Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02623786 2008-03-06
Method For Lottery Corporations To Run Online Gaming
FIELD OF TITE INVENTION
The application relates in general to methods and systems allowing lottery
corporations to
operate online Internet gaming. More particularly, the present invention
relates to a process
allowing players to buy special tickets at a lottery terminal and go on the
Internet and join a
game or tournament using information on their ticket. Players who win prizes
would then be
able to send in their tickets to the prize offices or simply return to any
participating retailer and
claim their prize.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There are numerous ways people gamble their money. In more recent times the
more
unfriendly word "Gamble" has been replaced with less negative terms such as
"Gaming".
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Regardless of what you call it, people have been spending money in hopes of
winning more long
before such things as patents even existed.
In modern times some of the more popular forms of gaming involve casinos,
sports
betting, lotteries, and the online Internet casinos and poker rooms. The
present invention is
going to concentrate mainly on those latter forms of gaming, Lotteries and
Internet gaming.
Throughout the industrialized world many governments run the Lotteries within
their
countries. The part of the government over seeing the lotteries is usually
called the lottery
commission or corporation. Sometimes even within the same country there are
more then one
corporation. For instance in Canada there are five separate corporations and
in the United States
there is almost a separate lottery corporation for each State. These
corporations offer a variety of
games ranging from the operation of casinos, Internet games, sport wagering,
pre-printed scratch
tickets and progressive jackpot tickets usually sold from their lottery
terminals, such as
Powerball, Lotto 6/49 and Mega Millions.
With the invention of the Internet came the invention of a new form of gaming,
online
gaming or Internet gaming. The most popular of these forms appear now to be
the online poker
rooms like Poker Stars, Party Poker, Poker, Paradise Poker and so forth with a
long list of com's
and other extensions that exist on the Internet. Of course this is to take
nothing away from the
online world or sports betting, fantasy sports, and online casinos that offer
most any game land
based casinos offer, but right from the luxury of your own very home.
Player's playing online has reached a record high as is easily to see by the
number of
players qualifying for such prestigious tournaments like the World Series Of
Poker (WSOP), a
Texas Holdem tournament held each year on Las Vegas, Nevada. In 2003 there
were 839
entrants in the WSOP main event in Las Vegas. Within three years, 8,773
players entered the
$10,000 tournament and competed for a top prize of $12,000,000 in 2006. The
majority of these
players won their qualifying seat online, including three of the most recent
online winners of the
entire tournament.
Although there seems to be no end in sight to the Internet's popularity and
growth not
everyone is happy. The United States Justice Department has discouraged people
in North
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America to play in these games by making it extremely difficult for North
American's to open
accounts, wire money in the form of transactions, visas and so forth. This has
caused many
would be players to be discouraged and just not participate. In turn the World
Courts have
listened to court cases where certain countries that currently allow the
hosting and operating of
these Internet Casinos and Poker to exist, think the actions taken by the U.S.
governments are
illegal in themselves. It would come as no surprise that governments within
the same country
are all over the board on how to handle this situations. Some politicians are
dead set against any
form of online gaming, while others thing it should be regulated, so it can be
monitored and
taxed and others still think the government has no right in either of the
previous two sides and
people should be allowed to spend their money as they see fit. One embodiment
of the current
invention is a method and solution for politicians to come to agreement and to
not only satisfy
online players who are currently discouraged, but also create many new players
who will now
play.
One online poker room, Party Poker stated that they made almost $1 billion in
revenue in
2005 and again in 2006. This is only one online poker room. At any one time of
the day, over
100,000 players play online at another site called Poker Stars. Collectively
speaking, there are
billions of dollars being gambled online, in many different forms. Clearly it
can be argued that
the biggest reason governments oppose online gaming is they simply are upset
they are losing so
much money and the solution to stop this from happening seems like draining
the ocean with a
small tin cup. It is however one goal of the present invention to stop money
from leaving
countries bound for the operators of these online casinos and poker sites and
keep that money in
the hands of the governments within each country.
Yet another problem is regulation of the Internet in itself. How can one
control
something like the Internet which appears to have no boundaries or divisions?
The Internet
makes it easy to do business with sites set up anywhere in the world. When we
relate this to
Internet gaming, how do you regulate a poker site that rests within a country
with completely
different laws and regulations? It is however another goal of the present
invention to place
boundaries on the Internet allowing corporations to retain money currently
being spend in other
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countries of the world and stop money from leaving any specific country or
bound for the
operators of these online casinos and poker sites.
