The Prize Table Is a Contract, Not a Standard
When you buy a keno ticket, the numbers you pick are only half the decision. The other half is the prize table printed on the back of the playslip or displayed on the terminal screen. That table tells you exactly what a given match count pays, and it changes from one game to the next, one operator to the next, and sometimes one draw to the next. There is no single keno prize schedule that applies everywhere, which is why a question about prizes for a specific state's game cannot be answered with one fixed list. What can be answered is how those tables are built, how to read them, and where the number you care about is posted.
Keno is a lottery-style numbers game. You choose a set of spots, typically between one and ten or sometimes more depending on the game, from a field of 80 numbers. The game then draws 20 numbers. Your payout is determined by how many of your spots appear among those 20 drawn numbers. The prize table maps each possible match count to a payout multiple of your wager. A match of zero spots often pays nothing, a match of all your spots pays the top prize, and the counts in between fall along a curve that the operator sets.
What Determines the Numbers on the Table
The prize table is not random. It is constructed so that the game returns a target percentage of all money wagered over a very large number of draws. That target is the game's return to player, or RTP, and its complement is the house edge. For the same game and the same rule set, RTP and house edge sum to 100%. A keno game with a low RTP keeps a small fraction of every dollar wagered as the house edge, on average, over millions of draws. The prize table is the mechanism that produces that percentage.
The operator chooses the RTP by adjusting two things: how many spots a player can pick, and how much each match count pays. The probability of matching a given number of spots is fixed by the game's structure, since there are always 80 numbers and 20 drawn. What the operator controls is the payout attached to each match count. Lower payouts for common match counts and higher payouts for rare ones can both sit inside the same overall RTP. That is why two keno games with identical rules can show different prize tables.
| Element | What It Controls | Where It Appears |
|---|---|---|
| Number of spots chosen | Which match-count probabilities apply | Playslip or terminal screen |
| Match count | How many of your spots were drawn | Draw result |
| Payout multiple | What each match count pays per unit wagered | Prize table |
| Overall RTP | The long-run return built into the table | Game rules document |
Reading a Prize Table Line by Line
A typical keno prize table lists match counts down one side and payout amounts across the other. The payout is usually expressed as a multiple of the amount you wagered, not as a fixed dollar figure. If the table says a match of five pays 50, that means a one-unit wager returns 50 units. If you wagered two units, the same line would pay 100 units. Some games express payouts as fixed dollar amounts for a standard ticket price, but the multiple format is more common because it scales with the wager.
The table also shows which match counts pay nothing. For most keno games, matching zero or one spot pays nothing, and the first paying line starts at two or three matches depending on how many spots you picked. The top line, matching all of your spots, is the headline prize and is usually the rarest event on the table. Between those extremes, the payouts rise steeply. A match of four out of four spots is far rarer than a match of two out of four, and the table reflects that difference.
One thing the table does not show is the probability of each line. That is calculated from the game's structure, and it is the same for every game that uses 80 numbers and draws 20. The operator does not need to print the odds on the ticket because the structure fixes them. What varies is only the payout attached to each probability.
Where the Number You Want Is Posted
For a state-run keno game, the prize table is published in the game's official rules. Those rules are typically available on the lottery's website, at the retailer terminal, and on the playslip itself. The terminal screen usually shows the current prize table before you confirm a wager, and the printed ticket may repeat the key lines. If the game offers a progressive jackpot, the top prize changes from draw to draw and is displayed separately from the fixed lower-tier payouts.
For a keno game inside a casino, whether a physical venue or an online product, the prize table is in the game's information panel or help screen. Online keno games almost always include a paytable button that opens the full schedule for the spot count you selected. The paytable changes when you change the number of spots, so the table you see for a four-spot ticket is not the table for a seven-spot ticket. Always check the table after selecting your spots, not before.
If the game is a state lottery product, the rules document is the authoritative source. It will state the prize table for each spot count, the overall odds of winning any prize, and the RTP if the lottery publishes it. If the RTP is not published, the prize table and the fixed game structure are enough to calculate it, but the operator is not required to print the calculation for you.
Why the Same Game Can Show Different Prizes
Keno prize tables differ across jurisdictions because each operator sets its own target RTP. A state lottery may run a keno game with a lower RTP than a casino keno game, because the lottery's revenue model includes a contribution to state programmes. A casino may run a higher-RTP keno game as a loss leader to keep players on the floor. An online casino may run several keno variants with different RTPs, each with its own prize table. None of these is a universal keno standard.
The number of spots you choose also changes the prize table, even within the same game. A game may offer a 10-spot ticket with a top prize of 100,000 units and a 5-spot ticket with a top prize of 500 units. The 10-spot top prize is larger because the probability of matching all ten spots is far lower than matching all five. The operator balances the table so that each spot count returns roughly the same RTP, but the shape of the table is very different. More spots mean a higher top prize and a lower chance of hitting it, while fewer spots mean a smaller top prize and more frequent smaller wins.
Volatility, or variance, is the term for how payouts are distributed over time. A high-volatility keno game pays rarely but pays large amounts when it does. A low-volatility game pays more often but in smaller amounts. Volatility does not change the game's RTP. Two keno games can have the same RTP and very different volatility, which means the prize tables look different even though the long-run return is identical. The prize table is where volatility becomes visible.
What the Prize Table Cannot Tell You
The prize table tells you what a given match count pays. It does not tell you how likely that match count is, what the game's RTP is, or whether the game is a good use of your money. Those questions require the game's structure and the operator's published return, if any. The prize table also does not tell you about taxes, withholding, or how a large prize is paid out. Those are matters of jurisdiction and operator policy, and they are handled at claim time, not at purchase time.
A prize table is also not a promise about your next ticket. Keno draws are independent events. The numbers drawn in one game have no effect on the numbers drawn in the next, and no number is due or overdue. The prize table describes the payout attached to each possible outcome, but it does not change the probability of any outcome. Every ticket faces the same odds, every draw, regardless of what happened before.
FAQ
Do keno prizes change from draw to draw?
For fixed-prize keno games, the prize table stays the same from draw to draw. Only progressive top prizes change, because they grow from a share of qualifying wagers and reset after a win. The terminal or game screen shows the current progressive amount separately from the fixed lower-tier payouts.
How do I know which prize table applies to my ticket?
The table that applies is the one in effect for the spot count you selected at the time you purchased the ticket. It is printed on the playslip, shown on the terminal before you confirm, and repeated in the game's official rules. If the game offers multiple spot counts, each has its own table.
Why does a ten-spot keno ticket pay so much more than a five-spot ticket?
Because matching all ten spots is far less likely than matching all five. The operator sets the top prize high enough to keep the game's overall return at the target level. The larger top prize compensates for the much lower probability of hitting it, not for any difference in the game's fairness.
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