Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02679756 2009-09-21
WINNER AWARENESS DATA DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS AND METHODS
BACKGROUND
[1] Future-draw lottery games involve purchasing a chance or wager, usually in
the form of a
ticket, to match a result in a drawing to be held after the chance is
purchased. Lotto and keno are
two examples of future-draw lottery games. In future-draw lottery games,
customers can
typically purchase tickets or other chances at a dedicated lottery terminal in
a convenience store
or similar establishment, where the tickets are printed to order. Each
dedicated lottery terminal
communicates with a central lottery server to exchange information and
instructions associated
with a given lottery transaction.
[2] In an instant-win or instant lottery game, whether a ticket or chance will
be a winner is
determined before or at the time of purchase. Thus, a winning instant lottery
ticket may typically
be redeemed for a prize immediately. Common types of instant win lottery games
include pre-
printed tickets such as pull-tab tickets, peel-off tickets, or scratch-off
tickets. Instant win lottery
games may also be provided electronically. Pre-printed instant lottery games
are provided in a
wide range of types, sizes, colors, and themes. They are typically sold near a
cash register or
point of sale terminal in a convenience store or other similar establishment,
or from unattended
terminals or vending machines in high traffic areas, for example train
stations, other
transportation hubs, bowling alleys, or other entertainment venues. Instant
lottery games are
typically printed with bright colors in a visually attractive design to
attract consumer attention
and encourage purchases.
[3] While, in reality, the distribution of lottery winners across various
stored or points of
purchases is generally random, some lottery players may prefer to make their
ticket purchases at
"lucky" stores or "lucky" terminals. Other lottery players may prefer to play
at "cold stores" or
"cold machines", believing that they are overdue for a win. While these
preferences are not
necessarily based on an accurate understanding of the mathematics of lottery
games, they still
may affect the purchasing preferences of many players.
CA 02679756 2009-09-21
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[4] Figure 1 illustrates an example lottery client/server system that may be
used to generate
and provide winner awareness data, according to an example embodiment of the
present
invention.
[5] Figure 2 illustrates an example lottery terminal, according to an example
embodiment of
the present invention.
[6] Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating an example procedure providing
winner awareness
data to a lottery client, according to an example embodiment of the present
invention.
[7] Figure 4 is a chart illustrating an example hierarchy of nested geographic
areas, according
to an example embodiment of the present invention.
[8] Figure 5 is a process flow illustrating an example procedure for finding a
winner
awareness client count, according to an example embodiment of the present
invention.
[9] Figure 6 is a process flow illustrating an example procedure for finding a
winner
awareness client sum, according to an example embodiment of the present
invention.
[10] Figure 7 is a process flow illustrating an example procedure for finding
a winner
awareness highest prize for a client, according to an example embodiment of
the present
invention.
[11] Figures 8A, 8B and 8C are examples of winner awareness data displays,
according to an
example embodiment of the present invention.
[12] Figure 9 illustrates an example procedure for displaying winner awareness
data where
processing is performed by the client, according to an example embodiment of
the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS
[13] Winner awareness data is information describing the historical results
that have been
achieved by a population of players in a lottery or other game of chance,
(e.g., all players who
have purchased chances in a lottery in a particular time period at a
particular lottery terminal,
retail location, or within a particular geographic area). Winner awareness
data may include, for
example, information about the quantity of prizes won, total value of prizes
won, quantity of
prizes won of at least a minimum size, total value of prizes won of at least a
minimum size, a
-2-
CA 02679756 2009-09-21
highest prize won, etc. The winner awareness data may also be associated with
a particular
historical time interval, for example, the last day, the last week, or the
last month. Example
winner awareness data displays may include a count of winning chances
associated with a
particular lottery terminal or geographic area, a sum of the winnings from
lottery chances
associated with the lottery terminal or geographic area and/or a highest prize
from lottery
chances associated with the lottery terminal. A winning chance may be
considered associated
with a lottery terminal or geographic area, for example, if the chance was
either purchased from
or redeemed at the lottery terminal or at another lottery terminal in the
geographic area.
Alternatively, the data may focus only on where chances were purchased, or
only on where they
were redeemed. According to various example embodiments, the winner awareness
data may be
divided and displayed by terminal, lottery game, lottery game category (e.g.,
instant lottery
and/or future draw lottery), retail chain where a lottery terminal is located,
whether winning
chances were purchased or redeemed at the lottery terminal or geographic area,
etc.