One of the biggest problems facing the online world is player's lack of trust
for the
operators of these games and sites. Spending millions of dollars in
advertising has helped the
online sites compete and build confidence amongst players and this is shown by
their rising
profits. It is a goal of the present invention to allow players to overcome
their fear and trust
issues in allowing local governments, namely lottery commissions to operate
these games locally
as they do their other current lotteries.
The need clearly remains for an efficient lottery gaming system that overcomes
all the
faults as they currently exist, allowing players to easily participate in
playing on the Internet for
money, without the headaches of trust, opening accounts, transferring of
money, transaction fees
as well as being made to feel you are doing something wrong simply by enjoying
yourself and
spending your hard earned money. It is the belief of the current invention
that there needs to be a
simply way to stop funds from heading outside a country destine for another
country without a
simple way to place boundaries that the public will gladly except and trust,
allowing not only the
money to stay localized, but also capitalize in the form of taxes for the
government on money
currently just being lost. According to the present invention there remains a
need to take control
of the Internet stopping Internet Poker sites and casinos in their tracks.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The process and method of the present invention integrates lottery
corporations with
Internet gaming. Players will be able to purchase tickets as they would a
Powerball ticket. For
explanation purposes lets give these tickets a name, calling them a "Game With
Us" ticket or a
GWU Ticket. Players would then take their GWU ticket to a location, namely an
Internet
website and join in any game they desire to play. Players would win or lose.
Players who win
would then be able to return to any participating retailer and "Redeem" their
ticket just as one
would a current Powerball or Lotto 6/49 winning type of ticket.
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In one embodiment of the present invention players would now be able to
participate and
play online games that are currently offered in Internet sites like Poker Star
or Party Poker.
Currently players play in these sites from all over the world. Players may
play for fun, no
monetary value, or may open accounts and play for real money. When opening an
account
players are asked for personal information such as names, addresses, emails
and phone numbers.
Many people are reluctant to give this information out over the Internet. Also
when opening an
account for real money, a real money deposit must be made into that players
new account.
Currently players may use credit cards, money orders, money wiring services
like Western
Union, as well as online payment methods such as Pay Pal or NETELLER, where
applicable to
transfer money. Of course players are charge transaction fees associated with
almost every type
of transfer. Players are also inconvenienced as these methods are not instant
and delays to verify
the money is in the account may take anywhere from 24 hours to weeks. If these
aren't enough
restrictions, many players who would enjoy playing simply don't have credit
cards to begin with.
Collectively, these are many reasons why many people just can't be bothered to
play in the
online Internet sites, even if they did trust these sites to begin with.
On the other hand lottery corporations are already running local games and are
trusted
within each country where they operate. These corporations have the technology
in place to run
their current lotteries as well as new games as they are invented. These
corporations oversee the
games to ensure fairness and put profits back into the economy in the form of
retailer profits,
employees, taxes and charity. Often corporation's profits are placed in health
care, education
and other great areas such as building new sports complexes and other
worthwhile causes.
Corporations already have the infrastructure in place to sell lottery tickets,
namely to sell lottery
tickets printed on their terminals within participating retailers. For
instance, one of the bigger
corporations in the world resides in Ontario, Canada, the Ontario Lottery and
Gaming
Corporation (OLG). The OLG has 11,000 retailers with machines across the
Province of Ontario
where they operate the lotteries. The 11,000 retailers sell lottery products
such as scratch tickets
and progressive jackpot tickets such as Lotto 6/49, likely Canada's biggest
lottery. When a
player enters a retailer to buy a ticket they simply ask for the ticket they
would like to purchase
and are printed their request from the lottery terminal that exists within the
retailers. These
lottery terminals are connected through a secure system to the OLG's main
computers where all
CA 02623786 2008-03-06
information is stored and backed up. The actual purchase of a ticket is
instant. An employee at a
retailer would input the request into the terminal, one Lotto 6/49 ticket,
simply buy pressing a
touch screen or some similar device and the ticket would instantly be printed.
