Keno – a very old game

Keno is considered one of the oldest gambling games still being played today; its history goes back almost 2,000 to the Han Dynasty of China. The original game required players to pick ten Chinese characters out of a total of 120. Chinese laborers, who came to the US in the mid-1800s to build the transcontinental railroad, brought the game, which came to be called Chinese Lottery, with them. It thrived in many towns of the West but was difficult for Americans to understand and play. In 1936, the game was drastically change by reducing the total charters to 80 and installing Arabic numbers. Due to some Federal laws, then on the books, the game was identified as Racehorse Keno, to make it legal. In 1951, the United States congress passed a law about off-track betting on horse races. Since the games original name might be construed as off-track betting, the name was shortened and since that time it simply has been known as Keno.