Ohio began offering Keno back in the summer to try and fill the gap in the state’s budget and since that time the game has had a slow start. The weak economy and start up challenges has hurt the game in the bars and restaurants it was set up in.

The Governor Ted Strickland used Keno as part of his plan to pad the state budget. The game went online on august 4th and for a week’s operations the game earned $32 million with a profit of around $8 million. The goal for Ohio for the year was to reach $292 million in revenues which would add $73 million toward the state deficit.

Officials have stated that in the twelve states that offer commercial gambling, all are down by 4.6 percent from last year in revenues. The economy has played a big part in the decrease of revenues. "The lottery as a whole is facing the same economic challenges that nearly every sector of the economy is facing," Strickland spokesman Keith Dailey stated.

The goal was to have 2,000 keno vendors set up by the end of the year but just over 1,000 have so far been established and two hundred and seventy are in the application process.


- 2008-11-26