Information on the
ticket is pertinent to the game played and usually includes a date, the type
of game, information
about the retailer, some lottery numbers relevant to the game played, a draw
date and security
usually in the form of a bar code so the ticket may be validated at a later
date to determine if the
ticket is a winning ticket associated with some prize, usually monetary in
value.
With the current invention players would now purchase their GWU ticket at a
participating retailer who sells these tickets. Most tickets will likely be
printed right at the
terminals, however one skilled in the art would understand these tickets may
also be pre-printed,
like a scratch ticket, or a pre-loaded card, like a pay-as-you-go phone or
credit card, or in the
form of a pouch type ticket, that one would tear open, similar to tickets
currently sold or pull
tabs. Countless other ticket methods could be used to disperse tickets to the
players from the
lottery corporation, however, in the preferred embodiment these thickets will
be printed right
from the terminals in the amounts requested by the player or purchaser of the
ticket. So a player
could now ask for a $2, $20, $100, GWU ticket and the retailer would print
this ticket in the
exact same method as they do currently as Powerball or Lotto 6/49 ticket. Of
course the lottery
corporation who operates each individual game will decide the minimums and
maximums a
player may spend on a ticket if such limits exist. For instance, the OLG may
say that GWU
tickets range from $2 to $200, however the New York Lottery may offer their
own GWU game
and have limits ranging from $1 to $100.
Some information printed on the GWU ticket would be similar to a regular
lottery ticket
printed at the terminal, such as a date the ticket was purchased, corporation
and retailer
information, the price or amount of the ticket and of course a bar code to
identify and validate
the ticket at a later date. A GWU ticket would also include some information
as to where the
ticket may be used, say an Internet website address. A GWU ticket would likely
surely have
some unique identifier such as an "Activation Code" that like a bar code is
unique to only that
ticket. This Activation Code or Number would be used later by the player when
they use the
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ticket and would help the lottery corporation identify this ticket allowing
the player the right to
use the ticket, proving ownership.
In another embodiment of the present invention the process would continue now
that the
player has purchased a GWU ticket. The next step in the process would allow
the player to use
their ticket to participate in some event or game. One skilled in the art
would now understand
the player could also play Mobile on a phone or palm held type device, a TV,
using a remote
control or other remote device, a Video Lottery Terminal (VLT) found in a
casino, corner store
or other location, a slot machine or similar game, to use their ticket.
However, in the preferred
embodiment of the present invention the player would likely access an Internet
website to use the
ticket. As an example information printed on the purchased ticket the player
has may direct
them to the Internet site, www.GameWithUs.com, to play and use their ticket.
Of course the
corporations will decide what location they send their customers. A
corporation may use their
own site, like the OLG using their Internet site www.OLG.ca, the mentioned
Game With Us site
or any other location. Regardless of the website the player would visit to use
their ticket, upon
entering this site or other method, the player would easily be able to walk
through the process of
using their ticket. For instance if the player was playing the OLG GWU game
and entered the
website as directed on their GWU ticket the player would now be able to use
their ticket. The
website they are now on would likely be run by the corporation offering the
game.
In another embodiment of the present invention each corporation would likely
have their
very own unique website or location to play. These websites would be very
similar to current
online Poker sites such as Poker Stars or Party Poker or any online casinos.
These sites would
offer a plethora of gaming options for the player such as Poker, Blackjack,
Bingo, Slot Machines
and countless other games players can play. Some games offered may include
games of chance
such as Bingo while others may include games of skill like Texas Holdem.
Regardless of the
games offered, what is offered would be found in the corporation's site that
they are sending
their GWU players too which would likely again be found on the actual ticket.
Upon entering the website in the preferred embodiment the player would then
select the
game they want to participate in. This game may be played against the house, a
jackpot game
such as a progressive bingo, slot machine or games of skill where players are
competing against
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one another as in many card games like Texas Holdem. Games may be played
individually, head
to head, in groups such as an entire table of players or in tournament style
where as thousands of
people could complete in once tournament at one time for a top prize or number
of prizes that are
posted after entry for that game has stopped. Games in these sites may be
played 24 hours a day
seven days a week. Some games may have set times such as a nightly tournament
while other
games could be what is known as sit-and-go where a tournament is announced and
once it fills
up to a certain number of players the game is immediately held. Other games
could include
tables that are open and players come and go and play the games, such as
walking through a land
based casino, just spending your money at any games, jumping from game to
game. In the
preferred embodiment of the present invention players would play in
tournaments such as Bingo
or card games like Texas Holdem. Once a player chooses the game they want to
join the player
would go through the process of joining in this game. With the power of the
present invention
players could join a tournament or game as easily as clicking join with their
mouse and when
prompted for information the corporation has set to capture, filling in this
information and be
joined in this game. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention a
player could be
asked as little as the Activation Code number found on their ticket. This code
which would be
stored with the corporation's computers would be validated instantly and would
allow a player
access to join in their desired game. The build in security system would
ensure this is a valid
Activation Code and that the game the player is joining is not more then what
is allowed for play
on the GWU ticket.
