Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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WAGERING SYSTEM
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a parimutuel betting system. In particular,
the
present invention relates to a betting and gaming system and method which
simplifies
the placement of parimutuel wagers on race events.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Wagering on racing events, such as horse races and dog races, typically takes
the form of either fixed odds wagering or parimutuel wagering. Fixed odds
wagering
is a system by which the return for a particular wager is determined in
accordance
with the payout odds assigned to the associated bet. Fixed odds wagering is
popular
from the perspective of wager recipients (eg. betting parlours) since it
places a limit
on the magnitude of the payout in the event of a win. Fixed odds wagering is
also
popular from the perspective of w agerers since it provides a measure of
certainty on
the possible payout. However, as the odds assigned to a particular bet can
diminish as
the total amount wagered increases, fixed odds wagering is not be particularly
attractive to some wagerers since the payout odds for their bet may diminish
in the
minutes before the start of the sporting event.
Parimutuel wagering is a system by which a wagering pool is established for
the receipt of bets, and the proceeds of the pool are divided amongst holders
of
winning tickets in accordance with the number of winning ticket holders and
the
magnitude of each wager. Parimutuel wagering is popular from the perspective
of the
wager recipients (eg. race track owners), since the recipient typically
receives a fixed
percentage of each amount bet prior to the payout to the winning ticket
holders. Also,
parimutuel wagering is popular from the perspective of the wagerer since the
return
on a particular bet is proportional to the size of the wagering pool and,
therefore, can
exceed the fixed odds return of the bet. However, parimutuel wagering also
suffers
from a number of disadvantages.
Firstly, parimutuel wagering requires a knowledge of betting terminology (eg.
win, place, show, triactor, exactor). Secondly, parimutuel wagering requires
the
wagerer to be conversant with betting forms, and to have knowledge of race
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contestant handicapping. Since these factors act as an impediment to the
placement of
bets, and therefore limit the revenue experienced by wager recipients,
attempts have
been made to improve on the conventional parimutuel wagering systems to
encourage
wagerers to place wagers on race events.
For instance, Goldberg (US 5,374,060) teaches a method of wagering which
expands upon the number of wagering opportunities available for racetrack
betting.
The method taught by Goldberg involves providing wagerers with wagering cards
configured with small circles corresponding to the desired contestant for each
of a
plurality of races. Each wagering card allows "win"-type wagering, "place"-
type
wagering, "show"-type wagering, or "win, place, show"-type wagering. Each
wagerer
selects desired contestants for each race and tenders the completed card to a
bet
collector. The wagerer also tenders a bet which is included in the purse
associated
with the wager type. The purse available for payment for each wager type is
then
divided equally amongst winning card holders. Typically, payoffs are paid to
wagerers who select all or a portion of the correct winning contestants for
their wager
type.
Haddad (US 5,743,525) teaches a sporting event parimutuel wagering system
which facilitates wagering without requiring significant wagering knowledge by
the
wagerer. The wagering system taught by Haddad involves first assigning race
participants a unique number. Then, wagerers place wagers on the race
participants
by selecting one or more of the numbers and paying a bet amount. At the end of
the
race event, the numbers associated with the first three horses are added
together, and
the total is then compared with the sum of the numbers selected by each
wagerer.
Wagerers whose sums match the calculated total share in the proceeds of the
pool
associated with the race event.
[ Weingardt (US 5,275,400) teaches an electronic gaming system which
provides an electronic video poker game, an electronic slot game, an
electronic
blackjack game or an electronic craps game . The gaming system accepts one of
a
plurality of different bet amounts, and establishes a separate parimutuel
wagering pool
associated with each allowed bet amount, with the allocation of each bet to
the
wagering pools being determined in accordance with a formula based on the
amount
bet. The gaming system provides a payout to a winning player from the wagering
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pool corresponding to the amount bet, and to encourage the placement of larger-
sized
bets the payout amounts increase with the amount bet.]
