MUMBAI: Playwin Infravest's newest online game on the block, Keno, kicked off without much fanfare and promotions yesterday.
 
 
From the Karnataka online state lottery stable, Keno has been hailed as a more refined form of Tambola. "The more risk you take, the more you stand to win," says Playwin CEO Sanjay Das. 20 of the available 80 numbers are picked out as winners in the daily draw, enabling participants to win that much more.

Apart from the lack of overt promotion (Keno's siblings Lucky 3, Thunderball and Mahawin's Lotto have already had extensive outdoor promotions), Keno will have to contend with a broadcast partner in Zee Music, a channel that has been awaiting a revamp for a long while.

The daily Keno draw will be held between 9 and 9.30 pm on Zee Music and Das believes the channel is a prudent choice as parent channel Zee TV is currently telecasting seven draws a week, including Karnataka's Lucky 3. "Unlike serials, where viewers need continuity, Zee Music is a channel into which viewers keep flitting in and out and is ideal for Keno's daily draw telecast," says Das.

The clearance for the promotions has just come through, says Das, and a huge press and television campaign is about to be unleashed. Since the target group for Keno remains the middle class, railway stations are to form a major platform to promote the lottery.

Playwin is however pushing for a different image for Keno. "It is not a hardcore lottery game. It is more interactive, where the participant can play at 35 different levels," says Das, "It is more of a fun kind of game."