Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes
At first glance keno and bingo appear to be very similar games, and there are fundamental similarities between the two. However, as a whole, keno and bingo offer very different gaming experiences.
Internet bingo and keno similarities
Essentially, bingo and keno are lottery variants. In both games you have playing numbers, and numbers are then drawn from a pool of numbers. In each, you’re hoping all of your selected numbers will be marked off and you’ll be rewarded accordingly. Although there are differences in how the games are played and the formats of the game, the main goal of the game is the same – to be lucky enough to have the numbers drawn match your numbers.
Both keno and bingo are luck-based games. Although there are different approaches to the game you can take, any moves that an individual player makes in the game will have no impact on the outcome of the game.
Skill doesn’t really come into either game, which makes keno and bingo appealing and fun for beginners and experienced players alike.
Another central similarity is that you can increase your chances in the game by buying more playing cards (for bingo) or by purchasing more numbers (for keno). Each of these measures increase your chances of winning because you have more numbers in the draw.
However, in keno the number of numbers you select alters the payout rate, which is not the case in bingo. In bingo the prize pool remains the same regardless of how many playing cards you purchase.
Online keno and bingo are similar in that there are many places on the Web you can play either game. You won’t be short for choice when looking for a keno variant or a bingo variant. There are a lot of dedicated bingo sites which have multiple bingo rooms running at any one time, with plenty of bingo variants held in each of these.
If you are used to playing at a broader online casino that hosts all of the classic casino games it’s more likely you’ll find a keno variant than a bingo variant. So if you prefer playing on the one site, and you are interested in more than one casino game, you’re probably better off playing keno unless you are willing to play on different sites rather than the one central site.
Housie and keno differences
There are several differences between bingo and keno that drastically affect the games as a whole. The two main bingo variants are 75 Ball bingo and 90 Ball bingo. Typically in keno there are a possible 80 different numbers in the mix but the number of numbers varies from keno variant.
In keno, you pick how many numbers you predict will be drawn for a round. In bingo, you simply purchase playing cards that are already filled with pre-selected numbers. This is one reason many people prefer playing keno over bingo, as you have a lot more control over how involved you are in a game. Usually you can pick between 1 – 10 numbers for a round of keno.
In keno, not only do you pick how many numbers you wish to play for a game you also select which specific numbers you wish to play. In bingo, you have no control over what numbers are on your playing cards, they are all selected for you. So if you have any lucky numbers you really want to play you’re better off opting for keno otherwise you’ll have no control over whether you get them or not.
In bingo there is a set prize pool, sometimes there is a smaller prize pool you win if you are the first player to have numbers marked off in a formation and a larger jackpot prize if you are the first player to have all of the numbers on your playing card marked off. There are also games of progressive jackpot bingo where a percentage of the cost of every playing card sold is added to the jackpot. However in all of these types of bingo the prize pool up for grabs remains the same regardless of how many playing cards you buy. On the other hand, in keno the payout rate changes dependent on how many numbers you select for a round. In many ways this is more fair.
Keno is a faster paced game. It can take much longer for a game of bingo to conclude than a game of keno. Also when you’re playing keno online you determine when the round begins and you get to find out the outcome of the game in under a minute. Online bingo, on the other hand, is more of a multiplayer game; bingo games have a scheduled time to start they don’t commence as soon as you want them to. In addition to this it can take minutes for a bingo game to wrap up. Overall online bingo is a much slower game than online keno.