Keno
How Does Keno Work in Canada? Board, Spots, Draws
Keno in one page: you pick spots on a numbered board, 20 numbers are drawn, and the paytable shows the prize for your catches. Try a game on the board below.
Marked 0 of 5
Mark 5 numbers on the board, then draw. 20 of the 70 numbers come out.
5 spots at $1: every prize
Source: OLG game conditions checked Oct 29, 2026 · OLG page checked Oct 29, 2026
Keno odds for every spot →Keno payouts compared →Keno simulator →
One keno game
- Pick your spotsChoose how many numbers to play – 2 to 10 on OLG Daily Keno, 1 to 10 on WCLC Keno – and mark them on the board.
- Choose a betOLG and WCLC each offer four fixed bet amounts. WCLC Keno prizes are paid per dollar bet, so they grow with the bet.
- Wait for the drawOLG draws 20 numbers out of 70. WCLC draws 20 out of 80. Every draw is random.
- Count your catchesA catch is one of your spots that was drawn. Drawn numbers you did not pick do not count.
- Check the paytableThe paytable lists the prize for each number of spots and catches. Many results pay nothing.
Keno across Canada
| Game | Organiser | Board | Spots | Draws | Top prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Keno | OLG (Ontario) | 20 of 70 numbers drawn | 2 to 10 | 2 draws a day, at 2:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. ET | Up to $2,500,000 on ten spots |
| Keno | WCLC (Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, territories) | 20 of 80 numbers drawn | 1 to 10 | 265 a day | Set by the WCLC paytable |
Rules are from each organiser's official game conditions.
What a spot is
- Board
- The grid of numbers you pick from. OLG uses 70 numbers, WCLC uses 80.
- Spot
- One number you picked. Playing more spots means a different paytable, not better odds per number.
- Pick category
- OLG's name for how many spots you play, from 2 to 10.
- Catch
- A spot that matches a drawn number. Your prize depends on how many catches you get.
- Paytable
- The official list of prizes for each spot count and catch count.
- Consecutive draws
- On WCLC Keno, one slip can cover a series of draws in a row with the same numbers.
What matters and what does not
Decided by the draw
- Which numbers come out
- How many of your spots are caught
- The prize, read from the paytable
Does not change the odds
- Quick pick or your own numbers
- Numbers that came out in past draws
- Playing the same numbers every time
- The time of day you play
Go deeper
Odds for every spot
The chance of each catch count, from one spot to ten.
Payouts compared
How much of each bet comes back, by province and spot.
OLG Daily Keno
Ontario's board, paytable and return in detail.
WCLC Keno
The western game, with draws every five minutes for most of the day and night.
The math of keno
How the odds are calculated, step by step.
Sources
- OLG – About Daily Keno · checked Oct 29, 2026
- OLG – Daily Keno Game Conditions · checked Oct 29, 2026
- WCLC – KENO page · checked Oct 29, 2026
- WCLC – KENO Game Conditions and Prize Structure Statement (2016) · checked Oct 29, 2026
Questions
What is keno?
Keno is a lottery game played on a numbered board. You pick a few numbers called spots, the organiser draws 20 numbers at random, and the prize depends on how many of your spots were drawn.
How do you play keno in Canada?
Choose how many spots to play, mark them on the slip, choose a bet amount, then compare your spots with the drawn numbers. The paytable shows the prize for your number of catches.
How many numbers are drawn in keno?
OLG Daily Keno draws 20 numbers out of 70. WCLC Keno draws 20 numbers out of 80. The board size changes the odds for each spot count.
How often is keno drawn?
OLG Daily Keno has 2 draws a day, at 2:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. ET, every day of the week. WCLC Keno draws every five minutes from early morning until the small hours (ET), for 265 draws a day.
Do my own numbers have better odds than a quick pick?
No. Every number on the board has the same chance in every draw. Past results do not change the next draw.