Although the race event parimutuel betting systems taught by Goldberg and
Haddad offer improvements over the conventional race event parimutuel betting
systems, they are limited in their ability to enhance revenue for wager
recipients. For
instance, wagerers of Goldberg's wagering system must still have knowledge of
betting terminology. Neither Goldberg nor Haddad increase the available
wagering
opportunities significantly beyond those available with conventional race
event
parimutuel betting systems. Also, the betting interfaces suggested by Goldberg
and
Haddad do little to attract and maintain the attention of novice wagerers.
[Although
Weingardt offers improvements over the betting systems taught by Goldberg and
Haddad, Weingardt only allows wagering on the particular game implemented by
the
electronic gaming system and, therefore would not be suitable for encouraging
wagering on race events.] Therefore, there remains a need for a parimutuel
betting
and gaming system which encourages wagering on race events.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, there is provided a wagering system and a method
for facilitating wagering on race events, which addresses deficiencies of the
prior art.
The wagering system, according to the present invention, includes a wagering
processor, a bet allocator in communication with the wagering processor, and a
payout
processor in communication with the wagering processor. The wagering processor
is
configured to process wagers received from wagerers on wagering events, with
each
wager including a predicted outcome of at least one of the events and a bet
amount
associated with the predicted outcome. The bet allocator is configured to
allocate
each bet amount amongst at least one of a plurality of parimutuel betting
pools in
accordance with the associated predicted outcome. The payout processor is
configured to facilitate payouts from the betting pools to winning ones of the
wagerers
in accordance with the predicted outcomes and actual outcomes of the events.
The method for facilitating wagering includes the steps of (1) receiving
wagers
from wagerers on wagering events, each said wager including a predicted
outcome of
at least one of the events and a bet amount associated with the predicted
outcome; (2)
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allocating each said bet amount amongst at least one of a plurality of
parimutuel
betting pools in accordance with the associated predicted outcome; and (3)
paying out
credit amounts from the betting pools to winning ones of the wagerers in
accordance
with the predicted outcomes and actual outcomes of the events.
In accordance with a preferred implementation of the invention, the wagering
processor includes an indicia correlation table associating indicia with
participants of
racing events. Preferably, each indicia is associated with a game activity
having rules
for the performance thereof, which rules are previously well known to the
wagerer.
Preferred rules include rules for playing BINGO, BLACKJACK and CRAPS. The
wagering processor also includes a wagering interface for providing the
wagerers with
a template for facilitating performance of one of the activities in accordance
with the
associated rules and for receiving an indicia selection via the template, and
an indicia
processor in communication with the wagering interface and the indicia
correlation
table for deriving the predicted outcomes from the indicia selections in
accordance
with the rules.
Typically, each wagering event has a plurality of possible event outcomes, and
each activity has a plurality of possible activity outcomes. Preferably, the
indicia
processor includes an event outcome predictor for determining the event
outcome
probability associated with each possible event outcome, an activity outcome
predictor for determining the activity outcome probability associated with
each
possible activity outcome, and a probability correlator in communication with
the
event outcome predictor and the activity outcome predictor for deriving the
predicted
outcomes of the events from the event outcome probabilities and the activity
outcome
probabilities.
The bet allocator includes an activity correlation table associating each said
betting pool with one of the activity outcomes, and an allocation processor in
communication with the activity correlation table for allocating each bet
amount
amongst the betting pools in accordance with the associated activity outcome
probabilities. The payout processor includes an event outcome receiver for
receiving
indications of the actual outcomes, an outcome correlator in communication
with the
event outcome receiver for identifying the winning wagerers from the received
indications and the predicted outcomes, and a payout allocator in
communication with
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the outcome correlator for allocating the credit amounts amongst the
respective
winning wagerers in accordance with each respective predicted outcome.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of
example only, with reference to the drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the wagering network, according to the
present invention, depicting the wagering facilities, the wagering systems,
and the
communications network;
Fig. 2 is a schematic view of the wagering system shown in Fig. l, depicting
the multimedia display, the user interface, the currency receiver, the
currency
dispensing device, and the card read/write device;
Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of further details of the wagering system shown
in Fig. 2, depicting the wagering processor, the bet allocator, and the payout
processor;
Fig. 4 is a schematic view of a sample BINGO game activity card
implemented by the wagering system for placing wagers; and
Figs. 5a, 5b, and Sc comprise a flow chart describing the wagering steps
facilitated by the wagering system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Turning to Fig. 1, a wagering network, denoted generally as 100, is shown
comprising a plurality of wagering facilities 102, a plurality of wagering
systems 200,
and a communications network 104 for facilitating communication between the
wagering facilities 102 and the wagering systems 200. Preferably, the
communications network 104 comprises a closed network, however the
communications network 104 may instead comprise an open network, such as the
Internet, if the open network has sufficient bandwidth for adequately
servicing the
wagering systems 200. Further, typically the communications network 104 is a
land-
based network, however the communications network 104 may instead comprise a
wireless communications network.
