Online keno Australia: what is legal, who is licensed and the real odds

Is online keno legal in Australia?

Yes, until 31 December 2026, if the provider is licensed in Australia. That surprises people, because online pokies and online casino games are banned. The difference is that the Interactive Gambling Act treats keno as a lottery. Its definitions say "a keno-type lottery is an example of a lottery", and a licensed lottery service is an "excluded lottery service" under section 8D, which can be offered online.

The federal government's January 2026 review of online keno puts it plainly: "Online keno is an 'excluded lottery service' under section 8D of the IGA." It names the providers licensed at the time:

The review adds that while licensed in the Northern Territory and Victoria, LottoGo and KenoGo are advertised and offered Australia-wide.

This changes on 1 January 2027. Parliament passed the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Act 2026 on 19 August 2026, and it received assent on 26 August. Its Schedule 4 removes online keno, along with foreign matched lotteries, from the definition of an excluded lottery service, which makes it a prohibited interactive gambling service. According to the Parliamentary Library's Bills Digest, keno played in a venue, such as in a casino, can still be offered. The Act's schedules commence on 1 January 2027.

Keno inside an offshore online casino is a different product in law. It is not licensed in Australia, and ACMA lists "betting and lottery services that are not licensed in Australia" among illegal online services, alongside online pokies and casino games. For the wider picture, see are online pokies legal in Australia.

The protections online keno does not have yet

Being legal does not mean being covered by every rule. The review says online keno "is exempt from a number of consumer protection measures", including the credit card ban that applies to online betting and BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register.

The review recommended prohibiting credit card payments for online keno, extending BetStop to it, and extending wagering advertising restrictions, subject to consultation. Parliament went further and prohibited online keno from 1 January 2027. Until then, BetStop does not block online keno; if you want to stop playing it, our self-exclusion guide covers the options.

The pace matters too. The review describes online keno as "drawn every 3 minutes", and submissions to it said that allows consumers to spend up to $1,000 every 3 minutes, or up to $20,000 an hour.

How keno works

Keno is a numbers game. In the words of the national gambling statistics, a player wagers that their chosen numbers will match any of the 20 numbers drawn at random from 80. Payouts follow a fixed pay scale that depends on how many numbers you picked and how many you hit, and some games add a jackpot.

You choose how many numbers to play, called spots. More spots means bigger top prizes and much longer odds.

Keno odds by numbers picked

These are exact probabilities for a game where 20 numbers are drawn from 80. They are the same for every keno game with that format, online or in a club, whatever the prize table says.

And here is what usually happens when you pick 10:

Almost four games in five (78.8%) end with three or fewer matches. Try other combinations with our keno odds calculator.

Pundit tip: matching none of your 10 numbers happens about once every 22 games. Check the prize table for what, if anything, a 0 from 10 pays before you treat it as special.

What keno returns

The prize tables decide what keno pays back, and on the national figures keno is one of the most expensive forms of legal gambling. Scratchies are worse again: our house edge guide puts them at about 40% kept against keno's 24%, and online scratch cards explains why licensed scratchies are sold in shops, not online. Using the Queensland Government Statistician's Australian Gambling Statistics for 2024-25, we compared the money bet on keno with the money lost:

So keno kept about 24 cents of every dollar bet, against about 8 cents for club and hotel pokies on the same data. Our pokies in Australia statistics page has the pokies side. In Victoria, the regulator reports that players lost $44.76 million with keno licensee TLC and $13.59 million with Lottoland in 2025-26.

What an hour of online keno costs

With a draw every 3 minutes you can play up to 20 games an hour. At $5 a game that is $100 bet an hour. At a 76.4% average return, the expected cost is about $23.60 an hour. At the $1,000-a-draw ceiling mentioned in submissions to the review, the same return would mean losing about $4,720 an hour on average. To see how that compares with table games, our best odds casino games ranking shows what each game costs per $100 bet.

Real money keno: where you can play

1. In a venue. Clubs and hotels offer keno under state law.
2. Online, licensed. The three providers named in the federal review, until online keno is prohibited from 1 January 2027.
3. Offshore online casinos. Not licensed in Australia, and illegal to offer here.

If you play keno for the small chance of a big prize, decide the amount before the first draw. With a new draw every few minutes, "one more game" is always close at hand.

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