Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Application No.
12/338,662 entitled "System and Method for A National
Lottery," filed December 18, 2008, which is incorporated
herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Embodiments of the invention relate to a method and
system for a national lottery, which combines the aspects
of lottery, raffle, drawings, prize pools, and the
probability of winning a prize through the random selection
of a lottery ticket.
[0003] Many traditional lottery systems place much
responsibility on each individual lottery entity and are
costly to maintain and operate. With exemplary embodiments
of the invention, individual lottery entities are relieved
of such responsibility and cost expenditures.
SUMMARY
[0004] The above and other embodiments are accomplished
according to one aspect of the invention wherein there is
provided a method for a lottery which includes, according
to one embodiment: a method for assigning a plurality of
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entities respective allotments of lottery tickets, wherein
each allotment of lottery tickets for each respective
entity corresponds to a number of eligible people in the
entity; selling the lottery tickets in each respective
entity, wherein each lottery ticket comprises a unique
lottery identifier; selecting a winning lottery ticket
from a combination of the lottery tickets; and distributing
a portion of proceeds from the selling to a winner having
the winning lottery ticket, distributing a portion of the
proceeds from the selling to the respective entity where
the winning lottery ticket was purchased, or holding the
portion of the proceeds for another drawing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] Embodiments of the present invention will be more
readily understood from the following detailed description
when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in
which:
[0006] Figure 1 is an overview of the allocation of tickets to
participating entities according to an exemplary embodiment
of the invention;
[0007] Figure 2 is a detailed view of the process after Figure
1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention;
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[0008] Figure 3 is a detailed view of the process of choosing
the winning ticket subsequent to the process depicted in
Figure 2 according to an exemplary embodiment of the
invention; and
[0009] Figure 4 is an example of the lottery system according
to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[00010] An embodiment of the invention involves a method and
system for conducting a lottery involving a plurality of
participating entities. Each participating entity may be
assigned an initial allotment of lottery tickets based on
an eligible population in the entity. The initial allotment
of lottery tickets, however, may be exceeded. Retail
locations in each participating entity place the lottery
tickets on-sale during a specified time period. Each
lottery ticket has a unique identifier. The unique
identifier allows the lottery to have a unique winner at
each prize level, drawn from a pool of the lottery tickets,
that is, no winning tickets for a prize have the same
identifier. This assures a potential winner that there will
be no split winnings of a prize. There may be several
prizes at any prize level. For example, there may be
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fifteen drawings for a $1,000,000 USD prize level in which
each of the fifteen winners may receive the $1,000,000 USD
prize.
[00011] Embodiments of the invention reduce the responsibility
for those entities who conduct their own individual entity
lotteries, reducing cost expenditures associated with
conducting an individual lottery, and increasing the
revenue streaming from a lottery system for each
participating entity.
[00012] With the lottery system and method according to an
embodiment of the present invention, individual entities
need only to maintain a data store for storing ticket
information. A management body may handle the other aspects
of running a lottery, thus reducing individual entities'
costs of conducting a similar lottery on their own. An
example of a management body may be The National Lottery
Commission.
[00013] A secondary revenue stream for each participating entity
may be created using the described system and method. For
example, all lottery ticket proceeds may be stored in an
entity escrow account. Each participating entity may retain
the interest income generated from the lottery ticket
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proceeds in the account. In addition, each participating
entity may receive a payment for their participation.
Participating entities may anticipate the amount of the
payment once the management body determines the number of
entities participating in a given drawing. The management
body may set the entity payment at a higher percentage than
other lottery systems to generate more revenue for each
participating entity. For example, five percent of the
lottery ticket proceeds sold in each participating entity
may be the entity payment amount and may be retained by the
entity. The management body may also set aside a lottery
administrative fee for each entity to advertise the lottery
and for other expenses. For example, five percent of the
lottery ticket proceeds sold in each participating entity
may be the lottery administrative fee for each entity and
the entity may retain those funds.
[00014] The management body may determine the amount for which
each lottery ticket is sold so that the lottery tickets may
generate more revenue per dollar than other traditional
lottery products. Due to the greater return according to an
embodiment of the invention, participating entities should
not be concerned of loss sales attributed to competing
lotteries.