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Typically, each wagering facility 102 is associated with one or more race
tracks, and provides the wagering systems 200 with racing information, such as
the
names and post positions of the race candidates (eg. horse, dog) running in
each race
event at each associated race track. The wagering facilities 102 also provide
the
wagering systems 200 with odds information for each race candidate, and
betting pool
information on the size of each betting pool.
As shown in Fig. 2, the wagering system 200 comprises a display 202 for
displaying information concerning an activity, a user interface 204 for
placing wagers
on the activity in accordance with an associated set of rules, a currency
receiver 206
for receiving paper currency, a currency dispensing device 208 for dispensing
cash
winnings, a card read/write device 210 for receiving an electronic or magnetic-
stripe
card for retaining account information, and a housing 212 for retaining the
display
202, the user interface 204, the currency receiver 206, the currency
dispensing device
208, and the card read/write device 210. Preferably, the activities displayed
by the
display 202 are game activities the rules for which are commonly known, such
as
BLACKJACK, CRAPS, ROULETTE, POKER and BINGO. Other activities will be
apparent to those of ordinary skill.
Typically, the electronic or magnetic-stripe card is issued by a betting
parlour
in which the wagering system 200 is located, and is encoded with information
identifying the wagerer's account balance. As will become apparent, the
currency
receiver 206 and the card read/write device 210 provide alternate mechanisms
for
crediting the wagerer's account, and the currency dispensing device 208 and
the card
read/write device 210 provide alternate mechanisms for facilitating a payout
for a
winning wager.
Preferably, the display 202 includes a CRT display 202a for displaying a video
image of the game activity, and a speaker 202b for playing an audio
accompaniment
to the video image. The user interface 204 is provided to allow wagerers to
enter
wagers on the game activity and to initiate a cash payout of the wagerer's
winnings.
Preferably, the user interface 204 is implemented as a keyboard separate from
the
CRT display 202a, however the user interface 204 may also be implemented as a
touch sensitive membrane provided on the surface of the CRT display 200a if
desired.
The wagering system 200 also includes a data processor 214 (discussed below)
in
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communication with the display 202, the user interface 204, the currency
receiver
206, the currency dispensing device 208, and the card read/write device 210
for
facilitating wagering on the game activity.
It should be understood that the configuration shown in Fig. 2 is only one
implementation of the wagering system 200, and that other configurations are
also
envisaged. For instance, in one variation, not shown, the wagering system 200
excludes the currency receiver 206 and the currency dispensing device 208, and
maintains the card read/write device 210 as the sole means for receiving
wagers and
for providing payouts. In another variation, not shown, the card read/write
device 210
is configured to receive wagers on game cards. In this variation, the wagerer
may be
provided with a game card, such as a bingo card, which has a Universal bar
code and
indicia preassigned on the card, and the card read/write device 210 is
configured to
obtain the wagerer's wager by reading the Universal bar code. Alternately, the
wagerer may be provided with a blank game card which allows the wagerer to
enter
1 S the desired indicia on the card, such as with pencil, and the card
read/write device 210
is configured to read and identify the pencilled indicia. Other configurations
of the
wagering system 200 will be apparent to those of ordinary skill.
As shown in Fig. 3, the data processor 214 comprises a network interface 216
for communicating with the wagering facilities 102 over the communications
network
104, and a central processing unit (CPU) 218 in communication with the display
202,
the user interface 204, the currency receiver 206, the currency dispensing
device 208,
the card read/write device 210, and the network interface 216. The data
processor 214
also includes a non-volatile memory (NVM) 220 and a volatile memory (RAM) 222
in communication with the CPU 218.
