SYSTEM AND METHOD OF OFFERING A PLAY OPTION FOR A LOTTERY INVOVLING INCENTIVES FOR REINVESTING WINNING PRIZES

SYSTEME ET METHODE FOURNISSANT UNE OPTION DE JEU POUR LOTERIE IMPLIQUANT DES INCITATIONS POUR REINVESTIR DANS DES PRIX DE RECOMPENSE

English Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and method for playing a lottery
and, more
specifically, to a system and method for playing a lottery whereby lottery
players are given an
additional lottery option of reinvesting their winnings, or potential
winnings, for some incentives
or rewards offered to the players who take this option, such as a chance to
win larger amounts of
money or prizes, even with better odds, or being rewarded such as additional
lines of numbers
for a future draw. Essentially this additional lottery option could be offered
and attached to
almost any lottery game and would ideally be offered as a player option that
could be selected
before the draw or after the draw depending on which method is offered for
that particular
lottery.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY
OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:


1. A method for allowing a player to play a lottery game having a jackpot
prize and smaller
subsidiary prizes or any a lottery game having prizes associated therewith,
the method
comprising the steps of:

providing the player with lottery ticket or lottery ticket numbers for the
lottery game;
providing the player with a reinvestment game option to play the lottery game
which,
when the reinvestment game option is selected by the player the player
reinvests all or
some portion of their winnings;

allowing the reinvestment option to occur before the lottery draw at point of
sale or after
the lottery draw has occurred and player has won a prize;

rewarding the player, when the reinvestment game option is selected by the
player, in
some predetermined method;

taking from the player, when the reinvestment game option is selected by the
player,
winnings from certain smaller subsidiary prizes in the lottery game;

allowing players playing the reinvest option to compete to win additional
prizes from a
prize pool made up of a possible additional fee for playing the option as well
as the prize
pool of reinvestment winnings foregone by the players;

drawing a winning subset of numbers for lottery draw and possibly an
additional subset
of numbers for a reinvestment draw; and


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awarding the jackpot prize or any of the smaller subsidiary prizes associated
with the
lottery game to the player if selected ones of the lottery ticket numbers of
the player
matches the drawn winning subset of numbers, or, if the reinvest game option
has been
selected by the player, awarding only the appropriate prizes to the player if
the lottery
ticket numbers of the player matches the drawn winning subset of numbers and
rewarding the player for winning prizes from an additional lottery reinvest
draw for
players taking the reinvest option or investing their winnings to play in a
secondary
reinvest draw.

2. A method for facilitating play of a governmental lottery game allowing a
player to play a
lottery game having a jackpot prize and smaller subsidiary prizes or any a
lottery game
having prizes associated therewith, the method comprising the steps of:

the governmental lottery game providing the player with lottery ticket or
lottery ticket
numbers for the lottery game;

the governmental lottery game providing the player with a reinvestment game
option to
play the lottery game which, when the reinvestment game option is selected by
the player
the player reinvests all or some portion of their winnings;

the governmental lottery game allowing the reinvestment option to occur before
the
lottery draw at point of sale or after the lottery draw has occurred and
player has won a
prize;

the governmental lottery game rewarding the player, when the reinvestment game
option
is selected by the player, in some predetermined method;


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the governmental lottery game taking from the player, when the reinvestment
game
option is selected by the player, winnings from certain smaller subsidiary
prizes in the
lottery game;

the governmental lottery game allowing players playing the reinvest option to
compete to
win additional prizes from a prize pool made up of a possible additional fee
for playing
the option as well as the prize pool of reinvestment winnings foregone by the
players;

the governmental lottery game drawing a winning subset of numbers for lottery
draw and
possibly an additional subset of numbers for a reinvestment draw; and

the governmental lottery game awarding the jackpot prize or any of the smaller

subsidiary prizes associated with the lottery game to the player if selected
ones of the
lottery ticket numbers of the player matches the drawn winning subset of
numbers, or, if
the reinvest game option has been selected by the player, awarding only the
appropriate
prizes to the player if the lottery ticket numbers of the player matches the
drawn winning
subset of numbers and rewarding the player for winning prizes from an
additional lottery
reinvest draw for players taking the reinvest option or investing their
winnings to play in
a secondary reinvest draw.

3. A method for allowing a player to play any lottery game having prizes or a
jackpot prize
and smaller subsidiary prizes associated therewith, the method comprising the
steps of:
providing the player with lottery ticket numbers for the lottery game;

providing the player with a reinvest option to play the lottery game which,
when the
reinvest option is selected by the player, allows the player to forego any
chance of
winning the smaller subsidiary prizes in the lottery game and instead
competing in an
additional secondary reinvest draw to compete for a reinvested prize pool;





rewarding the player, when the reinvest option has been selected in a
predetermined way
for taking the reinvest option;

drawing a set of winning lottery numbers, the set of winning lottery numbers
having
winning combinations associated therewith; and

awarding the jackpot prize or any of the smaller subsidiary prizes associated
with the
lottery game to the player if selected ones of the lottery ticket numbers of
the player
matches the drawn winning subset of numbers, or, if the reinvest game option
has been
selected by the player, awarding only the appropriate prizes to the player if
the lottery
ticket numbers of the player matches the drawn winning subset of numbers and
rewarding the player for winning prizes from an additional lottery reinvest
draw for
players taking the reinvest option or investing their winnings to play in a
secondary
reinvest draw.

4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of providing the
lottery player
with lottery ticket numbers further comprises providing the lottery player
with randomly
generated lottery ticket numbers.

5. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of providing the
lottery player
with lottery ticket numbers further comprises providing the lottery player
with customer
selected lottery ticket numbers.

6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of providing the
lottery player
with lottery ticket numbers further comprises providing the lottery player
with preprinted
lottery tickets.

7. The method of any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the step of providing the
lottery player
with lottery ticket numbers further comprises providing the lottery player
with a reinvest
number generated on every ticket.


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8. The method of any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the step of providing the
lottery player
with lottery ticket numbers further comprises providing the lottery player
with a reinvest
number generated on only tickets playing the reinvest option.

9. The method of any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the step of providing the
lottery player
with lottery ticket numbers further comprises providing the lottery player
with a reinvest
number generated on every ticket stating whether the reinvest option is
'played' or 'not
played'

10. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of providing the
lottery player
with lottery ticket numbers and not charging an additional amount to the
player for
playing the reinvest option.

11. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of providing the
lottery player
with lottery ticket numbers charging an additional amount to the player for
playing the
reinvest option.

12. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of rewarding the
player, when
the reinvest option has been selected, further comprises awarding the player a
bonus set
of lottery ticket numbers to be used in the lottery game.

13. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of rewarding the
player, when
the reinvest option has been selected, further comprises rewarding the player
by allowing
them to participate in the reinvest lottery game.

14. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of rewarding the
player, when
the reinvest option has been selected, further comprises awarding the player a
bonus set
of lottery ticket numbers to be used in the reinvest lottery game.


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15. The method of claims 10 and 12, whereas certain secondary prizes won by
the player
would be reinvested back into the general prize pool for the lottery game.

16. The method of claims 10 and 12, whereas certain secondary prizes won by
the player
would be reinvested back into certain prize payouts of the general prize pool
for the
lottery game.

17. The method of claims 10 and 13, whereas certain secondary prizes won by
the player
would be reinvested back into a reinvest draw that the player would
participate in.

18. The method of claims 10 and 14, whereas certain secondary prizes won by
the player
would be reinvested back into a reinvest draw that the player would
participate in.

19. The method of claims 11 and 12, whereas certain secondary prizes won by
the player
would be reinvested back into certain prize payouts of the general prize pool
for the
lottery game.

20. The method of claims 11 and 12, whereas a portion of the additional fee
charged to the
player would be added to the general prize pool for the lottery game.

21. The method of claims 11, 12, 19 and 20, whereas certain secondary prizes
won by the
player would be reinvested back into certain prize payouts of the general
prize pool as
well as a portion of the additional fee charged to the player would be added
to the general
prize pool for the lottery game.