Currently corporations take an amount of each ticket sold and using
mathematics which
vary from game to game, amounts of each ticket purchased for games, such as
Lotto 6/49 are put
into prize pools. For instance the OLG advertises that 47% of the purchase
price of a 6/49 ticket
that currently sells for $2 is place in a prize pool to possibly be won by the
players. Different
corporations offer different games and different games are based on different
mathematical odds
of not only winning, but percentages of sales being possibly won as prizes for
the players. In our
example here, the remaining 53% of the OLG 6/49 ticket is distributed to the
retailer, costs of
operating the game and profits.
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In the preferred embodiment of the present invention the corporations would
take a
percentage of each GWU ticket sold, which may vary from corporation to
corporation, and place
this amount into prizes that may be in turn won by the players of the games.
Let's say the OLG
was an operator of the Ontario, Canada, GWU game and they were taking 50% of
the ticket and
giving 50% of the ticket into the form of possible play for the players. So at
the time the ticket
was sold the corporation would instantly take 50% in our example off the
purchase price of a
ticket. If a player bought a GWU $20 ticket, the actual printed ticket would
likely reflect this as
well as the current amount left over, in this case $10, so the player would
know this is the
amount they could play with when joining their game of choice. Again, these
amounts are set by
the corporations or operators of the game. The OLG may offer their players 80%
back, so a $20
GWU ticket would have $16 showing as the amount a player may use to play with.
With the
current invention it would be understood by those skilled in the art that the
less amount
corporations kept for themselves the more attractive it would be for players
to choose to play
their game over any competition, such as other online Internet Poker sites or
online casinos.
So if a player chooses to play in a Texas Holdem tournament that had a $10
entry, a
player would need a GWU ticket that is valid with at least that amount. In the
preferred
embodiment of the present invention players would not be able to play in games
that they did not
have the required amount of entry fee, however they could have a ticket with
more then that
amount and join in the game. So if a player's ticket was worth $100 and they
played in a $10
game, in essence their ticket would have $90 still available for further play.
Players would have
options available to them on the site to check their tickets to see how much
is still left and
available for play. Of course a ticket could be used until its initial reaches
zero as long as the
player is conforming to all the posted rules and regulations of the
corporation. For instance the
corporation may only give a player 365 days to use a ticket after purchase.
These rules would be
posted in the Terms and Conditions of Use just as every current games have
rules. So in our
example here if a player joined a $10 entry required game and had $10
available on their GWU
ticket, this player would be joined in this tournament. If 1,000 players
joined this tournament at
$10 each, a prize pool of $10,000 for this tournament would exist. Different
games may have
different prize allotments. If this tournament was a winner take all style,
the winner of the
tournament would win $10,000. This same tournament might have several prizes
and first prize
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may only be 20% of the total prize pool of $10,000. In this example first
prize would get $2,000.
Furthermore in the last example players may win prizes for finishing 2d, 3Ttl,
4` and so on and so
forth. These prizes will likely be posted as is common place at the start of a
tournament. In this
example maybe 10& place wins $2. Any players who won at the end of the
tournament would
have winnings attached to their tickets.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention players who win prizes
will have
their prizes associated and attached to their ticket. Similar to current
lotteries offered the players
have a ticket. For most lotteries a draw date and draw occur for the game
associated with the
ticket. In Ontario, one such lottery offered by the OLG is a lottery called
6/49. After the draw
players will usually check their tickets themselves in the newspapers, online,
at a retailer or go to
a retailer with the ticket and have it validated in the lottery terminal or
other devices which allow
players to scan in their own tickets. The system instantly validates this
ticket and checks it for
certain criteria. The most common events that occur when people check their
ticket is they have
lost. Another common occurrence is the ticket is a winner of some sort.