The NVM 220 includes an odds buffer 224 for receiving odds data from the
wagering facilities 102, and an account buffer 226 for recording the monetary
value of
funds in the wagerer's's wagering account. The NVM 220 also includes processor
instructions for the CPU 218 which establish in the RAM 222 a memory object
defining a wagering processor 228, a memory object defining a bet allocator
230, and
a memory object defining a payout processor 232.
The wagering processor 228 is configured to process wagers received from
wagerers on the racing events, with each wager including a predicted outcome
of at
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least one of the racing events and a bet amount associated with the predicted
outcome.
However, the wagering processor 228 does not directly receive wagers on the
race
events, but instead receives wagers or outcome predictions on the outcome of
the
activity displayed on the display 202 and converts the outcome predictions to
wagers
on race candidates of the race events. To effect the conversion between
activity
outcome predictions and race candidate wagers, the wagering processor 228
includes
an indicia correlation table 234 which includes records associating activity
indicia
with each race candidate of the race events.
The wagering processor 228 also includes a wagering interface 236 for
receiving indicia selections from wagerers using the wagering system 200, and
an
indicia processor 238 in communication with the wagering interface 236 and the
indicia correlation table 234 for deriving wagers on the race events from the
indicia
selections in accordance with the associated activity rules. The indicia
processor 238
includes an event outcome predictor 240 for determining the probability of
occurrence
of each race event outcome, an activity outcome predictor 242 in communication
with
the indicia correlation table 234 for determining and providing the indicia
correlation
table 234 with probability data of the occurrence of each activity outcome,
and a
probability correlator 244 in communication with the event outcome predictor
240
and the activity outcome predictor 242 for deriving wagers (ie. predicted
outcomes)
on the race events from the event outcome probabilities and the activity
outcome
probabilities.
The indicia correlation table 234 includes records associating activity
indicia
with each race candidate of the race events. Preferably, the indicia listed in
the indicia
correlation table 234 are associated with the race candidates in accordance
with their
respective probability of occurrence. Specifically, since the odds information
associated with each race candidate will often suggest that at least one of
the race
candidates will be more likely to win than other race candidates, and since at
least one
of the activity outcomes will be more likely to occur than other activity
outcomes,
preferably each race candidate listed in the indicia correlation table 234 is
associated
with one or more indicia in accordance with the odds associated with each
respective
race candidate and the probability of occurrence of each activity outcome.
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As an example, if the wagering system 200 is configured to play CRAPS, then
there are only 11 possible activity outcomes which can be displayed at the
wagering
interface 236, each having the following outcome probabilities:
Activity OutcomeIndicia Required Probability of Occurrence
2 1,l 1/36
3 1,2; 2;1 2/36
4 1,3; 2,2; 3,1 3/36
5 1,4; 2,3; 3,2; 4,1 4/36
6 1,5; 2,4; 3,3; 4,2;5/36
5,1
7 1,6; 2,5; 3,4; 4,3;6/36
5,2; 6,1
8 2,6; 3,5, 4,4; 5,3;5/36
6,2
9 3,6; 4,5; 5,4; 6,3 4/36
10 4,6; 5,5; 6,4 3/36
11 5,6; 6,5 2/36
12 6,6 1/36
Accordingly, in one implementation of the invention, the wagering interface
236 is configured to depict a CRAPS table template on the CRT display 202a and
the
user interface user interface 204 is configured for receiving CRAPS wagers.
Each
race event has only six race candidates, and the race candidate having the
highest
probability of winning is associated in the indicia correlation table 234 with
indicia
{1,6; 2,5; 3,4; 4,3; 5,2; 6,1} (activity outcome 7), the race candidate having
the next
highest probability of winning is associated in the indicia correlation table
234 with
indicia {1,5; 2,4; 2,6; 3,3; 3,5; 4,2; 4,4; 5,1; 5,3; 6,2)(activity outcomes
6, 8) and so
on, with the race candidate having the lowest probability of winning being
associated
in the indicia correlation table 234 with indicia {1,1; 6,6~ (activity
outcomes 2, 12).