22. The method of claims 11 and 13, whereas certain secondary prizes won by
the player
would be reinvested back into a reinvest draw that the player would
participate in.

23. The method of claims 11 and 13, whereas a portion of the additional fee
charged to the
player would be added to the general prize pool of the reinvest draw.


43



24. The method of claims 11, 13, 22 and 23, whereas certain secondary prizes
won by the
player would be reinvested back into the reinvest draw general prize pool as
well as a
portion of the additional fee charged to the player would be added to the
general prize
pool for the reinvest game.

25. The method of claims 11 and 14, whereas certain secondary prizes won by
the player
would be reinvested back into a reinvest draw that the player would
participate in.

26. The method of claims 11 and 14, whereas a portion of the additional fee
charged to the
player would be added to the general prize pool of the reinvest draw that the
player would
participate in.

27. The method of claims 11, 14, 25 and 26, whereas certain secondary prizes
won by the
player would be reinvested back into the reinvest draw general prize pool as
well as a
portion of the additional fee charged to the player would be added to the
general prize
pool for the reinvest draw that the player would participate in.

28. The method of claims 1 to 3, whereas players may reinvest after they have
won
secondary prizes, including winning at any lottery like a scratch ticket and
participate in a
reinvest draw.

29 The method of claim 28, whereas the player is given a number for a future
reinvest draw.
30. The method of claims 1 to 3, whereas the reinvest lottery option may be
attached to and
played in conjunction to any existing lottery or be a new lottery of its own.

31. The method of any one of claims 1 to 30, wherein, subsequent to the step
of providing the
lottery player with lottery ticket numbers, the lottery player is provided
with a lottery
ticket bearing the lottery ticket numbers thereon.


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32. A system for performing a lottery transaction to generate a lottery ticket
for a customer,
comprising the steps of:

initiating the lottery transaction at a POS terminal adapted to perform the
lottery
transaction;

inputting a request for lottery numbers for the customer to the POS terminal;
optionally inputting a request for a reinvest optional game for the customer
to the POS
terminal;

communicating from the POS terminal to a POS controller operatively connected
to the
POS terminal, that the lottery transaction has been initiated;

establishing communication between the POS controller and a lottery data
processing
system adapted to communicate with the POS controller;

sending the request for lottery numbers and, if optionally requested, the
request to
participate in the option reinvest option to the lottery data processing
system;
requesting the lottery numbers and the reinvest lottery numbers be transmitted
from the
lottery data processing system to the POS controller;

generating the lottery numbers and the reinvest lottery numbers in the lottery
data
processing system;

transmitting the lottery numbers and the bonus lottery numbers from the
lottery data
processing system to the POS terminal by the POS controller; and outputting
the lottery
numbers and the reinvest lottery numbers on a lottery ticket issued by the POS
terminal.




33. A system for enabling lottery purchasing transactions for a purchaser to
engage in a
lottery comprising:

a lottery data processing system;

a controller including a storage device, the controller adapted to receive
lottery
information from the lottery data processing system, the lottery information
including
lottery numbers and optionally including possibly at least one set of bonus
lottery
numbers, the at least one bonus set of lottery numbers being provided when the
purchaser
has selected a reinvest option to playing the lottery which allows the
purchaser to forego
any chance of winning certain smaller subsidiary prizes and being rewarded for
doing so;
at least one POS terminal connected to the controller, for performing the
lottery
purchasing transactions in accordance with the received lottery information;
and
said POS terminal including a printer for printing on a lottery ticket the
lottery
information for the purchaser.

34. The system according to claim 33, wherein the storage device stores the
lottery
information received from the lottery data processing system that includes
randomly
selected lottery ticket numbers.

35. The system according to claim 33, wherein the controller communicates in
substantially
real-time with the lottery data processing system.

36. The system according to claim 33, wherein the controller is a network
server.
37. The system according to claim 33, wherein the controller is a data
network.

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38. The system according to claim 33, wherein the data network is a public
switched
telephone network, an integrated service digital network (ISDN), a packet
switched
network, a private data communication network, or a wireless network.

39. The system according to claim 33, wherein the POS terminal is adapted for
input of
customer-selected lottery numbers, and the controller is adapted to transmit
the customer-
selected lottery numbers to the lottery data processing.


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Description

CA 02658939 2000-03-18
FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and method for playing a lottery and
more
specifically, to a system and method for playing a lottery, whereby lottery
players may
participate in a lottery as it exists now or have an additional player option
of reinvesting their
winnings for some reward offered by the operators of the lottery. Players are
given an additional
lottery option of reinvesting their winnings, or potential winnings, for some
incentives or
rewards offered to the players who take this option, such as a chance win
larger amounts or
prizes with possible better odds, or a second chance to win prizes or rewards
such as additional
lines of numbers for a future draw. Essentially this additional lottery option
could be offered and
attached to almost any lottery game and would ideally be offered as a player
option that could be
selected before the draw or after the draw depending on which method is
offered for that
particular lottery. The rewards or bonuses that are offered the players for
reinvesting their
winnings are likely predetermined, such as being rewarded with additional
numbers for a future
draw.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Lotteries and lottery style games are very well known in prior art. Hundreds
of different
lotteries have been devised with different odds of winning prizes and with
different high and low
end prizes available to be won by the players. Some lotteries like Powerball
TM offer top prizes
well into the millions of dollars able to be won while others lotteries and
lottery style games
offer more frequently won smaller top prizes, such as a pull tab ticket that
has a top prize of, for
example, $100. The common theme in almost all lotteries of this type is that
they have various
tiers or levels of prizes in the lottery that can be won by the player,
extending from the lottery top
prize down to the lowest prize able to be won, possibly just a free play for
another future lottery
draw. For example, the first prize in a lottery might entail having 6 numbers
on a lottery ticket
which matches 6 drawn winning numbers, and staggered secondary prizes in the
lottery being
awarded for having 5,4 and 3 numbers on a lottery ticket which match any of
the 6 drawn
winning numbers, and so forth, even down to such nominal sums such as $5.00 or
a free ticket
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CA 02658939 2000-03-18
being awarded, for example.

Lotteries with many different prizes usually offer the bigger top prizes. Many
of these
style lotteries are called progressive jackpots, for when they are not won one
draw, the jackpot
will grow to higher amounts in subsequent draws. One such reason is that
players are willing to
buy tickets for this type of lottery, for they have the opportunity to win
many prizes even if they
aren't able to win the top prize for the lottery.

In United States Patent number 6,733,387, Walker, et al, a conditional lottery
system is
disclosed. The conditional lottery ticket system permits a player to purchase
conditional lottery
tickets that are not activated until one or more player-defined activation
conditions are satisfied.
The player-defined activation conditions may include a minimum lottery
jackpot, a particular
future date of activation, or the occurrence of a particular external event.

One reason for inventions like Walker, et al in patent 6,733,387 is one of the
major
drawbacks to these progressive styles of lotteries and may be summed up in the
behavior of
certain lottery purchasers with what has been called, "Jackpot Intolerance".
Many people do not
purchase lottery tickets unless there is a very large top prize that they have
the opportunity to
win. Further, the general rule of thumb in lotteries is that the more tickets
that are purchased by
lottery ticket players, the percentage of jackpot monies available to be won
by the players will
likewise grow. However, when lotteries offer multiple secondary prizes that
are available to be
won, these style of lotteries must correspondingly place an amount of each
ticket purchased to
also cover the secondary prizes that are available to be won and, in turn,
this "grows" the amount
of the top prize available to be won at a much slower rate than if all prize
money was only
allocated to "growing" the top lottery prize.

It is well known in the lottery industry that higher jackpots often drive
ticket sales for a
draw. When jackpots reach record levels, people invest more money trying to
win the jackpot.
This makes the lottery corporations who run the lotteries further profits. At
the same time
lotteries are in a business to make money and profits themselves, even if
mainly for charities.
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CA 02658939 2000-03-18

Often these profits are put into worthwhile causes such as charities and the
like. With tougher
economic times, lotteries also need to be creative to create interest from
players buying tickets
and one such method to achieve this goal is by offering lotteries with high
jackpots and great
odds of winning.

