PEI scraps Keno game

CHARLOTTETOWN – Prince Edward Island has dropped the Keno lottery game.

The move follows Nova Scotia’s decision last month to discontinue the controversial electronic game, the Island’s gambling strategy officer said Friday.

James Ramsy said Keno was introduced to P.E.I. in the spring and has lost approximately $60,000 since then.

“After consulting with officials from Provincial Treasury and the Atlantic Lottery Corporation, we have requested that Keno be discontinued on Prince Edward Island,” he said in a statement.

“We lost that critical mass with Nova Scotia opting out of this game and we had to look at what that meant to PEI.”

Nova Scotia’s NDP government pulled the plug on the game after a study revealed revenue from the game had fallen 80 per cent below expectations.

Keno was introduced in about 180 bars and restaurants in Nova Scotia last March.

Critics had argued that the game, which allows players to pick their own numbers and monitor draw results on video screens, would further harm problem gamblers.

Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island players can get their Keno fix by playing the online version of the game at Bodog Casino.