Alternately, since there are 36 possible activity outcomes from a die pair
throw, in a
race event having only nine race candidates, in another implementation of the
invention each race candidate listed in the indicia correlation table 234 is
associated
with 4 different indicia without regard to the associated probabilities of
occurrence.
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In another implementation of the invention, the wagering interface 236 is
configured to depict a BINGO game card template on the CRT display 202a using,
for
example, the game activity card 300 shown in Fig. 4. As shown therein, the
game
activity card 300 includes a plurality of game columns 302, and a plurality of
game
rows 304 intersecting with the game columns 302 to define a plurality of
cells, each
including a game indicia 306. In accordance with this latter implementation,
each
race candidate listed in the indicia correlation table 234 is uniquely
associated with
one of the game indicia 306 denoted on the game activity card 300, without
regard to
the associated probabilities of occurrence.
With the indicia association scheme provided by the BINGO activity game
card 300, selection of the indicia in any particular column can correspond to
the
wagerer predicting the first, second, third and fourth race candidates (ie a
SUPERFECTA wager) in a given race event. Further, depending upon whether the
associated betting pools are allowed for the race event, selection of the
indicia in any
particular column can also (or instead) correspond to the wagerer predicting
the first
race candidate (ie a TO WIN wager); and/or the first and second race
candidates (ie.
an EXACTOR wager); and/or the first, second and third race candidates (ie. a
TRIACTOR wager). Also, selection of the indicia in any particular column can
also
(or instead) correspond to the wagerer selecting a race candidate to finish
first or
second (ie. a PLACE wager); or the wagerer selecting a race candidate to
finish first,
second or third (ie. a SHOW wager). Selection of the indicia in any particular
row
can correspond, for example, to the wagerer predicting the winner in 6 race
events (ie.
a PICK 6 wager); or the wagerer predicting the winner in 5 race events (ie. a
PICK 5
wager). Selection of all the indicia can correspond to the winner placing a
SUPERFECTA wager (ie. a PICK ALL wager) in all the race events. Other indicia
association schemes will be apparent, and are encompassed by the present
invention.
Preferably, the bet allocator 230 is configured to allocate each amount bet
amongst at least one of a plurality of parimutuel betting pools in accordance
with the
probability of occurrence of each outcome prediction provided by the wagering
processor 228. For instance, if the wagering system 200 is configured to play
BINGO
using, for example, the game activity card 300 shown in Fig. 4, with each race
candidate listed in the indicia correlation table 234 being uniquely
associated with one
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of the game indicia 306 marked on the game activity card 300, then each set of
column or row of game indicia 306 can be associated with one or more race
candidate
wager types (eg. WIN, PLACE, SHOW, EXACTOR, TRIACTOR, SUPERFECTA).
Since a SHOW wager has the highest probability of success (followed in
decreasing
probability of success by a PLACE wager, a WIN wager, an EXACTOR wager, a
TRIACTOR wager, a SUPERFECTA wager, a PICK 5 wager, a PICK 6 wager, and a
PICK ALL wager), the bet allocator 230 would allocate, for example, 20% of the
amount bet to a SHOW betting pool, 20% to a PLACE betting pool, 15% to a WIN
betting pool, 10% to an EXACTOR betting pool, 9% to a TRIACTOR betting pool,
8% to a SUPERFECTA betting pool, 7% to a PICK 5 betting pool, 6% to a PICK 6
betting pool, and 5% to a PICK ALL betting pool. As will be appreciated from
the
foregoing example, the allocation of the bet amount amongst the betting pools
need
not coincide exactly with the probability of occurrence of each activity
outcome.
On the other hand, since CRAPS has only 6 different probability levels, the
bet allocator 230 would only allocate the bet amount amongst 6 different
betting
pools, for example the WIN, PLACE, SHOW, EXACTOR, TRIACTOR, and
SUPERFECTA betting pools. As will be apparent, the allocation of the bet
amount
amongst these 6 betting pools would result in a different distribution than
that
described above for BINGO.
