The short answer
A $1 DC Keno ticket pays $100,000 for matching all 10 numbers on a 10 spot play, $400 for 5 of 5, and $65 for 4 of 4. Prizes scale with your wager. Draws run every 3.5 minutes. The base game carries no prize multiplier.
DC Keno Top Prizes and Odds by Spot Count
The headline view: what each spot count pays for a perfect ticket, how likely that is, and the theoretical return on a $1 play once every prize in the table is weighted by its chance of landing.
| Spots Played | Top Prize ($1) | Odds of Matching All | Return per $1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Spot | $2.50 | 1 in 4 | 62.5% |
| 2 Spots | $10 | 1 in 17 | 60.1% |
| 3 Spots | $23 | 1 in 72 | 59.7% |
| 4 Spots | $65 | 1 in 326 | 62.8% |
| 5 Spots | $400 | 1 in 1,551 | 63.1% |
| 6 Spots | $1,500 | 1 in 7,753 | 63.0% |
| 7 Spots | $5,000 | 1 in 40,979 | 63.1% |
| 8 Spots | $10,000 | 1 in 230,115 | 62.8% |
| 9 Spots | $20,000 | 1 in 1,380,688 | 62.9% |
| 10 Spots | $100,000 | 1 in 8,911,711 | 63.0% |
No multiplier built into these prizes
Every amount on this page is what DC Keno pays on a straight $1 play, with nothing added on. DC sells Keno Spin, which doubles the ticket cost and can multiply a prize by up to 10 times. It is not included in the prizes here.
Wager Amounts and How Prizes Scale
Every prize on this page is quoted per $1 played. Prizes scale straight up with the amount you bet, so a $2 play pays double the amounts shown and a $5 play pays five times. That makes the $100,000 top prize on a $1 10 spot play worth $500,000 on a $5 play. Wager options vary by retailer, so check the DC Lottery play slip for the exact amounts you can bet per draw.
Full DC Keno Paytable: Every Match Level
1 Spot
| Match | Prize ($1 play) | Chance | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 of 1 | $0 | 75% | 1 in 1.3 |
| 1 of 1 | $2.50 | 25% | 1 in 4 |
2 Spots
| Match | Prize ($1 play) | Chance | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 of 2 | $0 | 56.01% | 1 in 1.8 |
| 1 of 2 | $0 | 37.97% | 1 in 2.6 |
| 2 of 2 | $10 | 6.013% | 1 in 17 |
3 Spots
| Match | Prize ($1 play) | Chance | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 of 3 | $0 | 41.65% | 1 in 2.4 |
| 1 of 3 | $0 | 43.09% | 1 in 2.3 |
| 2 of 3 | $2 | 13.88% | 1 in 7.2 |
| 3 of 3 | $23 | 1.388% | 1 in 72 |
4 Spots
| Match | Prize ($1 play) | Chance | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 of 4 | $0 | 30.83% | 1 in 3.2 |
| 1 of 4 | $0 | 43.27% | 1 in 2.3 |
| 2 of 4 | $1 | 21.26% | 1 in 4.7 |
| 3 of 4 | $5 | 4.325% | 1 in 23 |
| 4 of 4 | $65 | 0.3063% | 1 in 326 |
5 Spots
| Match | Prize ($1 play) | Chance | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 of 5 | $0 | 22.72% | 1 in 4.4 |
| 1 of 5 | $0 | 40.57% | 1 in 2.5 |
| 2 of 5 | $0 | 27.05% | 1 in 3.7 |
| 3 of 5 | $3 | 8.394% | 1 in 12 |
| 4 of 5 | $10 | 1.209% | 1 in 83 |
| 5 of 5 | $400 | 0.06449% | 1 in 1,551 |
6 Spots
| Match | Prize ($1 play) | Chance | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 of 6 | $0 | 16.66% | 1 in 6 |
| 1 of 6 | $0 | 36.35% | 1 in 2.8 |
| 2 of 6 | $0 | 30.83% | 1 in 3.2 |
| 3 of 6 | $1 | 12.98% | 1 in 7.7 |
| 4 of 6 | $5 | 2.854% | 1 in 35 |
| 5 of 6 | $53 | 0.3096% | 1 in 323 |
| 6 of 6 | $1,500 | 0.0129% | 1 in 7,753 |
7 Spots
| Match | Prize ($1 play) | Chance | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 of 7 | $1 | 12.16% | 1 in 8.2 |
| 1 of 7 | $0 | 31.52% | 1 in 3.2 |
| 2 of 7 | $0 | 32.67% | 1 in 3.1 |
| 3 of 7 | $0 | 17.5% | 1 in 5.7 |
| 4 of 7 | $2 | 5.219% | 1 in 19 |
| 5 of 7 | $20 | 0.8639% | 1 in 116 |
| 6 of 7 | $150 | 0.07321% | 1 in 1,366 |
| 7 of 7 | $5,000 | 0.00244% | 1 in 40,979 |
8 Spots
| Match | Prize ($1 play) | Chance | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 of 8 | $2 | 8.827% | 1 in 11 |
| 1 of 8 | $0 | 26.65% | 1 in 3.8 |
| 2 of 8 | $0 | 32.81% | 1 in 3 |
| 3 of 8 | $0 | 21.48% | 1 in 4.7 |
| 4 of 8 | $1 | 8.15% | 1 in 12 |
| 5 of 8 | $7 | 1.83% | 1 in 55 |
| 6 of 8 | $50 | 0.2367% | 1 in 423 |
| 7 of 8 | $500 | 0.01605% | 1 in 6,232 |
| 8 of 8 | $10,000 | 0.0004346% | 1 in 230,115 |
9 Spots
| Match | Prize ($1 play) | Chance | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 of 9 | $2 | 6.375% | 1 in 16 |
