On August 29th, 2008, it was reported that around 773 restaurants, bars and other businesses in Ohio started offering keno on its launched on August 4th, 2008. Keno allows players to buy tickets on which they bet on specific digits. Television monitors periodically displays the winning digits.
For many years, Ohio residents stated that ticket-based state lottery games with drawings a few times during the week were as far as they want to go into legalized gaming. They have turned down expansion of gaming in three referendums held since 1990. But this year, faced with an enormous budget deficit, Governor Ted Strickland allowed the Ohio Lottery Commission to feature keno. Keno is a step between the standard lottery game and live casino gaming.
Supporters of the game hope that it will raise around $70 million annually for the state government. Critics say that most of that money will come from low and middle income Ohio residents, who simply cannot afford to lose another buck at gaming. They added that the Governor Ted Strickland's administration did not even ask residents about their opinion in the game and just implement it because it had the authority under the existing state laws to do so.
[17-09]
John M. Thorpe