To allocate each amount bet, as described above, the bet allocator 230
includes
an activity correlation table 246 which includes records associating the
betting pools
with the possible activity outcomes of the activity implemented by the
wagering
interface 236. The records of the activity correlation table 246 also specify
the
probability of occurrence (ie. the probability of a wagerer receiving a payout
from the
respective betting pool) associated with each betting pool. The bet allocator
230 also
includes an allocation processor 248 in communication with the activity
correlation
table 246 for determining and providing the activity correlation table 246
with the
probability data for each betting pool, and for allocating each amount bet
amongst the
betting pools in accordance with the probability of occurrence of each
activity
outcome.
The activity correlation table 246 includes records associating the betting
pools with outcomes of the activity. Preferably, the betting pools listed in
the activity
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correlation table 246 are associated with the activity outcomes in accordance
with the
probability of occurrence of each activity outcome. For instance, in one
implementation of the invention, the wagering interface 236 is configured to
depict a
CRAPS table template on the CRT display 202a, and the wagering facilities 102
establish 6 parimutuel betting pools for each wagering system 200 configured
for
playing CRAPS, with activity outcome 7 being associated in the activity
correlation
table 246 with the first betting pool, activity outcomes 6, 8 being associated
in the
activity correlation table 246 with the second betting pool, and so on, with
activity
outcomes 2, 12 being associated in the activity correlation table 226 with the
sixth
betting pool.
Alternately, since there are 11 unique activity outcomes in CRAPS {2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 1 l, 12}, in another implementation of the invention the
wagering
facilities 102 establish 11 parimutuel betting pools for each wagering system
200
configured for playing CRAPS, with each betting pool being associated in the
activity
correlation table 246 with a respective one of the activity outcomes without
regard to
the associated probabilities of occurrence. In this variation, preferably the
bet
allocator 230 allocates the bet amount equally amongst all 11 betting pools.
In yet another implementation, the wagering interface 236 is configured to
depict a BINGO game card template on the CRT display 202a using, for example,
the
game activity card 300 shown in Fig. 4. In accordance with this latter
implementation, the wagering facilities 102 establish a first set of
parimutuel betting
pools each associated in the activity correlation table 246 with the
completion of a
respective column 302 on the game activity card 300, another set of parimutuel
betting pools each associated in the activity correlation table 246 with the
completion
of a respective row 304 on the game activity card 300, and another parimutuel
betting
pool associated in the activity correlation table 246 with completion of the
entire
game activity card 300.
In this implementation, the completion of a single column 302 of the game
activity card 300 equates to correctly predicting the first, second, third and
fourth race
candidate in any race event (ie. a SUPERFECTA wager), the completion of a
single
row 304 of the game activity card 300 equates to correctly predicting the
first (second,
third or fourth) race candidate in all the race events, and the completion of
the entire
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game activity card 300 equates to correctly predicting the first, second,
third and
fourth race candidate in all the race events (ie. a PICK ALL wager). Due to
the
relatively low probability of a novice wagerer correctly completing any single
column
302 or row 304 of the game activity card 300, the wagering facilities 102 also
establish a set of parimutuel betting pools each associated in the activity
correlation
table 246 with the completion of the first two cells of game indicia 306 of a
respective
column 302 on the game activity card 300 (ie. an EXACTOR wager), and a set of
parimutuel betting pools each associated in the activity correlation table 246
with the
completion of the first three cells of game indicia 306 of a respective column
302 on
the game activity card 300 (ie. a TRIACTOR wager). Also, the wagering
facilities
102 also establish a parimutuel betting pool associated in the activity
correlation table
246 with the completion of five of the cells in the first row of the game
indicia 306
(ie. a PICK 5 wager), and a parimutuel betting pool associated in the activity
correlation table 246 with the completion of five of the cells in the first
row of the
game indicia 306 (ie. a PICK 6 wager).
In still another implementation, the wagering system 200 is again configured
for playing BINGO using, for example, the game activity card 300 shown in Fig.
4.