The fact players buy more tickets when the jackpots increase in size tells
that players are
buying lottery tickets for an opportunity to win the jackpot. Although
lotteries offer smaller
prizes with the lotteries it could be argued that this is not the reason
players buy tickets. Lottery
players do not invest $2 for the hopes of winning $10.

It is argued that there is a continuing need to provide an improved system and
method for
playing a lottery whereby lottery players are given an additional player
selected lottery option of
reinvesting their lottery winnings for an opportunity to turn their smaller
secondary prizes into
larger prizes and in turn being rewarded for doing so in some predetermined
method and thus
making the lottery operators further profits as well as creating higher
jackpots to counter the
Jackpot Intolerance of the players and also offer a chance of winning a prize
with better odds for
the players. The present invention substantially addresses this need.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A general object of the present invention is to provide an improved system and
method
for playing a lottery whereby lottery players are given an additional lottery
option.

A more general object of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
method for playing a lottery whereby lottery players are given an additional
lottery option of
reinvesting their prizes, usually secondary prizes.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved system and
method
for playing a lottery whereby lottery players are given an additional lottery
option of reinvesting
their secondary prizes that is attachable to existing lotteries. The present
invention may be
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CA 02658939 2000-03-18

attached to any kind of lottery or lottery sale currently offered by the
lottery such as combining
two different progressive lotteries like a 6/49 style lottery and a Super 7
style lottery.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
method for playing a lottery whereby lottery players are given an additional
lottery option of
reinvesting their secondary prizes that is attachable to different kinds of
lotteries. The present
invention may be attached to any kind of lottery or lottery sale currently
offered by the lottery
such as a Powerball type progressive lottery combined with a scratch ticket
sold by the lottery
operator.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
method for playing a lottery whereby lottery players are given an additional
lottery option of
reinvesting their secondary prizes and being rewarded in some predetermined
method with an
incentive for doing so by the lottery operator.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
method for playing a lottery whereby lottery players are rewarded for
reinvesting their lottery
winnings. Lottery players could be enticed or rewarded to reinvest their
winnings before the
draw by offering them an additional line or set of numbers, and possible also
charging them an
additional fee. Lottery players could be rewarded after they have won a prize,
usually a
secondary prize and choose to reinvest this prize. Players could be rewarded
by being given
additional sets of lines or numbers to a future draw, or they may be allowed
to participate in a
totally separate draw with other players who have chosen to reinvest their
winnings.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
method for playing a lottery whereby players are enticed to invest all of
their winnings of certain
secondary prizes or after the fact given the opportunity to invest all of
their winnings, or a
portion thereof and rewarded in some manner for choosing this option. Under
the present
invention players may invest all their winnings or only a portion thereof and
keep some of their
winnings.



CA 02658939 2000-03-18

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
method for playing a lottery whereby lottery players who choose to reinvest
their prize winnings
may participate in an additional lottery made up of other players who invest
their winnings and
in turn have a greater chance to win higher amounts of money, better odds than
the normal
lotteries currently offer.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
method for playing a lottery whereby is to only allow players who have won at
some lottery the
chance to participate in the reinvest lottery. Although it is possible to let
players just buy into
this additional lottery, it is the preferred method that only players who
previously win may
participate in this additional lottery and for doing so are rewarded with one
such reward being
having better odds than the regular lottery to win the top prize.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
method for playing a lottery whereby the lottery operators make additional
profits by offering the
present invention attachable to all their different lotteries and lottery
types.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
method for playing a lottery, which, by virtue of allowing players the option
of reinvesting their
secondary prizes and being rewarded in some predetermined method with an
incentive for doing
so by the lottery operator and in turn creating further lottery profits and
higher jackpots with
possible better odds for players to win prizes, the lottery is thus able to
more effectively
compound and "grow" top prize jackpots associated with lotteries. Lottery
corporations have
long known that ticket sales increase as the jackpot available to be won
increases, and it can thus
be argued that, by allowing players the option of reinvesting smaller
subsidiary prizes in
exchange for some incentives awarded to them, more tickets for the lottery
will likely be sold,
thus likewise compounding and "growing" the jackpot available to be won.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
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CA 02658939 2000-03-18

method for playing a lottery whereby the lottery operators make additional
profits by enticing the
players to surrender their full or partial winnings back to the lottery
instead of the player keeping
those profits from the winnings and spending them on something else. If the
lottery makes it
attractive for the player to reinvest their winnings, the lottery could take
100% of this player win
and keep a portion of this amount as their profit and use what is left as part
of the enticement,
giving the player a chance to win the amount of money surrendered by other
players. It can be
argued that as the corporation is itself a business to make money, if it can
make more money by
keeping more of the player's winnings, the present invention is a great option
for them to attach
to their current games.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
method for playing a lottery whereby more excitement in the lottery is created
by allowing more
player options attached and associated with the different lotteries, but not
forcing options unto
the player.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
method for playing a lottery whereby more excitement is created in the lottery
by the lottery
offering higher jackpots associated with their lotteries and in turn getting
more sales from the
players who don't buy when jackpots are smaller (jackpot intolerance).

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
method for playing a lottery whereby the lottery can offer higher jackpots
associated with their
games and in turn create further excitement and additional sales. It can be
argued that if the
lottery enticed the players to surrender their winnings back to the
corporation and the corporation
takes a percentage of this amount and places it into the prize fund available
to be won by the
players the top prizes would then by higher.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
method for playing a lottery whereby the lottery can increase their profits by
having the players
prepay for the option of reinvesting their winnings. By having the players
prepay for the option
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CA 02658939 2000-03-18

to reinvest winnings higher jackpots may also be created.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
method for playing a lottery whereby lotteries may have two jackpots
associated with one
lottery, one the regular lottery and the other a jackpot created by the
surrendered winnings of
players who selected to reinvest their winnings for an additional opportunity
to win a top prize.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
method for playing a lottery whereby players of different lottery and lottery
types are enticed by
an incentive to reinvest their winnings for an additional opportunity to win a
top prize jackpot.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
method for playing a lottery whereby the lottery may now combine different
lotteries that they
offer, creating yet another top jackpot lottery from their existing lotteries
as well as combining
different types of games, such as a progressive jackpot like Powerball and
Scratch Tickets, where
as winnings of smaller secondary prizes in both types of lotteries may now
reinvest these smaller
prizes for a chance to participate and win a top prize made up of these
different types of lotteries
and different type of games.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
method for selling lottery tickets using a point-of-sale ("POS") terminal,
whereby a player can
purchase a regular lottery ticket with the opportunity to win the jackpot top
prizes or any
subsidiary prizes associated with the lottery, as well as provide players with
the additional player
option of purchasing a lottery ticket that allows the player to reinvest
winning smaller subsidiary
prizes in the lottery, in exchange for the player being rewarded in some
predetermined method,
such as by receiving an extra "bonus" set of lottery ticket numbers when they
purchase their
ticket or having their ticket automatically be entered into a secondary draw
made up of other
lottery players who have also selected this same option and won secondary
prizes.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method
for allowing
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CA 02658939 2000-03-18
"

a player to play a lottery game having a jackpot prize and smaller subsidiary
prizes associated
therewith, the method comprising the steps of providing the player with
lottery ticket numbers
for the lottery game; providing the player with a jackpot prize option to play
the lottery game
which, when the jackpot prize option is selected by the player, allows the
player to reinvest some
or all of the smaller subsidiary prizes in the lottery game; rewarding the
player, when the reinvest
option has been selected, in one of many possible ways the lottery may offer
this game, one such
option an additional opportunity to win a secondary jackpot of a draw
combining other players
who have chosen this option; drawing a winning subset of numbers; and awarding
the jackpot
prize or any of the smaller subsidiary prizes associated with the lottery game
to the player if
selected ones of the lottery ticket numbers of the player matches the drawn
winning subset of
numbers, or, if the reinvest option has been selected by the player, awarding
only the appropriate
jackpot prizes to the player if the lottery ticket numbers of the player
matches the drawn winning
subset of numbers and also any secondary options allowed the player for
playing the
reinvestment part of the game.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
method for
facilitating play of a governmental lottery game having a jackpot prize and
smaller subsidiary
prizes associated therewith, comprising the steps of the governmental lottery
game providing the
lottery player with lottery ticket numbers; the governmental lottery game
providing the player
with a jackpot prize option to play the lottery game which, when the jackpot
prize option is
selected by the player, allows the player to reinvest some or all of the
smaller subsidiary prizes in
the lottery game; the governmental lottery game rewarding the player, when the
reinvest option
has been selected, in one of many possible ways the lottery may offer this
game, one such option
an additional opportunity to win a secondary jackpot of a draw combining other
players who
have chosen this option; the governmental lottery game drawing a winning
subset of numbers;
and the governmental lottery game awarding the jackpot prize or any of the
smaller subsidiary
prizes associated with the lottery game to the player if selected ones of the
lottery ticket numbers
of the player matches the drawn winning subset of numbers, or, if the reinvest
option has been
selected by the player, awarding only the appropriate jackpot prizes to the
player if the lottery
ticket numbers of the player matches the drawn winning subset of numbers and
also any
9