[14] Some example embodiments of the present invention are directed to methods
and systems
for providing winner awareness data directly to lottery players at or near the
place where lottery
chances are sold. For example, the winner awareness data may be displayed at
or near a lottery
terminal, and may include information describing winning chances associated
either with the
lottery terminal, with lottery terminals in the same retail location, and/or
with lottery terminals in
the same geographic area. Displaying winner awareness data (e.g., winner
display data) in this
manner may encourage potential lottery players to purchase lottery chances
from the lottery
terminal.
[15] According to various example embodiments, the winner awareness data
displayed at a
given lottery terminal may be selected based on predetermined thresholds. For
example, if the
winner awareness data from chances purchased at the lottery terminal fails to
meet a
predetermined threshold (e.g., if the quantity of winners or the amount of
winnings at the lottery
terminal is too low), then the lottery terminal may instead display winner
awareness data from a
first geographic area including the lottery terminal. If the winner awareness
data from the first
geographic area fails to meet a predetermined threshold, then the lottery
terminal may display
winner awareness data from a second geographic area, which may include the
lottery terminal
-3-
CA 02679756 2009-09-21
and the first geographic area. In this way, the terminal may tend to display
data that will
encourage potential players to purchase lottery chances.
[16] Various example embodiments are directed to systems and methods for
facilitating the
operation of a lottery system. For example, winner display data may be
determined for each of a
plurality of lottery terminals. Determining the winner display data may
comprise determining
whether historical winner data from the lottery terminal meets a predetermined
criteria (e.g., a
predetermined count of winners, a predetermined amount of winnings, etc.). The
historical
winner data for the lottery terminal may include information concerning prizes
won from
chances associated with the lottery terminal. If the historical winner data
from the lottery
terminal meets the predetermined criteria, then the winner display data for
the lottery terminal
may be determined based on the historical winner data for the lottery
terminal. If the historical
winner data from the lottery terminal fails to meet the predetermined
criteria, then the winner
display data may be determined based on historical winner data for a set of
lottery terminals
comprising the lottery terminal. In example embodiments where the winner
display data is
determined at a lottery host or other central location, the data may be
transmitted to the
respective lottery terminals, which may display the data to potential players.
In example
embodiments where the winner display data is determined by individual lottery
terminals, the
data may be directly displayed by the lottery terminals.
[17] Figure 1 illustrates an example lottery client/server system 100 that may
be used to
generate and provide winner awareness data, according to an example embodiment
of the present
invention. The example system 100 may include a lottery host 102 and various
lottery clients that
may be directly or indirectly in communication with the host 102 via a network
104. The various
types of lottery clients may include, e.g., online dedicated lottery terminals
106, unattended
kiosks or instant ticket vending machines (ITVMs) 108, lottery terminals 112
and 114 controlled
or administered by a local server 110, , POS terminals 116, such as
conventional grocery store
tenninals with added lottery capability, portable wireless devices 118, such
as mobile telephones
or PDAs, and personal computers 120, e.g., computers in jurisdictions that
allow legal Internet
wagering, the computers having secure lottery Internet plug-ins installed.
While most of the
discussion in this application references dedicated lottery terminals, it will
be appreciated that the
-4-
CA 02679756 2009-09-21
disclosed systems and methods also include other alternative types of lottery
clients, unless
specifically limited otherwise. The network 104 may be, for example, the
Internet, an intranet, a
local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a virtual private network
(VPN), or
other network. The host 102 may perform centralized processing and
administrative tasks
regarding the lottery games played at various types of clients, e.g.,
dedicated lottery terminals.
For example, the host 102 may collect, aggregate and distribute winner
awareness data, as
described herein. The host 102 may comprise one or more servers and/or
processors that may be
located in one geographic location, or distributed across multiple geographic
locations.
According to various example embodiments, the host 102 may comprise two
functional
components, a first to administer future draw lottery games and a second to
administer instant
lottery games. Also, in some example embodiments, the host 102 may include
dedicated
functional components for each individual game administered. Communications
between the
host 102 and the network 104 and other communications over the network 104 may
be
encrypted.
[18] In some example embodiments, the host 102 may comprise various sub-
systems for
performing certain processing tasks and storing data. A central sales
recording module 124 may
receive and store information from the various lottery terminals 106, 108,
etc., regarding chances
sold at the respective terminals. This information may be received, for
example, from the
terminals. A winner log 126 may be used by the host 102 and/or a functional
module thereof, to
store the value of prizes associated with each of the chances sold at the
various lottery terminals.