| 1 of 9 | $0 | 22.07% | 1 in 4.5 |
| 2 of 9 | $0 | 31.64% | 1 in 3.2 |
| 3 of 9 | $0 | 24.61% | 1 in 4.1 |
| 4 of 9 | $1 | 11.41% | 1 in 8.8 |
| 5 of 9 | $5 | 3.26% | 1 in 31 |
| 6 of 9 | $15 | 0.572% | 1 in 175 |
| 7 of 9 | $100 | 0.05917% | 1 in 1,690 |
| 8 of 9 | $2,000 | 0.003259% | 1 in 30,682 |
| 9 of 9 | $20,000 | 0.00007243% | 1 in 1,380,688 |
10 Spots
| Match | Prize ($1 play) | Chance | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 of 10 | $5 | 4.579% | 1 in 22 |
| 1 of 10 | $0 | 17.96% | 1 in 5.6 |
| 2 of 10 | $0 | 29.53% | 1 in 3.4 |
| 3 of 10 | $0 | 26.74% | 1 in 3.7 |
| 4 of 10 | $0 | 14.73% | 1 in 6.8 |
| 5 of 10 | $2 | 5.143% | 1 in 19 |
| 6 of 10 | $10 | 1.148% | 1 in 87 |
| 7 of 10 | $46 | 0.1611% | 1 in 621 |
| 8 of 10 | $500 | 0.01354% | 1 in 7,384 |
| 9 of 10 | $5,000 | 0.0006121% | 1 in 163,381 |
| 10 of 10 | $100,000 | 0.00001122% | 1 in 8,911,711 |
Source: dclottery.com, corroborated by DC Municipal Regulations §30-926. The Keno Spin add-on (doubles the ticket cost, multiplies prizes by up to 10x) is not modeled. The 7 through 10-spot games each pay a small prize for matching none of your numbers. Always verify the current prize chart with the DC Lottery before you play.
How DC Keno Compares to the Average Paytable
Keno prizes are not the same everywhere. This table puts the DC Keno top prize for each spot count next to the typical prize across the 22 other lottery keno paytables we track. The comparison figure is the median rather than the mean, so one unusually rich schedule cannot drag it out of shape.
| Spots | DC Keno | Typical Game | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 spot | $2.50 | $2 | 25% above typical |
| 2 spots | $10 | $10 | In line with the rest |
| 3 spots | $23 | $25 | 8% below typical |
| 4 spots | $65 | $72 | 10% below typical |
| 5 spots | $400 | $410 | 2% below typical |
| 6 spots | $1,500 | $1,100 | 36% above typical |
| 7 spots | $5,000 | $4,500 | 11% above typical |
| 8 spots | $10,000 | $10,000 | In line with the rest |
| 9 spots | $20,000 | $30,000 | 33% below typical |
| 10 spots | $100,000 | $100,000 | In line with the rest |
DC Keno falls short of the typical top prize on 4 of the 10 comparable spot counts and beats it on 3, which puts it on the tighter side of the games we track. Top prizes are only half the picture, though. Weighing every prize by its chance of landing, a $1 DC Keno ticket returns about 62.3% averaged across all spot counts, right in line with the 62.7% typical for the comparison group. Either way the paytable is fixed, so no pick pattern and no spot count turns keno into a positive bet.
Run your own Washington DC numbers
Open the keno payout calculator and choose Washington DC Keno to model any spot count and bet size against this exact paytable, or use the keno odds calculator to check the probability of a specific catch.
Frequently Asked
On a $1 play, DC Keno pays from $2.50 for matching 1 of 1 up to $100,000 for matching all 10 numbers on a 10 spot ticket. A 5 spot ticket tops out at $400 and a 4 spot ticket at $65. Prizes scale with your wager, so a $5 play pays five times these amounts. The full prize table for every spot count is on this page.
The odds of matching all 10 numbers on a 10 spot DC Keno ticket are 1 in 8,911,711. Those odds are fixed by the math of drawing 20 numbers from a field of 80, so they are the same at every retailer and on every draw.
The DC Keno prizes on this page carry no multiplier: every amount is what a straight $1 play returns. DC sells Keno Spin, which doubles the ticket cost and can multiply a prize by up to 10 times. It is not included in the prizes here.
Weighing every prize by its chance of landing, the 5 spot game returns the most on DC Keno, about 63.1% of a $1 play over the long run, against roughly 62.3% averaged across all spot counts. Higher spot counts are not better value, just more volatile: they trade frequent small wins for a rare large one.
KenoSpots carries DC Keno results at kenospots.com/states/dc-keno/results/, updated straight from the DC Lottery feed, with a checker that matches your saved numbers against every draw. Match your picks against the prize table on this page to see what a ticket is worth.