CA 02658939 2000-03-18

secondary options allowed the player for playing the reinvestment part of the
game.

Yet another aspect of the present invention provides for a system for
facilitating play of a
governmental lottery game having a jackpot prize and smaller subsidiary prizes
associated
therewith over an electronic network, comprising the steps of the governmental
lottery game
providing the lottery player with lottery ticket numbers; the governmental
lottery game providing
the player with a jackpot prize option to play the lottery game which, when
the jackpot prize
option is selected by the player, allows the player to reinvest some or all of
the smaller subsidiary
prizes in the lottery game; the governmental lottery game rewarding the
player, when the
reinvest option has been selected, in one of many possible ways the lottery
may offer this game,
one such option an additional opportunity to win a secondary jackpot of a draw
combining other
players who have chosen this option; the governmental lottery game drawing a
winning subset of
numbers; and the governmental lottery game awarding the jackpot prize or any
of the smaller
subsidiary prizes associated with the lottery game to the player if selected
ones of the lottery
ticket numbers of the player matches the drawn winning subset of numbers, or,
if the reinvest
option has been selected by the player, awarding only the appropriate jackpot
prizes to the player
if the lottery ticket numbers of the player matches the drawn winning subset
of numbers and also
any secondary options allowed the player for playing the reinvestment part of
the game.

A still further aspect of the present invention provides for a system for
performing a
lottery transaction to generate a lottery ticket for a customer, comprising
the steps of initiating
the lottery transaction at a POS terminal adapted to perform the lottery
transaction; inputting a
request for lottery numbers for the customer to the POS terminal; optionally
inputting a request
for a reinvest option for the customer to the POS terminal; inputting a
request for a possible
bonus lottery numbers to be presented for the customer if the reinvest option
has been optionally
selected; communicating from the POS terminal to a POS controller operatively
connected to the
POS terminal, that the lottery transaction has been initiated; establishing
communication between
the POS controller and a lottery data processing system adapted to communicate
with the POS
controller; sending the request for lottery numbers and, if optionally
requested, the request for a
possible bonus lottery numbers to the lottery data processing system;
requesting the lottery


CA 02658939 2000-03-18

numbers and possible bonus lottery numbers be transmitted from the lottery
data processing
system to the POS controller; generating the lottery numbers and the possible
bonus lottery
numbers in the lottery data processing system; transmitting the lottery
numbers and the bonus
lottery numbers from the lottery data processing system to the POS terminal by
the POS
controller; and outputting the lottery numbers and the possible bonus lottery
numbers on a lottery
ticket issued by the POS terminal.

A still further aspect of the present invention provides for a system for
enabling lottery
purchasing transactions for a purchaser to engage in a lottery comprising a
lottery data
processing system; a controller including a storage device, the controller
adapted to receive
lottery information from the lottery data processing system, the lottery
information including
lottery numbers and optionally including at least one set of bonus lottery
numbers, the at least
one bonus set of lottery numbers being provided when the purchaser has
selected a reinvest
option to play the lottery which allows the purchaser an additional option of
participating in a
secondary draw possible win a further jackpot associated with the lottery; at
least one POS
terminal connected to the controller, for performing the lottery purchasing
transactions in
accordance with the received lottery information; and the POS terminal
including a printer for
printing on a lottery ticket the lottery information for the purchaser.

The advantage of the present invention is that it provides an improved system
and method
for playing a lottery whereby lottery players are given an additional lottery
option of either pre-
purchasing a lottery ticket, or after the fact participating in a lottery game
whereby players
reinvest smaller subsidiary prizes associated with the lottery, in exchange
for the player being
rewarded in some predetermined method, such as by receiving an extra "bonus"
set of lottery
ticket numbers printed on their ticket and such bonus line may be good for the
lottery draw or
some secondary lottery draw offered by the operator or awarding the player for
taking this option
after the draw based on some predetermined payouts, such as guaranteeing the
player better odds
in a secondary draw or giving the player bonus numbers for a future draw.

Yet another advantage of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
11


CA 02658939 2000-03-18

method for playing a lottery, which, by virtue of allowing lottery players the
additional player
option of purchasing lottery tickets that allow them to reinvest smaller
subsidiary prizes in the
lottery, the lottery is thus able to more effectively compound and "grow" top
prize jackpots
associated with lotteries, thus making the lottery more profitable.

Yet another advantage of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
method for playing a lottery, which, by virtue of allowing lottery players the
additional player
option of purchasing lottery tickets that allow them to reinvest winnings from
smaller subsidiary
prizes in the lottery, in exchange for a reward (such as bonus lottery numbers
or being allowed to
participate in a secondary draw) being provided to the player, the lottery is
thus able to keep a
percentage of the smaller prizes that the players reinvested and thus making
the lottery more
profits.

Yet another advantage of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
method for playing a lottery, which, by virtue of allowing lottery players the
additional player
option of purchasing lottery tickets that allow them to reinvest winnings of
smaller subsidiary
prizes in the lottery, in exchange for a reward (such as bonus lottery numbers
or being allowed to
participate in a secondary draw) being provided to the player, the lottery is
able to add this player
option to all their major lottery games, as well as games such as scratch
tickets, as long as the
game pays subsidiary smaller prizes and thus making the lottery more profits.

Yet another advantage of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
method for playing a lottery, which, by virtue of allowing lottery players the
additional player
option of purchasing lottery tickets that allow them to reinvest winnings of
smaller subsidiary
prizes in the lottery, in exchange for a reward (such as bonus lottery numbers
or being allowed to
participate in a secondary draw) being provided to the player, the lottery is
able to make
additional profits from the players without adding any cost of the price of
the initial tickets if
desired by the lottery operator.

Yet another advantage of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
12


CA 02658939 2000-03-18

method for playing a lottery, which, by virtue of allowing lottery players the
additional player
option of purchasing lottery tickets that allow them to reinvest winnings of
smaller subsidiary
prizes in the lottery, in exchange for a reward (such as bonus lottery numbers
or being allowed to
participate in a secondary draw) being provided to the player, the player has
better odds of
winning the top prizes without having an additional expense if the lottery
operator chooses not to
charge extra to the player for taking the reinvest option.