The host 102 may determine whether any given chance is associated with a prize
and determine
the value of the prize. In other example embodiments, the individual terminals
may report prizes
to the host 102 as winning chances are redeemed at the terminal. A winner
display data analysis
module 128 may analyze the value of prizes stored at the winner log 126 to
determine winner
display data for each terminal. The winner display data may be found, for
example, as described
below with respect to the process flows shown in Figures 3 and 9. It will be
appreciated that the
host 102 may have a configuration different than that shown in Figure 1. For
example, some or
all of the functionality of the central sales recording module 124, the winner
log 126 and the
display data analysis module 128 may be consolidated and/or distributed to the
lottery terminals
or to other, dedicated components.
-5-
CA 02679756 2009-09-21
[19] According to various example embodiments, the system 100 may also
comprise an e-mail
server 122 for facilitating communications between the host 102 and the
various lottery terminals
106, 108, etc. While the email server is illustrated as a separate component,
it will be
appreciated that this service could be provided directly by the host itself,
or with other
arrangements of system components. When the host 102 directs a communication
toward one or
more lottery terminals, it may first prepare an e-mail message and send or
otherwise direct the e-
mail message to the lottery terminal. In some example embodiments, the subject
line of the e-
mail message may be used by the lottery terminal to identify and properly
process the e-mail.
For example, e-mails may be used by the host 102 to transmit winner awareness
data to the
terminals. Each e-mail may be directed to a terminal or terminals and may
identify, for example,
the type and/or freshness of the winner awareness data therein in the subject
line. Also, for
example similar e-mail messages may be used by the terminals to direct
messages to the host
102. It will be appreciated that as an altemative to the email server, a
variety of other approaches
may be used to provide the winner awareness to the various clients, including
direct writing from
the host, synchronous or asynchronous direct communication, other types of
messaging services,
as a web service that is accessed by the clients, or as auxiliary payloads to
other forms of
transaction data communicated between the host and the various clients.
[20] The various lottery clients 106, 108, etc., may include functionality for
selling and/or
administering lottery chances (e.g., future draw tickets or other chances,
instant lottery tickets or
other chances, or both). In some example embodiments, each lottery terminal
may be configured
to facilitate instant lottery games as well as future-draw lottery games. A
more detailed
description of an example lottery terminal 200 is provided below with
reference to Figure 2.
Many different types of lottery terminals may be used, and may be in
communication with the
host 102 with different forms of connectivity. For example, an online lottery
terminal 106 may
be located at a store or other retail location, for example, at the checkout
counter. The online
lottery terminal 106 may be in communication with the host 102 through the
network 104. For
example, the online lottery terminal 106 may be in real-time or
asynchronous/batch
communications with the host 102. The online lottery terminal 106 may be
configured to
dispense game pieces and accept payment. Communications between the online
lottery terminal
-6-
CA 02679756 2009-09-21
106 and the network 104 may be encrypted. A lottery kiosk, instant ticket
vending machine
(ITVM) or other type of self-service terminal 108 may be an automated,
unattended kiosk
located in a high foot traffic area, such as a mall, store, etc. The lottery
kiosk 108 may also be in
communication with the host 102 through the network 104. Communications
between the lottery
kiosk 108 and the network 104 may be encrypted. A point of sales terminal
(POS) 116 may be
integrated into an existing POS terminal in a store. The POS terminal 116 may
prompt the player
to purchase a ticket or other chance after the player completes a checkout
transaction in the store.
The POS terminal 116 may be in communication with the host 102 via the network
104, and
communications between the POS terminal 116 and the network 104 may be
encrypted.
[21] According to various example embodiments, some lottery terminals (e.g.,
lottery
terminals 112, 114) may be in communication with the lottery host 102 via a
local server 110.
The local server 110 may have some or all functionality of the host 102. For
example, the local
server 110 may mirror a database stored on the host 102. The local server 110
may serve to
manage a collection of lottery terminals, (e.g., at a single large location),
and to facilitate
communications between these terminals and the host 102. The local server 110
may be in
communication with the host 102 through the network 104. Communications
between the local
server I 10 and the network 104 may be encrypted. A first lottery terminal 112
and a second
lottery terminal 114 may be connected to the local server 110. The
communications between the
first lottery terminal 112, the second lottery terminal 114 and the network
104 may be encrypted.
