Tracking Keno Games Across Casinos: Which Geographies and Providers Are Leading?

Executive Summary

The IGaming Compass report gives a data-based evaluation of Keno’s strategic position in the online casino sector. According to the report, Keno is categorized as a niche player with a worldwide distribution of less than 1% of dedicated casino pages, but it is still an important component of retaining players and generating sustainable revenues. Keno’s uptake is particularly influenced by differing regional dynamics, with Africa and Eastern Europe indicating a greater concentration of Keno games. There are two market differentiation strategies: niche producers such as Pixiu Gaming, and portfolio enhancers by larger studios. The report concludes that a general increase in new Keno releases indicates it is evolving into a prominent and strategic category for operators and providers seeking to cultivate player loyalty and explore new market opportunities.

Introduction

While slots, table games, and crash games, are often seen as headline grabbers in online casinos because of their impactful visuals, win potential and appeal, Keno games position themselves in a more unique and tactical position. Keno is not the first site to capture the attention of new players but its consistent revenue stream, high house edge, and ability to cultivate a loyal player base make it a valuable asset for operators. This distinct role highlights why Keno is more than just a legacy game.

Keno’s roots are in ancient China, where it was used to fund public projects like the Great Wall. The game arrived in the U.S. in the 19th century with Chinese immigrants. Its simple, lottery-style format made it a natural fit for online casinos, allowing for rapid, frequent draws and bringing the game to a global audience.

With the help of IGaming Compass’s insights and extensive analysis casino operators can easily recognize Keno’s strategic worth in terms of player retention and diversification disposition, unlike highly popular games which are used to attract players to casinos, Keno’s basic lottery-style play and frequent bingo-like draws create a demonstrable player conversion. Providers of games also should have an interest due to the game’s increasing presence in the market and it is a new distinct category in casino lobbies. 

Methodology of research

This report’s conclusions are based on a data driven approach using the capabilities of IGaming Compass.

• Casino Scan & Game Position: IGaming Compass scans the architecture and game positions of over 1,000 casinos globally. All the names of the casino sections are meticulously captured showing the game preferences in each geography.
• Game Repository: As of September 1, 2025, IGaming Compass has a repository of more than 33,000 games. For this analysis, all sections dedicated to Keno type games were identified to offer a more complete picture.
• The information from the casino scans and game repository were developed to conduct an overview of the market and give a reference of its sizing and capability. 

Global Overview of Keno Distribution

A global analysis conducted across 1000+ Casinos and scanning over 10,000 game sections across a number of online casinos found that Keno dedicated sections make less than 1% of the total sections on Casinos.

The table below highlights Keno’s position relative to other major game categories:

The limited distribution of Keno across the globe indicates that providers and operators are careful to choose only select markets to roll out Keno games.

Illustration 1: The above chart shows the percentage of total sections dedicated for each section groups

Regional Analysis

The worldwide data, however, hides important regional differences. A closer look at the regional distribution will indicate where Keno is seen as a valuable offering, and where it is not offered at all. 

Illustration 2: The above Regional Keno Adoption chart shows the percentage of casinos with Keno games across regions.

Leading Regions

It appears that Keno has a strong and meaningful footprint on Africa and Eastern Europe.

• Africa: This area is leading by a considerable margin. In Africa, 18.4% have Keno type games. Additionally, the average Keno placement in the casino lobby was 10.9, meaning Keno is located at a high position.
• Eastern Europe: This area also has a considerable amount of Keno adoption, with 14.3% of casinos having Keno.

Moderate Presence

Keno has a consistent but moderate presence in other important markets like North America and Western Europe, with 4.9% of casinos in those regions featuring Keno. 

• In these identifiable markets, Keno tends to not be a lead product but rather used as an offering to help with game library diversification. 
• The average position of Keno games is also significantly lower in these regions (21.7 in  North America, 12.5 in Western Europe) compared to main gaming types which further elevates the niche status of Keno games in those markets.

Low to Non-Existent Presence

Alternatively, Keno has a very limited to almost absent status in the Nordic countries, Oceania, the Middle East, and East Asia, based on the above data. This suggests that in those regions player preferences and market trends are all fundamentally biased toward other games.

Provider Landscape

The Keno game provider landscape is defined by two distinct and data-driven strategies: niche specialization and portfolio diversification.

Illustration 3: The above Keno Game Provider Analysis bubble chart illustrates the total number of games published by particular providers.

Keno Specialists 

Providers with a more significant percentage of their total games dedicated to Keno have taken a definitive measure which allows them to potentially lead in a niche market, rather than competing with other more developed developers who are larger and higher volume.

• Pixiu Gaming is definitely a leader in specialization with a massive 50% of its portfolio made up of Keno games.
• TV Bet similarly has a strong 25% Keno games in their catalog.
• Caleta Gaming is another standout game provider as its catalog comprises more than 5% Keno games with a significant number of total games available.

High-Volume, Low-Focus Providers

In contrast, major providers treat Keno as a tool for portfolio diversification, adding it to a vast library of other game types.

These providers have a large number of total games but a minimal Keno presence, indicating that Keno is not a core competency but rather a complementary offering.

Trends & Insights

Insights from the Keno market details a number of key insights for the game providers as well as the casino operators.

1. Game Releases Driving Growth: Keno releases are witnessing highs, with peaks in 2023, and is on the track of establishing itself as a new game category in online casinos with approximately a little under 1% market share.
2. Markets and Geographies: Keno type games are mostly dominant in Africa (22.1%) with Keno sections present in 18.8% of casinos. North America follows Africa with 18.4% market share and dedicated Keno sections present in 4.9% casinos. The third region that follows is Western Europe with 14.4% market share and Keno sections present in 4.9% of casinos.
3. Game Design and Feature Trends: The analysis of Keno games highlighted that the primary colors used for ~39% Keno games are black. Moreover, the addition of multipliers and progressive jackpots were commonly added as a game feature. The average RTP for Keno games was 94.20% with a range of 80% to 98.18%. The average max win of 27,908x was also found in the analysis

Conclusion

Keno is an emerging niche with undiscovered potential, and strategic opportunities for both providers and operators. For providers, focused portfolios (e.g. Pixiu Gaming, TV Bet) demonstrate Keno can be a niche specialization. Furthermore, for bigger studios, Keno is a low-cost opportunity to diversify and build a foothold in attractive markets. For operators, Keno attracts and retains players that are served by a dedicated player base, which cultivates loyalty. 

The trend for increased releases of Keno games is indicative of a market that is moving forward, and Keno is establishing itself as a prominent game category in online casino lobbies. With IGamingCompass, users can access real-time data on performance, geographic trends, and market position to generate actionable insights for product activity and explore how these insights can inform strategy by booking a demo.

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