In accordance with this latter implementation, the wagering facilities 102
establish a
first parimutuel betting pool associated in the activity correlation table 246
with the
correct identification of all 24 indicia, a second parimutuel betting pool
associated in
the activity correlation table 246 with the correct identification of between
20 and 23
indicia, a third parimutuel betting pool associated in the activity
correlation table 246
with the correct identification of between 16 and 19 indicia, a fourth
parimutuel
betting pool associated in the activity correlation table 226 with the correct
identification of between 12 and 15 indicia, and a fifth parimutuel betting
pool
associated in the activity correlation table 246 with the correct
identification of
between 8 and 11 indicia. To account for the possibility that the requirement
for
payout of any particular betting pool is not satisfied, the wagering
facilities 102 also
establish a sixth parimutuel betting pool which is associated in the activity
correlation
table 246 with the greatest number of correctly identified indicia.
Preferably, the sixth
parimutuel betting pool receives the betting amounts allocated to the betting
pool for
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which the payout requirements were not met. Other betting pool association
schemes
will be apparent, and are encompassed by the present invention.
The payout processor 232 is configured to facilitate payouts from the betting
pools to the winning wagerers in accordance with the predicted outcomes and
the
actual outcomes of the events. To effect this result, the payout processor 232
comprises an event outcome receiver 250 for receiving data on the actual event
outcomes, an outcome correlator 252 in communication with the event outcome
receiver 250 for identifying the winning wagerers from the received outcome
data and
the predicted outcomes, and a payout allocator 254 in communication with the
outcome correlator 252 for allocating credit amounts (ie a portion of the bet
amounts
deposited in a particular betting pool) from each betting pool amongst the
winning
wagerers who had a portion of their bet amounts deposited in the particular
betting
pool. The payout allocator 254 is in communication with the currency receiver
206,
the currency dispensing device 208, the card read/write device 210, and the
account
buffer 226, and is configured for crediting the wagerer's wagering account
with
money received by the currency receiver 206. The payout allocator 254 is also
configured to credit the account of the wager using the wagering system 200
with any
credits stored on the electronic/magnetic-stripe card which is inserted in the
card
read/write device 210, and to update the wagerer's wagering account in
accordance
with the amount wagered and the outcome of the wager.
A preferred embodiment of the process implemented by the wagering network
100, and the wagering system 200 in particular, will now be described with
reference
to Fig. 5. At step 400, the wagering facilities 102 transmit racing
information, such as
the names and post positions of the race candidates in each race event, start
time
information for each race event, and odds information for each race candidate.
Each
wagering system 200 receives the information over the communications network
104
and, at step 402, displays a game activity template on the display 202
together with
the time remaining until the start of the next race event. The term "wagering
period"
will be used hereafter to denote the period immediately preceding the start of
a race
event during which wagers may be received. Each wagering system 200 stores the
received odds information in the odds buffer 224.
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At step 404, the payout processor 232 determines whether the wagerer has
deposited money into the currency receiver 206, or has inserted an
electronic/magnetic-stripe wagerer's card into the card read/write device 210,
thereby
establishing a wagering account in the account buffer 226. In one variation,
the
wagering system 200 is in communication with banking computers and the payout
processor 232 establishes a wagering account by electronically transfernng
funds
from the wagerer's bank account, after the wagerer provides the payout
processor 232
with the appropriate PIN and bank account number, via the user interface 204.
If no wagering account has been established, the wagering system 200
continues to display the game activity template and the time remaining at step
402.
On the other hand, if a wagering account has been established, at step 406 the
payout
processor 232 determines whether the wagering period has expired. If the
payout
processor 232 determines that the wagering period has expired, the wagering
system
200 continues to display the game activity template and the time remaining
until start
of the next wagering period at step 402.
If the payout processor 232 determines that the wagering period has not
expired, at step 408 the payout processor 232 waits for a bet amount and an
indicia
selection to be entered via the user interface 204 and the wagering interface
236. As
will be appreciated, the wagering interface 236 ensures that the indicia
selected by the
wagerer comply with the rules associated for performing the game activity
displayed
by the wagering system 200. Once a bet amount is selected, at step 410 the
payout
processor 232 again determines whether the wagering period has expired. If the
payout processor 232 determines that the wagering period has expired, the
wagering
system 200 continues to display the game activity template and the time
remaining
until start of the next wagering period at step 402. On the other hand, if the
payout
processor 232 determines that the wagering period has not expired, at step 412
the
payout processor 232 queries the account buffer 226 to determine whether the
wagerer
has sufficient funds in its wagering account for the amount bet. If the payout
processor 232 determines that the wagering account does not have sufficient
funds for
the amount bet, the payout processor 232 displays a message on the display
202,
requesting that the wagerer insert more funds or place a smaller bet. The
payout
processor 232 then waits for a new wager at step 408.