It will be appreciated that other devices, including other lottery terminals,
may also be connected
to the local server 110.
[22] According to various example embodiments, the system 100 may include
functionality
allowing a player's own computer equipment or telephone to server as a lottery
terminal. For
example, a player may utilize a personal computer 118 to participate in a
game, for example, via
a secure internet connection with a web-server at the host 102. The personal
computer 118 may
have an attached local printer. Communications between the personal computer
118 and the
network 104 may be encrypted. Also, a portable wireless device 120 may serve
as a lottery
terminal. For example, the portable wireless device 120 may allow the player
to play in a lottery
game remotely. The portable wireless device 120 may be, for example, a cell
phone or a wireless
-7-
CA 02679756 2009-09-21
personal data assistant (PDA) and may be in encrypted communication with the
lottery host 102
via the network 104. Also, according to various embodiments, players may take
part in a game
using a standard telephone. For example, the host 102 may include suitable
equipment and
software for receiving a telephone call from a player. On the telephone call,
the player may
purchase one or more chances.
[23] A management terminal 130 in communication with the lottery host may be
provided.
The management terminal may provide a user interface to an administrator to
set the
predetermined thresholds for the various types of winner awareness display
data, e.g., the
number or amount of prizes that are considered a minimum positive result that
a retailer would
display on their terminal, the various rules that are used in analyzing and
selecting the
information, the way geographic regions should be divided, and the time
periods that should be
used.. Alternatively, an interface can be provided directly on the retail
terminal, allowing a
retailer to set the predetermined thresholds themselves for their store, or to
opt in or out of the
display of winner awareness data on their retail terminal.
[24] Figure 2 illustrates one embodiment of an example lottery termina1200.
The lottery
terminal 200 may represent any of the clients 106, 108, 112, 114, 116, 120,
118 described above,
and may be programmed to display winner awareness data as described herein.
According to
various example embodiments, the lottery terminal 200 may be any suitable
brand or type of
lottery terminal including, for example, a conventional Imagine, ALTURA or
ISYS lottery
terminal, and the Lottery Kiosk 108 may be a Lottery to Go or Lotto to Go self-
service terminal,
available from GTECH Corporation, in Providence, R.I.. These conventional
terminals may
have additional software components added in order to facilitate the operation
of the winner
awareness procedures described herein.
[25] The lottery terminal 200 may include various components such as, for
example, a central
processor 202, a reader 204, a printer 206, a payment acceptor 208, a
dispenser 210 and a display
212. Not all lottery terminals 200 will have an example of each of these
components, and some
may have more or fewer components than are shown. For example, a PC lottery
terminal 118
may not have a dedicated payment acceptor 208 or dispenser 210. Alternatively,
some online
-8-
CA 02679756 2009-09-21
terminals 106 may have both a payment acceptor 208 and a dispenser 210. In
use, the central
processor 202 of the terminal 200 may direct the operations of some or all of
the other terminal
components, and may also be in communication with the host 102 over the
network 104. For
example, communications between the host 102 and the central processor 202 may
be in real-
time or may be batch-asynchronous.
[26] Each of the other components of the example terminal 200 may be
configured to perform
game-related tasks. The reader 204 may be configured to read a machine
readable code on
various game pieces, (e.g., when the player presents a game piece as part of a
request to play a
game). The display 212 may be configured to display information to a player
including, for
example, winner awareness data as described herein. In some terminals, the
display 212 may
include security measures to prevent damage or tampering. For example, the
display 212 may be
placed behind a shatter and scratch resistant panel for protection. The
printer 206 may be
configured to print various game pieces including, for example, future-draw
lottery game tickets.
The payment acceptor 208 may be configured to accept cash, credit cards, debit
cards, vouchers,
or other forms of payment. For example, the payment acceptor 208 may include a
magnetic strip
reader for reading credit and debit cards, a device for receiving cash
payments, etc. The
dispenser 210 may be configured to dispense the game pieces or tickets
including, for example,
pre-printed tickets as well as tickets generated by the printer 206.
[27] Figure 3 is a process flow of one embodiment of a method for providing
winner
awareness data to a lottery terminal. In Figure 3, column 31 may represent
actions performed by
the host, while column 32 may represent actions performed by a lottery
terminal. Although the
process flow of Figure 3 illustrates the actions of a single lottery terminal,
it will be appreciated
that the host may be in direct or indirect communication with multiple lottery
terminals, which
may perform actions similar to those indicated in colunm 32.