Yet another advantage of the present invention is to provide an improved
system and
method for playing a lottery, which, by virtue of allowing lottery players the
additional player
option of purchasing lottery tickets that allow them to reinvest winnings of
smaller subsidiary
prizes in the lottery, in exchange for a reward (such as bonus lottery numbers
or being allowed to
participate in a secondary draw) being provided to the player, the lottery is
able to produce
higher top prize payouts by placing a percentage of the players smaller prizes
that are now
foregone by the player by virtue of them reinvesting them, into the top prizes
thus being able to
market and sell the lottery game as having higher payouts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below with
reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a block diagram of a hardware configuration for a lottery ticket
purchasing
system in accordance with the lottery playing method of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a block diagram of one possible embodiment of the POS controller
of Figure
l;

Figure 3 is a block diagram of one possible embodiment of the POS terminal of
Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a block diagram of one possible embodiment of the lottery data
processing
system of Figure 1;

13


CA 02658939 2000-03-18

Figure 5 is a flow chart depicting one embodiment of a lottery transaction at
the POS
terminal; and

Figure 6 is an example ticket that could be printed at the point of sale form
a lottery
corporation operating the game.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention relates to a system and method for playing a lottery and
more
specifically, to a system and method for playing a lottery whereby, lottery
players may
participate in a lottery as it exists but now have an additional player option
of reinvesting their
winnings for some reward offered by the operators of the lottery. Players are
given an additional
lottery option of reinvesting their winnings, or potential winnings, for some
incentives or
rewards offered to the players who take this option, such as a chance win
larger amounts or
prizes with possible better odds, or a second chance to win prizes or rewards
such as additional
lines of numbers for a future draw. Essentially this additional lottery option
could be offered and
attached to almost any lottery game and would ideally be offered as a player
option that could be
selected before the draw or after the draw depending on which method is
offered for that
particular lottery. The rewards or bonuses that are offered the players for
reinvesting their
winnings are likely predetermined, such as being rewarded with additional
numbers for a future
draw.

In a preferred embodiment, players utilizing the "Reinvest" option of the
present
invention will be given the option of reinvesting their winnings in a lottery
for an additional
option of turning the reinvest amount into a larger amount of money. Players
who buy lottery
tickets in lotteries such as Powerball in the United States or Lotto 6/49 in
Canada do so in hopes
of winning the jackpot and what amounts to millions of dollars. Players
usually do not spent $1
or $2 to buy a ticket with hopes and dreams of winning $5 or $10. However,
these lotteries and
others like them offer such smaller secondary prizes available to be won by
the players. The
14


CA 02658939 2000-03-18

present invention is an attachable option that may be attached to these and
other lotteries that
gives the players the additional option of taking these winnings and having
them pooled into
another draw of some kind where the players have an additional opportunity,
possible with much
better odds, of winning a major jackpot associated with these draws and as a
result of the reinvest
option.

In a preferred embodiment, players utilizing the "Reinvest" option of the
present
invention would be rewarded for taking the option and reinvesting their
smaller subsidiary prizes
back into the reinvestment draw. This draw could be a totally separate draw
and players
choosing to reinvest would be generated a new ticket number for this
additional draw. In an
alternative embodiment, the players could use the same number for this
additional lottery draw.
In the preferred embodiment many different types of lotteries, even different
kinds of lotteries
such as a progressive jackpot such as Powerball and a scratch type ticket
could have the smaller
secondary tickets winners combined if the player chooses to reinvest their
winnings and these
lotteries could create one bigger jackpot, as opposed to holding a separate
reinvest style draw for
each different type of game.

In a preferred embodiment, players utilizing the "Reinvest" option of the
present
invention players now have an additional opportunity of winning a major prize
for reinvesting
their winnings. In the preferred embodiment only winners would be allowed to
purchase and
participate in this additional draw for it would in all likelihood offer the
player better odds of
winning the top prize, a further enticement for the players to reinvest all or
some of their
winnings. It is understood to one skilled in the art, that the lottery could
allow anyone to
participate if they choose that option as long as players bought a ticket
meeting the requirements
laid out by the lottery. In the preferred embodiment players would have to
invest a required
minimum to participate, say an amount of $5 or $10. Again it should be
understood if the
required amount to reinvest was say $5, a player winning any amount may be
allowed to top up a
winning amount to play, so a player winning $3 could reinvest it and pay the
additional
appropriate amount to partake in the reinvest lottery. It is also understood
that a player may
invest a portion of his winnings if this is the case. A player winning an
amount of $10 may


CA 02658939 2000-03-18

invest half or a player winning $68 may invest $60 and take the rest in a
payout.

In a preferred embodiment, players utilizing the "Reinvest" option of the
present
invention will have a portion of the amount they reinvest placed in a prize
fund for an additional
lottery that they partake in and a portion of this amount would be taken by
the lottery operator as
further profits. It is understood that the lottery could keep any amount of
this reinvestment as
they determine due to the mathematics of the game but likely this will be
publicized and it is
possible that the lottery keep none and place all reinvestment into the
additional prize pool,
although unlikely. In a preferred embodiment, having players reinvesting their
winnings is a
great opportunity for the lotteries to make additional profits by ensuring the
players do not keep
their winnings. Lottery operators are in the business of making money, even if
this is only for
charity.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention players may be required to
pay
an additional fee at the time they purchase their ticket to partake in the
secondary reinvest draw.
In this embodiment, players would then be participating in the secondary draw,
one seeded with
a percentage of the additional amount of the ticket price as well as the
secondary prizes of the
initial draw won by the players, but automatically reinvested. Under this
embodiment players
would have two chances to win a major jackpot style prize for either the price
of one ticket or the
price of one ticket plus an additional fee. For example, if Powerball costs $1
per ticket, a player
could just play the normal Powerball game as is, or possibly pay some
additional amount, say $2
and also play the reinvest portion. Under this embodiment their ticket number
would now be
good for the Powerball draw. If they win smaller secondary prizes these could
automatically be
reinvested in the secondary reinvest draw. Under this embodiment, their ticket
is good for this
second draw as well and they may win additional prizes in this second draw. In
an alternative
embodiment of this embodiment their reinvest number may be good for future
reinvest draws
until which time the jackpot of the reinvest lottery has been won, than all
tickets are no longer
valid. This is a way to give the players further options to reinvest at the
start and pay an
additional fee to partake. It is understood that if the lottery offers an
option like this than the
reinvest draw does not have to mimic the initial draw in payouts or prizes
offered, however it
16


CA 02658939 2000-03-18
could be the same prize structure as well.

In the alternate embodiment of charging the players an additional fee to
participate in
the reinvest portion of the present invention if is possible the lottery
corporation allows the
players to keep all of their winnings from any lottery prizes won, instead of
foregoing them as
the preferred embodiment would call for. In this alternate embodiment all
players paying the
additional fee to play the reinvest option would have the opportunity, through
the winning of any
prize, to participate in this additional reinvest draw without foregoing any
of their winnings.
Under this embodiment the prize pool of this additional reinvest draw would be
seeded by a
portion of the additional amount the players are charge at the time of
purchase. This allows the
lottery corporation to make additional profits from the charging of an entry
and can create a
second large jackpot associated with each game as although most players may
play this reinvest
option, only those winning a prize would participate. In Lotto 6/49 in Ontario
the odds are 1 in
32.3 of winning any prize.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention players may be allowed to
reinvest their smaller secondary winnings after they have won. By doing so
they may be
rewarded in a multitude of ways. One is as mentioned, allowing them to partake
in a secondary
draw either with their current numbers or being issued new or separate numbers
for the reinvest
draw. Another way that players could be rewarded for their reinvestment is by
giving the players
additional bonus numbers for a future draw. So if Powerball was $1 per line
and a player won $3
and chose to reinvest it, they may be given more than 3 lines for a future
draw, say 6 lines that
may be good for the next draw or a future Powerball draw. One skilled in the
art would
understand that how a player is rewarded for reinvesting could be any amount
of different ways,
endless depending on the creativeness of the lotteries, but it is all about
rewarded the players to
ensure they give back all or the majority of their winnings more frequently.
In an alternative
embodiment players may be rewarded by being allowed to partake in an
additional draw and also
be given some bonus numbers for the future draw as well, so in essence they
could be dually
rewarded. In this example a Powerball winner could be given an additional
ticket for Powerball
but also for the secondary reinvest draw.

17


CA 02658939 2000-03-18

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention players taking the
reinvestment
option, before the draw, or after they win, could have their winnings or a
portion of their
winnings placed back into the initial lottery prize pool. Using this option,
lotteries would be
creating higher jackpots which may entice more players to buy more tickets. At
the same time
the lottery is making even further profits from keeping a percentage of the
reinvested amount as
their profits.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, at the POS for lotteries
using
the present invention a player may purchase their tickets (as normal) or
optionally participate in a
"reinvest" lottery option. This may occur at the time of purchase or when
players have validated
their tickets and have won some prize. When choosing this "reinvest" option,
the retailer would
simply select the players request on the terminal and the ticket the player
requested would be
generated with the appropriate information confirming and displaying on the
ticket that they
have selected this option. Pertinent information such as a number and draw
date would likely
appear on the ticket.