Depending on the
lottery rules some prizes may be claimed right at the retailer while other
major prizes, say over
$1,000 must be redeemed at other locations, like a casino or the corporations
head office. In
most instances players win smaller prizes like free tickets that are printed
for them for further
draws or smaller cash prizes that are paid to them by the retailer. GWU
tickets are usually not
much different then other lotteries when it comes to redemption of the actual
ticket.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention a players winnings are
attached to
their ticket and players would bring their tickets to a retailer to validate
and redeem. Of course
players who spent their entry without winning would have losing tickets that
would not pay
anything, in essence a losing ticket. Players who win will have prizes
attached to their tickets.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention a players winnings would
be redeemable
but not re-playable. The difference here is a player would only be able to
play with the amount
they purchased from the retailer and winnings, although attached to the ticket
when redeemed are
separate in the fact that when a player uses the full amount attached with the
purchased ticket, no
matter their winnings, this ticket is not no longer of use in playing, empty
or used up if you will.
The ticket may still have worth when redeemed as that is when the prizes won
are paid out. In
CA 02623786 2008-03-06
one example mentioned earlier the player who f nished in V place in the winner
take all $10,000
prized tournament, when his ticket is scanned back in to verify he is a
winner, this player would
be owed $10,000. This amount may require the player to send their ticket in or
bring it in person
to a number of locations that can pay that larger amount. The player who
finished 1' when the
top prize was 20% of the $10,000 would have won $2,000 and this player two may
not be
allowed to collect at the retailer unless they pay that amount. However,
usually prizes under
$1,000 may be collected right at the retailer. So the player who finished
100`' place and won the
$2 prize, they would be paid $2 when their ticket is validated.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention a player may purchase a
ticket, not
use it all and win a prize. Instead of having to wait until they use the rest
of the unused ticket,
they may redeem this ticket for their winnings, be paid for their winnings and
be given a new
GWU ticket for the unused portion of the ticket. So in this example if a
player had a $50 ticket,
played a $10 game and still have $40 left to play with, but during this $10
games they won $500,
this player could bring this ticket into a retailer and redeem the winnings.
This player would
likely be given the $500 in winnings and have a new ticket printed for $40 for
which this player
may continue to play. Obviously one skilled in the art would understand
certain rules may be
implemented such as giving this person their full $540 if they requested.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention a player likely will not
be required
to use their full ticket all at once but be able to break down a ticket so to
use it in pieces. For
instance a player could have a $50 ticket and just in a$10 game, a $5 game,
another $5 game and
finally a $30 games if they choose. This could be further broken down to very
small games, say
a penny or nickel. These variations will ultimately be left to the discretion
of each corporation
that offers and sells GWU tickets.
In yet another embodiment it is possible that a player's winnings may be
attached to the
player's ticket and this player may be allowed to use this ticket over and
over, as desired, where
as the ticket then acts like a player's account. The ticket or account in this
case may fluctuate as
the player plays all the while keeping a total of what is owed or still
available to the player. In
this example if the player had a $100 ticket, played $10 and won $2,000, this
player's ticket
would be worth $2,090 ($100 starting ticket -$10 = $90 + $2,000 =$2,090). In
this variation the
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player could keep playing with this ticket until they reached zero available
by losing all
remaining $2090. Again in this embodiment this amount may fluctuate as the
player wins and
loses. This player may of course cash this ticket in at any time and be paid
the amount owing or
won on the ticket depending on corporations rules. In this embodiment a player
may still only be
paid the winnings and a second ticket would be generated for the amount still
unused.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention the corporation or
operator of the
game would take the amount of their profits directly off the ticket upon
purchase of the ticket
and place the amount the purchaser has remaining right on the actual ticket
that is printed. This
however does not have to be the case and the corporation may take off their
profits at any time,
for instance when a player joins in a game. It may be argued that by taking
the profits at the time
the ticket is purchased the corporation did not take money from the act of
gaming but only for
the consideration of printing this ticket. If the corporation's profits come
out at the time of the
printing, in essence they would be giving 100% on the games entry back to the
players. A
variation of the present invention could allow the corporations to withdraw
their profits at the
time the ticket if printed or purchased and by doing so allow this ticket to
be played at other
online sites, like Poker Stars or Party Poker. This variation goes against the
main premise of this
invention but is very possible for countries that do not operator their
current lotteries and want to
share in the profits being made by the online Internet poker rooms and
casinos. This variation
however does allow for say the BC Lottery Corporation in British Columbia,