[28] At 3200, the lottery terminal may maintain historical winner data. The
historical winner
data for a given terminal may include any kind of data describing winnings
and/or prizes
associated with the terminal. For example, these may include winnings from
chances purchased
at the terminal and/or winnings from chances redeemed at the terminal.
According to various
-9-
CA 02679756 2009-09-21
example embodiments, historical winner data for each terminal may include one
or more of a
terminal count, a terminal sum and a terminal highest prize. The terminal
count may be a count
of the qualifying prizes associated with the terminal. The terminal sum may be
a sum of the
qualifying prizes associated with the terminal. The terminal highest prize may
be the highest
prize associated with the terminal during a predetermined time period (e.g.,
within a month,
within a quarter, etc.). According to various example embodiments, all prizes
considered for the
terminal count, terminal sum and highest prize may be qualifying prizes, or
prizes having
amounts exceeding a predetermined threshold. For example, a prize may be a
qualifying prize if
its amount is greater than the cost of purchasing the winning chance. Also, in
some example
embodiments, qualifying prizes may exclude prizes awarding merchandise and
other non-
monetary items.
[29] According to various example embodiments, the lottery terminal may
maintain the
historical winner data in real time. For example, as a winning instant lottery
chance is sold
and/or redeemed at the terminal, it may increment the terminal count, adjust
the terminal sum
and determine whether the new winning chance is a terminal highest prize. For
future-draw
lottery games, the terminal may receive the results of a draw (e.g., from the
host), determine
whether any future-draw chances sold at the terminal are winners, and then
update the terminal
sum, terminal count and terminal highest prize accordingly. The terminal may
also organize the
historical winner data into appropriate time periods. For example, historical
winner data may be
kept for a current week, a previous week, a previous month, etc. In some
example embodiments,
terminals having the capability of facilitating more than one lottery game may
keep separate
counts, sums, and highest prizes for each game or game type. For example,
historical winner
data regarding instant lottery games and future-draw lottery games may be kept
separately.
[30] At 3202, the terminal may transmit the historical winner data to the
host, which may
receive the same at 3100. In addition, the host may receive historical winner
data from other
terminals that it is responsible for administering. The historical winner data
may be transmitted
and/or received according to any suitable frequency including, for example,
daily, weekly or
upon demand of an operator. Also, according to various example embodiments,
the historical
winner data may be transmitted to the host via e-mail. It will be appreciated
that in some
-10-
CA 02679756 2009-09-21
example embodiments, historical winner data may be kept not at the individual
terminals, but
may instead be kept at a central prize clearing location (not shown). The
central prize clearing
location may be a server or other computer device for storing and maintaining
historical winner
data for a plurality of lottery terminals. In this case, the host may receive
the historical winner
data from the central prize clearing location. Also, according to various
example embodiments,
the host itself may maintain historical winner data for its terminals.
Accordingly, the host may
receive the historical winner data from the terminals, from a central prize
clearing location, or, in
example embodiments where the host maintains the historical winner data, from
a local data
store.
[31] At 3102, the host may aggregate historical winner data from all of its
terminals. This
may involve deriving from the terminal historical winner data, aggregated
historical winner data
describing sets of lottery terminals. Terminals included in a common set may
be related to one
another in any suitable way. For example, the terminals may be located at a
common retail chain
(e.g., a common convenience store chain, grocery store chain, etc.). In
addition to, or instead the
terminals in a set may be related by geographic area. For example, deriving
aggregated
historical winner data may comprise aggregating the winner data into data
describing a series of
nested geographic areas. Figure 4 is a chart illustrating one embodiment of a
hierarchy 400 of
nested geographic areas. Terminals 408 are at the lowest level 401 of the
hierarchy. The
geographic location of terminals 408 may be determined according to any
suitable method. For
example, some terminals 408 are stationary (e.g., at a retail location). Other
terminals 408, such
as player-owned devices (e.g., personal computer terminals 118, portable
wireless device
terminals 120, etc.) may not be stationary. For example, an Internet based
terminal may be
located based on the address of its Internet service provider (ISP). Telephone
based terminals
may be located based on their area code and/or exchange number. Devices, such
as cell phones,
operating on a wireless network may be identified by triangulation or any
other suitable means
based on their operation in the wireless network. Also, terminals having
Global Positioning
Systems (GPS) capability may be located utilizing GPS.