It is important to remember that the "reinvest" option of the present
invention is a
player's option. Players may wish to purchase their lottery numbers and play
in a normal fashion
for that particular lottery and not participate in the "reinvest" option. One
such lottery game,
which we will use for example purposes only, is from the Ontario Lottery
Corporation (OLG) in
Ontario Canada., and is called Lotto 6/49T"". Currently each ticket is $2,
payment of which
provides a player with a set of lottery numbers (or often called a ticket, a
board or a line). The
jackpot grows until won by matching 6/6 numbers drawing from a total of 49
numbers. Each
ticket consists of 6 numbers from the numbers 1 to 49.

Generally with Lotto 6/49T"", 47% of all sales for the lottery are dedicated
to and
allocated for distribution to players from the prize fund (with the lottery
corporation itself taking
53% of all sales to cover their profits and expenses in operating the
lottery). The total amount of
$5 (2/6 + Bonus Number Draw) and $10 (3/6) prizes (winners after the draw) are
paid from the
18


CA 02658939 2000-03-18

prize fund and the balance of the fund is allocated between the other prizes
available to be won
including the 4/6, 5/6, 5/6 + bonus, and the 6/6 to prize. This is broken down
in the charts
below. If there are multiple winners of any prize category that draws from the
Prize Fund (not
the 2/6 and 3/6 as shown which in this lottery are set prizes) then that prize
categories total
amount is shared amongst the winners within that prize category. As an
example, if only one
person wins the top prize of 6/6, they get the full amount of that prize fund,
but if two people win
it, they would split that amount equally. Any prize not won in the 6/6 or 5/6
+ bonus is added to
the 6/6 jackpot prize for the next scheduled draw.

Number of Prizes Win Odds of Winning
(Approximately)
6/6 80.5% of the Prize Fund 1 in 13,983,816
5/6 + Bonus 5.75% of the Prize Fund 1 in 2,330,636
5/6 4.75% of the Prize Fund 1 in 55,492
4/6 9% of the Prize Fund 1 in 1,033
3/6 $10 Prize 1 in 56.7
2/6 + Bonus $5 Prize 1 in 81.2
Any Prize 1 in 32.3

Prizes associated with Lotto 6/49T"", as per a handout from the Ontario
Lottery Corporation may
look like this from an actual draw as follows:

EXAMPLE WINNINGS FOR Lotto 6/49TM
Match #of winners Prize
6/6 0 $14,594,639.00
5/6 + Bonus 4 $99,318.50
5/6 181 $1,813.10
4/6 10722 $58.00
3/6 196025 $10.00
2/6 + Bonus 145119 $5.00
19


CA 02658939 2000-03-18

Under the preferred embodiment of the present invention, using the above
charts, if
we assume that every player in the lottery utilized the "reinvest" option of
the present invention,
and if we assume that all players winning $5 or $10 amounts reinvested their
full winnings (in
one embodiment of the present invention) and players doing so were generated
an additional
ticket for a reinvest lottery draw than we can see that from our lottery
example the total winnings
of $2,685,845 would be reinvested. From the example draw above one can see
that there were
196,025 winners of $10 (3/6) that paid out a total of $1,960,250 and 145,119
winners of $5 (2/6
+ Bonus) that paid out a total of $725,595. The two prizes added together paid
a total of
$2,685,845 dollars. The operator of the lottery may take some portion of this
amount as their
profits and the rest could be added to the reinvest lottery draw. The
remaining amount after the
lottery took their profits could be the new amount added to the prize fund of
the reinvest lottery.
As an example, if the lottery chose to take 30% of this reinvested amount (30%
of $2,685,845) as
their profit, the lottery would generate additional revenues from this lottery
of $805,752 without
increasing ticket sales or charging more per ticket for the initial draw. The
remaining amount
($2,685,845 - $805,752 = $1,880,093) could be used to seed the secondary
reinvest draw.

EXAMPLE #1 - WINNINGS FOR REINVEST Lotto 6/49T"" DRAW
For example #1 Purposes we will assume each $5 invested gets 1 ticket number
in a
same style draw IE. Reinvest Lotto 6/49 Draw.

Match #of winners Prize
6/6 0 $14,594,639.00
5/6 + Bonus 4 $99,318.50
5/6 181 $1,813.10
4/6 10722 $58.00
3/6 196025 $10.00
2/6 + Bonus 145119 $5.00


CA 02658939 2000-03-18

Total tickets generated for the Reinvest Lotto 6/49 Draw in Example #1 are
145,119
($5 winners) and 392,050 (196,025 tickets that won $10 x 2 tickets each) for a
total of 537,169
total tickets in play (145,119 + 392,050). We will assume that no players
winning 4/6 or higher,
although it could be allowed, but for example purposes they did not reinvest.
Using the same
mathematical odds as used for the 6/49 payouts and odds of winning, after the
Reinvest Lotto
6/49 Draw the winners and prizes would look as follows:

EXAMPLE #1 - REINVEST LOTTO 6/49 DRAW WINNERS
Prize pool was $1,880,093 ($2,685,845 Invested - $805,752 Lottery Profits =
$1,880,093 Prize
Fund)
Total tickets issued were 537,169
Match #of winners Prize
6/6 0 $1,410,583.00
5/6 + Bonus 0 $100,756.00
5/6 10 $8,323.30
4/6 520 $303.28
3/6 9474 $10.00
2/6 + Bonus 6615 $5.00
Match #of winners Prizes Paid Out
6/6 0 $1,410,583.00
5/6 + Bonus 0 $100,756.00
5/6 10 $83,233.00
4/6 520 $157,705.00
3/6 9474 $94,740.00
2/6 + Bonus 6615 $33,075.00

From the Reinvest Lotto 6/49 Draw in Example # 1 we can see the draw results
above. There were no winners and therefore nothing paid on the top two prizes.
In the 5/6
category, 10 winners won $8,323.30 each (shown in the second chart as paying
out a total of
21


CA 02658939 2000-03-18

$83,233). The other winners and payouts are shown. In the regular Lotto 6/49
Draw above the
5/6 category had paid out $1,813.10 to each winner, whereas each winner of the
same prize
category in the Reinvest Lotto 6/49 Draw in Example #1 was paid out much
higher, at $8,323.30
each. With no winners the jackpot could build for the next Reinvest Lotto 6/49
Draw if that is
the method the operator decided to go with the game. Below shows a second
method of the
same draw and results, only the lottery corporation has decided in this
example that they are
going to help create top prize winners for the Reinvest Lotto 6/49 Draw. This
is done by saying
all players who have tickets that match 5/6 or better are sharing the top
prize.

EXAMPE #lA - REINVEST DRAW WINNERS 5/6 WINS
Prize pool was $1,880,093 ($2,685,845 Invested - $805,752 Lottery Profits =
$1,880,093 Prize
Fund)
Total tickets issued were 537,169
Match #of winners Prize
5/6 or Better 10 $159,457.20
4/6 520 $303.28
3/6 9474 $10.00
2/6 + Bonus 6615 $5.00
Match #of winners Prizes Paid Out
5/6 or Better 10 $1,594,572.00
4/6 520 $157,705.00
3/6 9474 $94,740.00
2/6 + Bonus 6615 $33,075.00

Under this prize structure the entire process was the same only the lottery
made it
easier for the Reinvest Lotto 6/49 Draw players to share in the top prize.
This will entice the
players to play the Reinvest Lotto 6/49 Draw and further create more profits
for the lottery
operators.