Canada, to decide
not to operate their own game but to allow their players to play and join in
the Canadian game or
Ontario's game if this is what they decide to do.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention each different lottery
corporation
would run their own game. This is very powerful. Part of the problems existing
with Internet
gaming now is that here are no boundaries across the Internet. This is the
very reason companies
run online casino and poker rooms from the countries they do, to circumvent
certain laws that
may prohibit certain things they do. This may be as simple as to avoid paying
taxes or being
regulated. The present invention by its nature place boundaries on the
Internet that simple have
never existed. Any corporation that operates a GWU game will now be able to
capitalize on the
online gaming market and in essence take back some or all of what is currently
leaving the
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country. Money leaving the country is not coming back and is not being taxes,
hurting an
economy. If Ontario operates an Ontario GWU game they are not competing with
any other
corporation that does or does not offer a game as they are only capitalizing
on their own market.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention tickets are printed and
purchased at lottery
terminals. So to play in the Ontario game one would need a ticket purchased at
an Ontario
retailer. People in New York State, California or Australia would not be
affected by Ontario's
game, even if they did not offer their own game as the people in their areas
would not be able to
purchase a ticket at an Ontario retailer. If each corporation operated their
own GWU game none
would compete with each other but collectively could promote the same game in
their
advertisements. Game With Us Ontario, Game With Us Texas, Game With Us
Australia could
work hard at advertising their games but yet none of these places ever compete
for customers.
This is in contrast to the online casinos and poker rooms who each separately
compete for people
across the old Internet that knew no boundaries. For this simple reason alone
it is believed the
current invention if implemented by each corporation would destroy online
casinos and poker
rooms as they exist today.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention players need not go
through the
entire process of creating accounts when they play. These accounts rely on
personal information
about the player that in our day and age many people fear handing out to shady
or unrepeatable
companies. Many people are fearful of things like identity theft, credit card
or account
information being stolen or just simply being spammed in their email. For
these reasons and
many others the present invention makes players less apprehensive about
playing online.
Although account information can always be gathered if the corporation deems
fit, either once or
each time, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention no account
information will ever
be asked. The corporation's outstanding efforts are always ensured at the
point of sale to prevent
anyone underage from buying tickets. When players play online, all they need
to do is enter the
Activation Code number and they are permitted to play. Players need not fear
what shows up on
account statements or their email or identity is in jeopardy of being abused
as they are basically
anonymous. Of course when a player redeems their tickets they may be required
to do certain
things the corporation asks, such as security measures like signing their
ticket before validation.
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The current invention also discloses a game that is built around speed.
Currently with all
the methods players transfer and wire money just to open an account the
process involved may
be ridiculously slow to many. The current invention is about speed a player
may play also. A
player may purchase a GWU ticket as easy as going to their corner store. In
the future
corporations may allow the purchasing of tickets at any point of sale and
other locations such as
ATM machines. Most people in cities live minutes from a terminal and can leave
their residence
and be back with a ticket ready to play in much less then 15 minutes or less.
By implementing the current invention it is our belief that new players will
appear who
never before have played online games for money. The reasons for this are
plentiful and too
many to list. The main reasons for this are the ease of the entire process to
the trust of playing
with your local government over someone set up "Off-shore" for a reason. The
majority of
players who play online for free would now be money paying customers of the
corporations.
The ease in which a player may obtain a ticket to play, find and join a game
and cash out their
winnings, will almost certainly destroy the corporations competition, that is,
if online casinos and
poker rooms would even be thought of as competition for GWU anymore. With the
huge dip in
profits from an area that offers GWU it can be predicted the online casinos
and poker rooms
would no longer promote their games as competing would be obviously frivolous.
The current invention also has a bigger impact on the local economy then just
the profits
the corporations return back. Big winners would emerge in the form of lottery
retailers who now
profit from the selling of tickets. Of course under the current system of
online casinos and poker
rooms taking all the money out of the country, these retailers are getting
absolutely zero of this
amount. These tables would turn in a very positive way and in turn create more
healthy business
who many in turn hire more people, expand or at the very least have their
owners make more and
spend more on things that drive economies. All this without the mention of the
more in taxes
they'd pay from their higher profits!