[32] According to Figure 4, terminals 408 in a common municipality 406 are
grouped together
at the next level 403. Municipalities 406 in a common county 404 are grouped
together at level
-11-
CA 02679756 2009-09-21
405, and counties 404 in a common state 402 are grouped together at level 407.
Aggregating
terminal specific historical winner data may involve summing the historical
winner data from all
terminals 408 in each geographic area (e.g., municipality 406, county 404,
state 402, etc.). For
example, results of the aggregating may include municipality counts, sums and
highest prizes for
each municipality 406, county counts, sums and highest prizes for each county
404 and a state
count, sum and highest prize for the state 402.
[33] It will be appreciated that the geographic hierarchy 400 is but one
example hierarchy.
Aggregated historical winner data may be found for other geographic
areas/hierarchies as well in
addition to, or instead of the states, counties and municipalities shown in
the hierarchy 400. For
example, in the case of lottery terminals selling chances for POWERBALL, MEGA
MILLIONS
and/or other multi-state lottery games, multiple states 402 may be included
under a nation or
country entry (not shown). Also, different government entities may have
different organizations
that require modifications to the hierarchy 400. For example, some states
and/or countries may
have more or fewer intermediate layers of geographic organization than the
municipality/county/state organization shown in Figure 4. Also, in some
example embodiments,
historical winner data may be aggregated by additional factors in addition to
or instead of by
geographic location. For example, historical winner data may be aggregated by
retail chain,
lottery game and/or by lottery game type (e.g., instant lottery, future-draw
lottery, etc.).
[34] Referring back to Figure 3, the host may compare the aggregated
historical winner data to
thresholds or other predetermined criteria to find winner display data for
each terminal at 3104.
Winner display data may be winner awareness data that is customized for a
particular terminal.
Generally, each geographic area, or other set of terminals, may have one or
more thresholds,
which may be specific to the geographic area. The thresholds represent a
lowest amount of
winning (e.g., count, sum and/or highest prize) for a terminal or geographic
area that is
considered positive, and thus likely to motivate potential lottery players.
Thresholds for a given
terminal or set of terminals may be determined in any suitable way. For
example, common
thresholds may be set for all terminals or sets of tenninals at a common level
of the hierarchy. In
this case, the thresholds may be accessible and/or modifiable by a system
administrator. Also,
-12-
CA 02679756 2009-09-21
for example, thresholds may be received from terminal operators, who may
provide the
thresholds to the host via the network 104 utilizing a tenninal or other
computer device.
[35] To find winner display data for the terminal, the terminal's historical
winner data may be
compared to the tenminal threshold. If the historical winner data meets or
exceeds the terminal
threshold, then the terminal's historical winner data may become the winner
display data.
Otherwise, the process may move up the geographic hierarchy toward larger
geographic areas
until a geographic area is found with aggregated historical winner data that
exceeds that
geographic area's associated threshold. In this way, winner display data may
be found for all
chances sold by a terminal. In addition, or instead, winner display data may
be found in a similar
way for each retail chain, individual game or category of game supported by
the terminal. In
some example embodiments, the host may begin applying thresholds above the
tenninal level of
the geographic hierarchy. For example, terminal-level winner display data may
not be displayed
at terminals owned or controlled by a single player, such as a PC terminal
118, or portable
wireless device terminal 120. Instead, for these devices, the host may begin
applying thresholds,
as described above, at a geographic level above the terminal level.
[36] Figures 5, 6 and 7 are process flows illustrating example processes for
applying
thresholds to derive terminal winner display data. Figure 5 is a process flow
showing one
embodiment of a process 500 for finding a winner awareness count for a given
terminal. At 502,
the host may determine if the terminal count of the terminal is greater than a
terminal threshold.
If the terminal count is greater than the terminal threshold, then the winner
awareness count may
be set equal to the terminal count at 504. If not, then the host may determine
whether the count
of the next highest geographic area exceeds its associated threshold. For
example, at 506, the
host may determine whether a municipality count exceeds a municipality
threshold. The
municipality count may be an aggregated count of all winning chances
associated with the same
municipality as the tenninal (e.g., as determined at 3102). The municipality
threshold may
represent a minimum quantity of prizes won at terminals in the municipality
that may be
sufficient to encourage players to play at tenninals in the municipality. If
the municipality count
exceeds the municipality threshold, then the winner awareness count may be set
to the
municipality count at 508. If the municipality count is not greater than the
municipality
- 13 -
CA 02679756 2009-09-21
threshold, then the next higher level of the geographic area may be examined.
