Simple Tips On Learning to Make the Difference Between Keno and Bingo

difference-between-keno-and-bingo Be it wheels, playing cards, rolling dice, or numbered balls drawn from a container, all games of chance have one thing in the common- random outcome. Some of them have no other resemblances, but bingo and keno share certain similarities.

What is it that makes these two games look almost the same?

They both draw up numbers using a machine that “spits out” random numbered balls. Moreover, there are tickets involved. Neither of them requires special skills not it comes with complex rules to memorize.

But aside from those details…

…these two activities differ in many aspects. Let’s take a closer look and find out more about these two games whose concept relies on the lottery.

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Discussing the Origins

Keno holds the proud title of one of the oldest gambling games in history, as it initially appeared in China about 3,000 years ago. There are multiple versions explaining the exact inventor or precise moment, but according to some opinions, it was first played during the Han Dynasty.

One of the main reasons…

…for creation of this game was the ongoing war. The then ruler had difficult times with funds, and he didn’t want to impose higher taxes on residents. He invented a lottery-style game (what we know as Keno today) to collect more funds to end the war.

You will often hear people referring to it as ‘white pigeon game’, and that’s because these marvelous white birds were employed to fly winning numbers across the vast countryside.

Whether the Great Wall of China was built thanks to Keno…

…remains a mystery or a conspiracy theory. However, it’s interesting to notice that in modern times, the idea of using lotteries to fund a public institution was not accepted before the late 19th century.

Other theories claim that the game was invented in and around Macau in the 1840s or even a bit earlier. It was Chinese immigrants who worked on the transcontinental railway system who brought Keno to America in the 1860s.

As for Bingo…

bingo …Italy is believed to be its birthplace. In 1530, it was known as ‘Il Gioco del Lotto d’Italia’, and it was popular among French aristocracy as well.

It was initially known as “Beano”, as beans were used to mark the numbers. The game appeared in North America in the late 1920s, and as far as believed, it was American toymaker Edwin S. Lowe who stumbled across it on a carnival in Georgia while he was traveling.

So, how was “Beano” played?

There was a cigar box with numbered wooden disks, and the caller was pulling them out and calling those numbers aloud. If they appeared on the card, participants would place beans on them.

When a player had an entire line filled…

…horizontally, vertically or diagonally he/she’d shout “Beano!”. Edwin recreated it when he returned home, and once it happened that a winner mispronounced it as “Bingo!”, and the name simply stuck. It was in the 1960s when the game migrated to the UK as well, continuing to grow in popularity.

Numbers and Tickets Explained

One of the main reasons why these two games look so similar is the mechanism of drawing numbers. In both of them, numbered balls are randomly ejected from a machine. Punters then have to match them on the tickets, but that’s where the differences begin.

The standard version of Keno…

…is very similar to playing a lottery. A player is required to gamble on numbers of his/her choice, placing wagers on between one and twenty numbers, with twenty of them being drawn in every round.

To win the jackpot prize, a punter is supposed to match fifteen numbers on a ticket with fifteen of those that are drawn. Some smaller amounts can be won for matching fewer numbers.

Bingo has multiple variations…

…and some of the most common examples include 90-ball, 80-ball, 75-ball, 30-ball, and five-line. The aim differs from one version to another but it’s either to cover all the numbers on the card (a full house or coverall), get one or two horizontal, vertical, or diagonal lines, four corners, and the center number, or complete a specific pattern.

A player who completes the card first is the one who scores JP, but those with one or two lines can grab some prizes as well.

In Keno…

…a set of numbers is drawn, after which punters check for matching numbers on their cards. It is possible to have several winners. However, in Bingo, the numbers are drawn continuously until someone wins the game and only one punter is a winner.

How to Place Bets in Keno and Bingo?

keno Keno players get to pick their own numbers from a field of 1 through 80, select between 1 and 20 numbers, and mark them on the cards. Punters can vary their bets and can use their selected numbers for several games.

On the other hand…

…bingo punters purchase cards with numbers printed on them. They are valid for a specific session and are not chosen by the player. However, some online platforms do allow switching tickets, but not individual numbers.

There are no bets as such, except for the price of the cards. The size of the bet itself cannot be controlled, but punters can choose to buy more or fewer game cards, or decide to play in cheaper or more expensive rooms.

Keno offers two different types of bets…

…straight and way bets. With the straight variety, a punter needs to pick his/her numbers and place the minimum wager on each race. With way betting, the selected numbers are divided into different sets. This allows to not only to win if all the chosen numbers come up, but also win if sets of numbers are drawn.

What about the odds?

Simply put, the odds of hitting 20/20 numbers in Keno is 1 in 3.5 quintillions, which is next to impossible. For that reason, to hit the biggest prize, a punter should have 17 of 20 numbers.

These silly odds…

…inspired quite an inventive side game- a prize can be offered for NOT getting any of the 20 selected numbers. In terms of the house edge, it’s 20 to 50% in real-world hubs and 5 to 16% at online facilities.

bingo-by-netent In Bingo, two factors are crucial for defining the odds. One of them is the number of bingo tickets in play and the other is the number of balls drawn. Statistically, each number has an equal chance of being drawn and, consequently, every ticket has an equal chance of winning.

Looking from a regulatory point of view…

…Bingo’s odds are much better than Keno’s. the classification plays a significant role as well- while Keno is almost always accommodated in the “casino” section, Bingo belongs to a separate one.

There are plenty of studies exploring profiles of players and their reasons for playing any sorts of games. Yes, one of the main motives is the desire to trigger juicy winnings. But there’s something much deeper than that as well.

Some of the researches…

…even claim that Bingo can boost cognitive memory later in life. Which, on the other hand, doesn’t imply one should play them from the earliest days, as these activities are not for kids.

Each of them has chat rooms and players can socialize or play some mini-games in a relatively non-competitive environment, depending on the selected website. In a land-based version, this specific atmosphere is even more vivid and intense.

A complex and colorful lingo is an integral part of some types, and they leave punters enough room to come up with more creative calls and expressions.

As for the dynamic…

…Keno is faster than Bingo, as players don’t have to wait for others to tick off their numbers or to wait for someone to call them out. The actual act of selecting the initial set of numbers also contributes to the more energetic atmosphere.

On the contrary, Bingo’s tempo is slower and relaxed. Players do not choose the numbers, or place actual bets. Except for waiting for the numbers to be called out and tick them off as they match on the ticket, punters don’t have to do anything.

But regardless of the type…

keno-by-microgaming …psychologists say people gamble because they don’t fully believe the odds are against them. In fact, they don’t think about it at all. That’s one of the main reasons why lottery games such as Keno and Bingo, and any other manage to stand the test of time.

Final Thoughts

One doesn’t have to be a scientist to realize in which points do these two games differ, and what are the aspects they share. As you can see, it takes several minutes to grasp their respective logics, even if you have never played any of them before.

Which one will be preferred…

…is a matter of a personal choice, but there’s no doubt both of them will remain popular and will always have its audience. Thanks to technology development, both of them are sure to undergo various transformations, so it remains to be seen what are the possibilities.