Under an alternate embodiment of the present invention the lottery could
charge an
22


CA 02658939 2000-03-18

additional fee at the time of purchase to participate in the Reinvest Lotto
6/49 Draw. We will
call this Example #2. Instead of players buying the 6/49 ticket for $2, which
of course would
still be a player option, they may instead pay $3 for the Reinvest Lotto 6/49
Draw option. From
here the corporation would not be limited to how they run this second lottery.
One option could
be that they automatically would generate a second ticket, or line of numbers
for the player
taking this option. They may also do neither and the player's ticket could be
good for both the
regular draw and the Reinvest Lotto 6/49 Draw even if they do not win in the
first regular Lotto
6/49 Draw. Under this embodiment of the present invention in all likelihood,
players taking this
second option would forego smaller prizes, maybe $5 or $10 winnings which
would also be
added to the second Reinvest Lotto 6/49 Draw.

Number of Prizes Win Odds of Winning
(Approximately)
6/6 80.5% of the Prize Fund 1 in 13,983,816
5/6 + Bonus 5.75% of the Prize Fund 1 in 2,330,636
5/6 4.75% of the Prize Fund 1 in 55,492
4/6 9% of the Prize Fund 1 in 1,033
3/6 $10 Prize 1 in 56.7
2/6 + Bonus $5 Prize 1 in 81.2
Any Prize 1 in 32.3

Prizes associated with Lotto 6/49T', as per a handout from the Ontario Lottery
Corporation may
look like this from an actual draw as follows:

EXAMPLE WINNINGS FOR Lotto 6/49T""
Match #of winners Prize
6/6 0 $14,594,639.00
5/6 + Bonus 4 $99,318.50
5/6 181 $1,813.10
23


CA 02658939 2000-03-18

4/6 10722 $58.00
3/6 196025 $10.00
2/6 + Bonus 145119 $5.00

For example purposes in Reinvest Lotto 6/49 Draw Example #2, if each player
chose
to play the Reinvest Lotto 6/49 Draw and paid an additional dollar to
participate in the Reinvest
Lotto 6/49 Draw the first regular 6/49 draw would not have change from the
above number of
winners (#of winners) however, assuming all $5 and $10 wins were reinvested
automatically by
playing the option, the payout for this draw would have been as follows:

EXAMPLE #2 WINNINGS FOR Lotto 6/49w REINVEST DRAW - ADDITIONAL DOLLAR
Match #of winners Prize
6/6 0 $14,594,639.00
5/6 + Bonus 4 $99,318.50
5/6 181 $1,813.10
4/6 10722 $58.00
3/6 0 $10.00
2/6 + Bonus 0 $5.00

In the regular Lotto 6/49 draw, there were still 196,025 winners of $10 (3/6)
and
145,119 winners of $5 (2/6 + Bonus), however, these players taking this option
(in this example
all players) would have foregone these winnings which would be placed in the
additional
Reinvest Lotto 6/49 Draw. From the example draw above one can see that there
were 196,025
winners of $10 (3/6) that paid out a total of $1,960,250 and 145,119 winners
of $5 (2/6 + Bonus)
that paid out a total of $725,595. The two prizes added together paid a total
of $2,685,845
dollars. The operator of the lottery may take some portion of this amount as
their profits and the
rest could be added to the reinvest lottery draw. The remaining amount after
the lottery took
their profits could be the new amount added to the prize fund of the reinvest
lottery. As an
example, if the lottery chose to take 30% of this reinvested amount (30% of
$2,685,845) as their
24


CA 02658939 2000-03-18

profit, the lottery would generate additional revenues from this lottery of
$805,752. The
remaining amount ($2,685,845 - $805,752 = $1,880,093) could be used to help
seed the
secondary reinvest draw.

From the math provided, and for use in our example #2 above, we can assume the
lottery corporation had sold about 11.5 million tickets for this draw
(11,500,000). If each player
had taken the option as we are assuming and each paid an additional $1 for
doing so, an
additional $11,500,000 would have been generated by the lottery. As they
advertise they keep
53% of this amount and place the remainder in the prize pool. So the lottery
would keep 53%
($6,095,000) and place the remaining into the Reinvest Lotto 6/49 Draw Example
#2 or 47%
($5,405,000) prize fund. This amount plus the winnings as mentioned of
$1,880,093 created a
second Reinvest Lotto 6/49 Draw prize pool of $7,285,093 ($5,405,000 +
$1,880,093). The
lotteries profit was $6,900,752 ($6,095,000 + $805,752) from running the
Reinvest Lotto 6/49
Draw Example #2. The total tickets for this second Reinvest Lotto 6/49 Draw
Example #2 were
11,500,000 (People who paid the additional dollar to participate). Using this
information it
would create the follow example payouts and prizes:

EXAMPLE #1 - REINVEST LOTTO 6/49 DRAW WINNERS
Prize pool was $7,285,093
Total tickets issued were 11,500,000
Match #of winners Prize
6/6 0 $3,661,258.33
5/6 + Bonus 5 $52,303.69
5/6 207 $1,043.66
4/6 11,132 $36.77
3/6 202,821 $10.00
2/6 + Bonus 141,625 $5.00
Match #of winners Prizes Paid Out
6/6 0 $3,661,258.33


CA 02658939 2000-03-18

5/6 + Bonus 5 $261,518.45
5/6 207 $216,036.98
4/6 11,132 $409,333.23
3/6 202,821 $2,028,821.00
2/6 + Bonus 141,625 $708,125.00

From the Reinvest Lotto 6/49 Draw Example #2 above one can see that there were
no winners of the top prize of 6/6 for the Reinvest Lotto 6/49 Draw and this
money may carry
over into the next Reinvest Draw. It would be obvious to one skilled in the
art the corporation
has many options here. They could make the Reinvest Lotto 6/49 Draw easier to
win or also not
payout the lower prizes of the second reinvest draw and adding those into the
top prize pools.
The lottery may also choose to award players for those payouts with other
prizes amounts or
prizes, like a free ticket or two free tickets, so players would receive
something for their
reinvested smaller winnings.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention every printed ticket for
the
regular lottery could come with a Reinvest Draw Number printed on the ticket
and an indication
of either "Played" or "Not Played". If it is played, depending on the option
of the lottery
corporation operating the game, an additional fee could be charged for the
right to play this
option. For example if a person buys a regular Lotto 6/49 ticket, even though
they did not take
the Reinvest Option, their ticket might come with a Reinvest Draw Number
printed on the ticket
and some accompanying message such as, "Reinvest NOT PLAYED". The player would
not be
charged any additional amount for not playing the option and would not forego
any secondary
prizes that playing the option might forego. This player would participate in
the regular Lotto
6/49 draw as usual. In staying with this example if the player had chosen to
play the Reinvest
Option at the time of purchase they may, or may not, depending on the lottery
corporation
variation of offering the Reinvest Option, be charged an additional fee.
However, this player's
ticket would say "Reinvest PLAYED" or something to that affect to let the
player know they
have opted to play the Reinvest Option.

26


CA 02658939 2000-03-18

By placing a Reinvest ticket number on every purchased ticket, with the option
played or not played by the players it will serve many purposes. One is it
will make the player
aware for future draws that they have an option and the player may learn more
about what this
additional option does. It will also market the game. Another purpose this can
serve is to entice
the players to play the option in the future for they may notice that a ticket
they did not play the
option on, would have won a prize and in the future may always play the
option.

As noted previously, in another embodiment of the present invention, the
present
invention relates to a system and a method for selling lottery tickets using
point-of-sale ("POS")
terminals that generate tickets containing lottery ticket information. Many
States in the United
States, as well as foreign countries, have government-conducted lottery
systems. In a typical
government-conducted lottery system, a central lottery computer is used to
communicate with
dedicated lottery terminals. A player selects numbers on a lottery play-slip,
and the lottery
terminal operator inserts the lottery play-slip into a reader at the lottery
terminal, which optically
reads the lottery play-slip using a known mark-sense process. The dedicated
lottery terminal then
communicates the player's selected numbers to a central lottery computer which
in turn stores
them, or alternatively, a random set of lottery numbers is provided to the
player, like a quick
pick. After the lottery numbers have been stored, the dedicated lottery
terminal, under the control
of the central lottery computer, prints and issues the lottery ticket.