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If the payout processor 232 determines that the wagering account does have
sufficient funds for the bet, the indicia processor 238 of the wagering
processor 228
queries the indicia correlation table 234 with the indicia selection received
by the
wagering interface 236 to determine at least one predicted outcome for the
race
events. To do so, the activity outcome predictor 242 of the indicia processor
238 first
calculates and stores probability data of the occurrence of each activity
outcome in the
indicia correlation table 234. Then, at step 414, the event outcome predictor
240
queries the odds buffer 224 to determine the probability of occurrence of each
possible race event outcome. The probability correlator 244 then derives the
predicted outcomes, at step 416, from the activity outcome probability data
stored in
the indicia correlation table 234 (via the activity outcome predictor 242) and
the event
outcome probabilities provided by the event outcome predictor 240. The
wagering
processor 228 then transmits the predicted outcomes to the bet allocator 230.
Once the predicted outcomes are determined, the bet allocator 230 allocates
1 S the amount bet amongst the parimutuel betting pools applicable to the
indicia
selection. To do so, the allocation processor 248 of the bet allocator 230
queries the
activity correlation table 246 with the outcome predictions, at step 418, to
determine
the betting pools associated with the outcome predictions. The allocation
processor
248 then obtains the probability data associated with each of the associated
betting
pools, at step 420, and apportions the bet amount (received from the wagering
interface 236) in accordance with probability data. At step 422, the bet
allocator 230
transmits the bet amounts, as apportioned in step 420, to the wagering
facilities 102
for inclusion into the respective betting pools. After the wagering period
expires, the
wagering facilities 102 provide the wagering systems 200 with updated
information
on the size of each betting pool, and the number of wagers who placed on each
betting
pool.
After one of the race events is complete, at step 424 the wagering facilities
102
transmit to the payout processor 232 event data indicative of the actual
outcome of the
race event. Upon receipt of the event data by the event outcome receiver 250,
at step
426 the outcome correlator 252 determines from the event data and the
predicted
outcomes (provided by the wagering processor 228) whether any of the wagerer's
wagers were successful. If not, the payout processor 232 continues to wait, at
step
29-08-2001 1 CA0000729
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424, until all the race events upon which the wagerer has wagered have taken
place..
If the payout processor 232 determines, at step 428, that all of the race
events have
taken place, the process returns to step 400 for the entry of another wager.
On the other hand, if the outcome correlator 252 determines, at step 426, that
at least one of the wagerer's wagers was successful, at step 430 the payout
allocator
254 allocates a credit amount from the associated betting pool to the account
buffer
226 in accordance with the size of the associated betting pool and the number
of
wagers placed on the betting pool. ' The payout processor 232 updates the
account
information stored on the electronic or magnetic-stripe card (if present}, and
then
determines at step 432 whether all of the race events have taken place. If
not, the
process returns to step 424 and waits for receipt of the next event data. On
the other
hand, if the payout processor 232 determines that all the race events have
taken place,
the wagerer can then obtain a payout of the winnings at step 434 by removing
the
electronic or magnetic-stripe card from the card readlwrite device 210.
Alternately, if
no electronic or magnetic-stripe card is used, the wagerer can initiate a
payout by
sending a suitable command to the payout processor 232 via the touch sensitive
membrane of the display 202, thereby causing a cash payout via the currency
dispensing device 208. In the variation where the wagering system Z00 is in
communication with banking computers, the wagerer may also initiate payout to
the
wagerer's bank account, after the wagerer provides the payout processor 232
with the
appropriate PIN and bank account number, entered via the user interface 204.
The present invention is defined by the claims appended hereto, with the
foregoing description being illustrative of the preferred embodiment of the
invention.
Those of ordinary skill may envisage certain additions, deletions andlor
modifications
to the described embodiment, which although not explicitly described herein,
do not
depart from the scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.
AMENDED SHEET
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