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention a controlled winning
system is
created. Although most concentration is always focused on the profits these
online companies
are making and where this is coming from, a much larger amount then this is
currently being
won and lost by the players playing these games. For example, recently it was
announced that an
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CA 02623786 2008-03-06
Ontario, Canada man won $300,000 playing in an online site called Poker Stars.
This was not
money won from Poker Stars, but from the players playing at Poker Stars. In
essence this money
is recycled between winners and losers. If one area of the world was arguable
better at playing
poker, they can arguable get more of these winnings, further taking from other
areas. The
present invention creates what we call, controlled winning. For example, all
winners in the
Ontario game would also be from Ontario. So in the example of the person who
won $300,000,
the amount won would be kept in Ontario, won by a person in Ontario. So with
the present
invention there is never more winnings coming into an area or more losses
going out and this is
what we call controlled winning and is a very powerful form of gaming that
does not currently
exist online where boundaries do not exist.
The current invention would also allow the corporations to have bonus games,
like a
second chance for players who lose, competing for real cash prizes in the form
of unclaimed
prizes that are in turn still given out in prizes to the players. The
corporations would also make
money selling advertising in their sites by drawing in a huge number of daily
players. These
profits are all not realized under the current system which is only working
for companies that the
average person never sees. These companies don't have employees here,
buildings here, pay
taxes here and so forth. They'd be invisible if it weren't for the realization
billions are leaving
the industrialized countries and ending up with them because all the players
want is the current
invention to be realized.
The present invention is so powerful we have realized its future importance
already. On
one hand the corporations have everything to gain while the online casinos and
poker rooms
have everything to lose. If this patent was not granted, in essence the
lottery corporations could
do this unabated and so swiftly kill online gaming as we know it exists today.
If the corporations
buy or license the rights to use this patent the same can easily be said, it
is game over for the
online casinos and poker rooms. However, if the ownership of this patent falls
in the hands of
the online casinos and poker rooms they could then license it to the lottery
corporations at a very
high price, gouging we'd expect, or they could simply prevent the lottery
corporations from
every realizing what could have been. This is clearly the power of the present
invention. Like
CA 02623786 2008-03-06
simple things such as Priceline, eBay, YouTube or Facebook, everyone will ask
themselves how
come they didn't think of that.
BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an Example Ticket from one lottery corporation, the OLG.
FIG. 2 is an Example Ticket from second lottery corporation, the New York
Lottery.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The major differences between the two tickets are the price and what the
corporation is
holding as well as the security system they are using is different.
OLG - It is a $20 ticket, but the OLG is giving 80% of the ticket amount back
to the player, so
their ticket shows $16.
NYL - It is a $100 ticket, but they only give 75% back to the players, so the
ticket shows it is
worth $75.
Both send the player to the same web site on the ticket, but of course from
their, Ontario
players would join in the Ontario game and the New York players the New York
game. All
players could game in the same site in an alternate embodiment, but the
preferred embodiment
wants them playing local and so no winnings is ever leaving the area where the
ticket was sold,
so in essence this is controlled winnings as well.
NYL - With a very simple security feature of 12 characters as shown, using
only 30 of
the possible 36 numbers and letters in each location of the 12 digit long
string, over
531,441,000,000,000,000 combinations of tickets could be printed. This number
is 531
quadrillion (higher then a trillion). If this method was used as a Validation
Code and 3 billion
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CA 02623786 2008-03-06
different tickets in any one location were currently in use, only one of every
177,000,000 (177
million) tickets would be in use at any one time. Of course as added security
features players
could be asked for information, say an email but in the preferred embodiment
of the present
invention this would not even be necessary. Additional ticket information
could be asked like,
ticket amount or time ticket was printed, which could be printed in Hour,
Minutes and Seconds
right on the ticket. There would be no possible way to guess a 1 in 177
million code plus an
exact printed time of hour, minute and second the ticket was printed. There
are 86,400 seconds
in a day so with 3 billion tickets in play the odds of guessing the Validation
Code of one of those
tickets is over 15 Quadrillion to 1. Of course even guessing a Validation Code
does a person no
good as they cannot collect on any winnings without the actual printed ticket.
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