FIG. 1 shows an overall system block diagram of one embodiment of a hardware
configuration which could be utilized for the lottery playing method of the
present invention,
though it will be understood that other variations of this configuration would
be possible, as
would be apparent to one skilled in the art. In this embodiment, a POS
controller 20 is linked to
at least one POS terminal 20 via a POS network 30. Three POS terminals 20 are
depicted in FIG.
1, but any number of POS terminals 20 can be used. The POS network 30 does not
have to be a
hard wired network, it can include any of a wide variety of means suitable to
transmit and
receive data communications, as described below. A lottery ticket transaction
can be initiated
from any one of the POS terminals 20. The information required to initiate a
lottery ticket
transaction is passed between the POS terminal 20 and the POS controller 10
via the POS
27


CA 02658939 2000-03-18
network 30.

As illustrated in FIG. 1., the POS controller 10 is also linked to a lottery
data processing
system 50, discussed in detail below, via a data network 40. Preferably, the
controller
communicates in substantially real-time with the lottery data processing
system. The data
network 40 can be any one or more of a variety of networks capable of data
communications. For
example, the data network 40 can be a public switched telephone network, an
integrated service
digital network (ISDN), a packet switched network, a private data
communication network, a
wireless network or any other suitable network.

The POS terminals 20 and the POS controller 10 depicted in FIG. 1 may be
embodied in
hardware specifically provided to implement the present invention.
Alternatively, they may be
implemented using existing cash registers and central in-store servers.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the POS controller 10. The POS controller 10
comprises a
CPU 21 which performs the processing functions. POS controller 10 also
includes a read only
memory 22 (ROM) and a random access memory 23 (RAM). The ROM 22 is used to
store at
least some of the program instructions that are to be executed by the CPU 21,
such as portions of
the operating system or basic input-output system (BIOS), and the RAM 23 is
used for
temporary storage of data. A clock circuit 24 provides a clock signal which is
required by the
CPU 21.

The POS controller 10 also includes a communication port 25 connected to a
data
network interface 71 and a POS network interface 72. The communication port 25
enables the
CPU 21 to communicate with devices external to the POS controller 10. In
particular, the
communication port 25 permits communication with the POS terminals 20 and also
with the
lottery data processing system 50. While a modem (not shown) and a dedicated
telephone line
for establishing communication with the lottery data processing system 50 is
preferred, it should
be understood that other data network interfaces, including an ISDN terminal
to interface with an
ISDN network, a radio communications interface, and an Internet interface, may
be used as well.
28


CA 02658939 2000-03-18

The CPU 21 can also store information to, and read information from, a data
storage
device 26. The data storage device 26 includes a local lottery ticket database
26a and other
databases (not shown) which that store or location may conventionally
maintain. The local
lottery ticket database 26a is described below. In addition, the data storage
device 26 includes
instructions which can be read by and executed by the CPU 21, thereby enabling
the CPU 21 to
process transactions.

Figure 3 is a block diagram of the preferred POS terminal 20, which can be
located at any
location where consumer lottery transactions are performed. As previously
discussed above,
there can be any number of POS terminals 20 linked to one POS controller 10.
The POS terminal
20 includes a CPU 31, ROM 32, RAM 33, clock circuit 34, communication port 35
and a data
storage device 36. The communication port 35 interfaces with the POS network
30 which
facilitates communication between the POS terminal 20 and the POS controller
10.

The POS terminal 20 includes an input device 37 to receive input from an
operator. Any
one of a variety of input devices would be suitable for this purpose,
including, for example,
depression-actuated buttons, keys, membranes, a mouse, touch screens, bar code
scanners, and
the like. The input device 37 may interface directly with the CPU 31, as shown
in Figure 3.
Alternatively, an appropriate interface circuit may be placed between the CPU
31 and the input
device 37. The POS terminal 20 also includes a display device 38 for conveying
information to
the operator, customer or both. Any one or a variety of display devices would
be suitable for this
purpose, including, for example a CRT, LCD, LED or thin film transistor panel.

The POS terminal 20 also includes a data storage device 36, in which
transaction
processor instructions are stored. These instructions can be read by and
executed by the CPU 31,
enabling the POS terminal 20 to process a variety of transaction types. By way
of example, these
transaction types may include, but are not limited to, "quick-pick" lottery
tickets (where random
numbers are assigned to the player) and lottery tickets other than "quick-
pick" tickets. The POS
terminal 20 further includes a printer 39 for recording the transaction
performed by the POS
29


CA 02658939 2000-03-18

terminal 20. The printer 39 may interface directly with the CPU 31, as shown
in Figure 3.
Alternatively, an appropriate interface circuit may be placed between the CPU
31 and the printer
39.

Shown in Figure 4 is a block diagram of one possible embodiment of the lottery
data
processing system 50. Like the POS controller 10 described above, the lottery
data processing
system 50 includes a CPU 51, ROM 52, RAM 53, a clock circuit 54, and a
communication port
55. The communication port 55 is connected to the data network interface 71.
The data network
interface 71 depicted is equivalent to the data network interface shown in
Figure 2. One POS
controller 10 is depicted in Figure 1, but any number of POS controllers 10
can be linked to the
lottery data processing system 50 via the data network 40 and the data network
interface 71.

The CPU 51 can store information to, and read information from the data
storage device
58. The data storage device 58 includes a lottery ticket database 58a, a POS
controller database
58b, and a winning lottery ticket number database 58c which are described
below. In addition,
the data storage device 58 includes instructions which can be read by and
executed by the CPU
51, thereby enabling the CPU 51 to process lottery transactions. While Figure
4 depicts separate
databases, a single database that incorporates all the functions of databases
58a, 58b and 58c can
also be used. It is also to be understood that additional databases may be
utilized as needed to
store a variety of other information that may be useful in maintaining and
administrating a lottery
system, as would be apparent to one skilled in the art.

The lottery data processing system 50 also includes a random number generator
56 and a
random "bonus" number generator 57. When requested by the CPU 51, the random
number
generator 56 generates the random "quick-pick" numbers used for "quick-pick"
lottery ticket
transactions. When requested by the CPU 51, the random "bonus" number
generator 57 is used
to generate the random "bonus" number, when a player(s) decides to pursue
playing the lottery
utilizing the "reinvest" option of the present invention.

While the illustrated embodiment depicts the random number generator 56 and
the


CA 02658939 2000-03-18

random "bonus" number generator 57 as separate elements within the lottery
data processing
system 50, it should be understood that other methods of performing their
functions may be used.
For example, these functions may also be implemented in a computer program
stored in the data
storage device 58 and executed by the CPU 51, or other variations thereof, as
would be apparent
to one skilled in the art. It may also be conceivable that these may be each
generated from a
single random generator location.

As shown in Figure 5 is a flow chart of one process involved with the present
invention.
Figure 6 is an example ticket of what might have been printed by the lottery
corporation
from the lottery terminal at the point of sale. It is understood that this
ticket could come in many
different layouts for every lottery corporation may slightly offer the present
invention differently
from the payouts down to the printing and displaying of information on the
ticket. Of course the
present invention is attachable to all lotteries and is not limited to just a
Lotto 6/49 style lottery
as shown in the example ticket. They present invention may be attached to
Powerball, Super 7,
Megabucks or any lottery offered by lottery corporations that have a tiered
payout structure.
What is noticeable on this example ticket is it is identified as a Reinvest
ticket and more
specifically to this example the "Reinvest Option Played". In our example this
ticket the player
is given a Reinvest Line Number of 1 5 22 27 36 and 49. This person is also
charged an
additional dollar for playing this option, as a normal ticket for this draw
was $2, not $3. If this
person did not take the Reinvest option the additional line could still be
seen on this ticket on one
embodiment of the current invention however it would be stated on the ticket
that the "Reinvest
Not Played". It is understood that different lotteries would lay their tickets
out differently and
this is only one of a plethora of ticket examples.

The present invention has been described herein with regard to preferred
embodiments.
However, it will be obvious to persons skilled in the art that a number of
variations and
modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as
described
herein.

31

Representative Drawing