As a rule, when a customer has lost his money the Chinese give him 4d. and suggest the loser should go for a drink. That 4d. has stopped many a disturbance'.

ONLINE KENO IN VICTORIA

Victorians will now be able to legally bet on Keno online from the comfort of their own homes, without having to worry about the police coming about to break up any disorder like back in the days of the gold rush! 

Further to the convenience of being able to bet anytime, anywhere, Lottoland ensures customer safety through trackable responsible gambling measures.

Until the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission granted Lottoland a 20-year licence to offer KenoGO, Victorians could only legally bet on Keno at licensed pubs and clubs in the state. 

Thankfully, the online bet slips for Lottoland's KenoGO won’t “look like a pukapoo ticket” as Lottoland's dedicated KenoGO website is very user friendly! 

Make sure to keep a lookout on our Lottoland Australia Blog for news about the launch.

See you soon!