Keno grows in popularity due to gambling expansion

Australians are spending more on keno, according to the latest statistics on gambling.

The Queensland government released the 33rd edition of the Australian Gambling Statistics on Wednesday, reporting a 4.8 percent increase in the amount Australians are spending on keno between 2014-15 and 2015-16.

On average, Australians are now spending $18.61 per person on keno, however, this does not include Western Australia where the game isn’t offered.

We take a look at the keno spending habits of Aussies, on a state by state basis, for the 2015-16 period, below.

Australian Capital Territory keno expenditure

The ACT experienced a boom in keno expenditure in 2015-16, with a 23 percent increase in the amount spent on keno games since 2014-15.

The increase can be attributed to the NSW Minister for Racing approving the state joining the Keno Jackpot Pooling Agreement with NSW and Vic.

But players are sticking to just a few games, with the state reporting an average of $4.78 spent on keno per person.

Despite the minimum spend, the total gaming revenue for keno in the ACT increased to $5.219 million from $3.953 million the year before, which we can again attribute to the keno expansion.

Queenslanders spent big on keno

Although the QLD government amended the Keno Regulation 2007 to allow keno operators to conduct the game two hours after ceasing liquor sales, the amount Queenslanders spent on the chance game was only up by 2.3 percent.

However, players spent a little more than their Victorian counterparts, recording an average of $28.51 on keno per person.

Annual gaming turnover for Queensland keno was $400.006 million in 2015-16, which was down from $425.523 million in 2015-16.

Victorians spend a bit more due to linked keno jackpots

Victoria began operating keno linked jackpots with NSW, ACT, and Queensland operators in 2016, and it paid off with a 17.7 percent boost in gambling expenditure.

But they only spend an average of $4.20 per person on keno.

Gaming turnover in Victoria also increased from $69.349 million to $81.849 million between June 2015 and June 2016.

Northern Territory keno players are losing interest

There were no new developments to report in the Northern Territory, but the state spent 19.8 percent less on the game in 2015-16 compared to 2014-15. There were no new developments reported in the 2014-15 period either.

However, NT players still spent an average of $62.98 on keno per person, which was the second highest amount in Australia.

Gaming turnover in the NT reached $48.022 million, down from $50.963 the year before.

South Australians start playing more pub keno

South Australians have become quite fond of keno all on their own, with no new changes to report and a 14.3 percent increase in gambling expenditure between the 12-month period.

SA players also spend an average of $16.28 per person on keno.

Keno in South Australia generated $112.907 million in total gaming revenue, which is up from $109.183 million in that same period.

Tasmanians spend the most on Keno in Australia

Tasmanians spent the most on the numbers game, with players spending an average of $82.54 per person for the financial year ending June 2016, which is down by 0.1 percent in 2014-15.

Tasmania did not report any keno gaming revenue for either period.

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