For example, at
510, it may be determined whether the appropriate county count is greater than
a county
threshold. If so, then the winner awareness count may be set to the county
count at 512. If not,
the process may continue to the next highest level of the geographic
hierarchy. Because the state
402 is the highest level of the example hierarchy from Figure 4, if the county
count does not
exceed the county threshold, then the winner awareness count may automatically
be set to the
state count at 514.
[37] Figure 6 is a process flow showing one embodiment of a process 600 for
finding a winner
awareness terminal sum. The process 600 may be similar to the process 500
described above.
For example, at 602, it may be determined whether a terminal sum is greater
than a terminal sum
threshold. If the terminal sum is greater than the terminal sum threshold,
then the winner
awareness sum for the terminal may be set to the terminal sum at 604. If not,
then it may be
determined, at 606, whether the municipality sum is greater than a
municipality sum threshold.
If the municipality sum is greater than the municipality sum threshold, then
the winner
awareness sum for the terminal may be set to the municipality sum at 608. If
not, then it may be
determined at 610 whether the county sum is greater than the county sum
threshold. If the
county sum is greater than the county sum threshold, then the winner awareness
sum for the
terminal may be set to the county sum at 612. If not, then the winner
awareness sum may be set
to the state sum at 614.
[38] Figure 7 is a process flow showing one embodiment of a process 700 for
finding a winner
awareness highest prize for a terminal. Again, the process flow 700 may be
similar to the
process flows 500, 600 in that successive thresholds are applied to aggregated
historical winner
data up the geographic hierarchy until a value is found exceeding a
predetermined threshold. At
702, it may be determined whether a terminal highest prize is greater than a
terminal highest
prize threshold. The terminal highest prize may be the highest prize won at
the terminal during a
predetermined period (e.g., in the previous month). If the terminal highest
prize is greater than
the terminal highest prize threshold, then the winner awareness highest prize
for the terminal
may be set to the terminal highest prize at 704. If not, then it may be
determined at 706 whether
the municipality highest prize is greater than a municipality highest prize
threshold. If the
-14-
CA 02679756 2009-09-21
municipality highest prize is greater than the municipality highest prize
threshold, then the
winner awareness highest prize may be set to the municipality highest prize,
at 708. If not, then
it may be determined, at 710, whether the county highest prize is greater than
a county highest
prize threshold. If it is, then the winner awareness highest prize for the
terminal may be set to
the county highest prize at 712. If not, then the winner awareness highest
prize for the terminal
may be set to the state highest prize at 714.
[39] Referring back to Figure 3, when appropriate winner display data has been
generated for
each terminal, the winner display data may be transmitted by the host at 3106,
and received by
the terminal at 3204. The winner display data may comprise, for example, a
winner awareness
count for the terminal, a winner awareness sum for the terminal and/or a
winner awareness
highest prize for the terminal. It will be appreciated that various other
forms of winner display
data may be generated and transmitted to the terminal in addition to or
instead of those shown.
The winner display data may be transmitted to the terminal in any suitable
form. For example,
according to various example embodiments, the host may package the winner
display data into
one or more e-mail messages directed to the terminal, as described above. The
subject lines of
the e-mails may identify them to the terminal as winner awareness e-mails and
may further
identify the type of winner display data included in the e-mail (e.g., a
count, a sum, a highest
prize, a game that the data describes, a category of game that the data
describes, etc.). According
to various other embodiments, the winner display data may be transmitted to
the terminal as a
direct communication over the network 104.
[40] At 3206, the terminal may display the winner display data. The terminal
may display the
winner display data according to any suitable method. For example, as
described above, many
terminals have a display. The display may run a constant program of images
and/or text
including, for example, advertisements for lottery games that may be played at
the terminal,
other advertisements, etc. According to various example embodiments, one or
more slides or
other subdivisions of the display program may be reserved for winner display
data. When there
are multiple types of winner display data (e.g., count, sum and/or highest
prize data), then some
example embodiments may reserve a separate slide or subdivision of the display
program for
each data type. In some example embodiments, the process flow shown in Figure
3 may be
- 15 -
CA 02679756 2009-09-21
performed periodically including, for example, every hour, every day, every
week, every partial
week, etc.
[41] Figures 8A, 8B and 8C are examples of winner display data screens. Figure
8A shows
one embodiment of a screen 802 illustrating a winner awareness highest prize
that is specific to a
given lottery game and presented at the municipality level. Figure 8B shows
one embodiment of
a screen 804 illustrating a winner awareness count that is presented at the
terminal level and is
generic to all games played at the terminal. Figure 8C shows one embodiment of
a screen 806
illustrating a winner awareness sum that is presented at the county level and
is specific to a given
lottery game type (e.g., instant lottery games, future draw lottery games,
etc.). Each of the
screens 802, 804, 806 may be shown at an appropriate terminal. For example,
the screen 802
may be shown at a terminal located in the example municipality. The screen 806
may be shown
at a terminal in the example county. The screen 804 may be shown at the
specific terminal
referred to therein. The double-carroted text indicates places in the screens
802, 804, 806 where
winner display data would be inserted when the screens are in use. For
example, at the space
labeled <<lottery game>> in screen 802, the name of the lottery game described
by the winner
display data may be inserted. At the space labeled, <<highest prize amount>>,
the highest prize
winner display data for the municipality may be listed. As shown, the screens
802, 804, 806
comprise plain text, which may be displayed in any suitable format and by any
suitable display
device. For example, the screens may be shown by a scrolling text display.
Also, for example,
the screens may be shown in a full screen. When used on a full screen,
graphics and/or more
stylized text may be used, for example, based on the trademarks and other
graphics of the
particular lottery, other sponsors, etc.
[42] The process illustrated in Figure 3 may be performed at any suitable
regular or irregular
frequency. For example, in some example embodiments, the process flow of
Figure 3 may be
perforrned every day. Historical winner data considered by the process flow
may also be
updated daily. In this way, the lottery terminals may receive updated winner
display data every
day. Also, in some example embodiments, the process flow of Figure 3 may be
performed
constantly and in real time. This may allow the lottery terminals to receive
updated data on a
-16-
CA 02679756 2009-09-21
real time basis. It will be appreciated that the process flow may be performed
at any other
suitable time interval including, for example, weekly, monthly, bi-weekly,
etc.
[43] According to various example embodiments, some or all of the processing
performed by
the host in the process flow may be pushed to the terminals. For example,
Figure 9 illustrates
one embodiment of a process flow for displaying winner display data where
additional
processing actions are performed by the terminal. Actions in the column 91 may
be performed
by the host, while actions in the column 92 may be performed by the terminal.
At 9202, the host
may maintain historical winner data, as described above with respect to 3200.
Again, it will be
appreciated that the historical winner data for a given terminal may be
maintained by the host, or
by a central prize clearing location in addition to, or instead of at the
terminal.
[44] At 9204, the terminal may transmit the historical winner data to the host
(e.g., via e-mail).
The host may receive the same at 9102. At 9104, the host may aggregate the
historical winner
data, for example, as described above. At 9106, the host may transmit terminal
specific
aggregated historical winner data to each terminal under its control. The
terminal may receive
the terminal specific aggregated historical winner data at 9206. Terminal
specific aggregated
historical winner data may include historical winner data describing all of
the geographic areas to
which a terminal belongs. For example, in a geographic hierarchy similar to
that shown in
Figure 4, terminal specific aggregated historical winner data may include
terminal historical
winner data, municipality historical winner data, county historical winner
data and state
historical winner data for the municipality, county and state including the
terminal. At 9208, the
terminal may apply thresholds to determine the terminal winner display data.
This may occur in
a similar manner to that described above with respect to 3104 and process
flows 500, 600 and
700, except that the processing may be performed by the terminal. At 9210, the
terminal may
display the winner display data, for example, as described above.
[45] It will be appreciated that all of the disclosed methods, games, and
procedures described
herein can be implemented using one or more computer programs or components.
These
components may be provided as a series of computer instructions on any
conventional computer-
readable medium, including RAM, ROM, flash memory, magnetic or optical disks,
optical
-17-
CA 02679756 2009-09-21
memory, or other storage media. The instructions may be configured to be
executed by a
processor, which when executing the series of computer instructions performs
or facilitates the
performance of all or part of the disclosed methods, games, and procedures.
[46] In the preceding specification, the present invention has been described
with reference to
specific example embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evident that
various modifications
and changes may be made thereunto without departing from the broader spirit
and scope of the
present invention as set forth in the claims that follow. The specification
and drawings are
accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense.
-18-