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[00015] Participating entities may also reduce their budget
allocated to lottery advertising. A concern for some
entities is the necessity of having to compete with
neighboring entity lotteries. Such competing entities tend
to allocate a higher advertising budget to encourage
individual consumers to participate in a local entity's
lottery rather than crossing borders to purchase lottery
tickets of a neighboring entity's lottery. Since
competition with neighboring entity lotteries is of
substantially less concern in the embodiment, participating
entities may reduce their lottery advertising budget. It
may be likely that all neighboring entities of a
participating entity are participating in the lottery
system and method according to the present invention. In
addition, as stated above, each entity may retain funds
from the sale of the lottery tickets to use for advertising
the lottery.
[00016] Referring to Figure 1, there is shown an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment,
nine entities 102-110 are participating in a given lottery
cycle. An example of an entity 102-110 may include, but is
not limited to, a state from the United States of America,
a province of Canada, etc. A lottery cycle may include a
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time period beginning when the lottery tickets become
available for purchase and ending when a winning lottery
ticket is drawn. There may be a plurality of drawings
within each lottery cycle for a grand prize, first prize,
second prize, etc. In addition, there may be several
lottery cycles in a year. Individual consumers may purchase
lottery tickets during each lottery cycle.
[00017] Each participating entity 102-110 may pay an initial
onetime membership fee 111A-111I to participate. The
management body may designate the onetime membership fee.
Entities may be permitted to skip a lottery cycle and
rejoin without additional expense or penalty. Each
participating entity 102-110 may be assigned an initial
allotment of a number of lottery tickets 112A-112I. The
allotment per entity may vary and may be based on, for
example, the eligible population of the entity. The
eligible population of an entity includes those individual
consumers residing in the entity who are legally able to
participate in a lottery. An example of an individual
consumer who is able to participate is a person of a legal
age. The management body may assign each participating
entity an initial allotment of a number of lottery tickets
112A-112I. Each entity may only sell lottery tickets for
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their entity and may not sell another entity's lottery
tickets. Although each entity is initially assigned an
allotment of lottery tickets based on their respective
eligible population, in an exemplary embodiment entities
may be issued additional lottery tickets for sale
corresponding to that particular entity if the entity sells
their initial allotment prior to the end of the lottery.
For example, Maryland may be assigned 4 million lottery
tickets based on an eligible population of 4 million
people. Maryland may sell the 4 million lottery tickets and
then may additionally sell any number of lottery tickets
over the Maryland initial allotment of 4 million lottery
tickets.
[00018] If each participating entity sells only their allotment
of lottery tickets, the number of lottery tickets 112A-112I
may correspond to the eligible population of each
respective entity. Accordingly, the sum of the lottery
tickets 112A-1121 may correspond to the total number of
lottery tickets 101 sold in the lottery cycle. Since the
eligible population can adjust according to variances in
the population within the entity, the number of tickets
112A-1121 allotted for that entity might change.
Individual consumers in entities with higher eligible
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populations have no advantage with respect to the prize
pool over individual consumers in entities with smaller
eligible populations. However, individual consumers in the
entities with the smaller eligible population may have the
opportunity of participating in a lottery with a prize pool
that is larger than that which the entity could generate in
its own lottery.
[00019] Figure 2 shows another example of an embodiment of the
invention. In this example, three entities 202-204 are
participating in the lottery cycle and there are a total
number of lottery tickets 201 for these three entities 202-
204. Figure 2 shows an example of a process after the
initial membership fee 211A-211C is paid and the allotment
of lottery tickets 212A-212C is made to the participating
entities 202-204. Each participating entity 202-204 makes
their allotment of tickets 212A-212C available for sale
during a specified time period 213A-213C of the lottery
cycle. The time period 213A-213C may be the same for each
participating entity 202-204. A start date and a final end
date may be established in advance of the specified period
213A-213C so that the lottery may be publicized and
marketed.
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[00020] The duration of the specified time period for the
lottery cycle may be any duration. The duration, start
date, and final end date may be predetermined by the
management body. In one embodiment, the duration may last
approximately 4 to 5 months from the start date to the
final end date. The lottery tickets may be made available
for sale in each entity at the start date. The lottery
tickets may be unavailable for purchase in each
participating entity at the final end date.
[00021] At the start date of the specified time period 213A-
213C, participating entities 202-204 make their allotment
of lottery tickets 212A-212C available for sale. Eligible
individual consumers may purchase a plurality of tickets.
During the specified time period 213A-213C, each entity may
hold the ticket proceeds from the sold lottery tickets.
Each entity may hold the lottery ticket proceeds in an
account such as an entity escrow account 214A-214C. Each
participating entity 202-204 may have their own escrow
account 214A-214C.
[00022] The lottery tickets may be purchased at existing lottery
retail locations within the entity. The management body may
provide the necessary materials to each entity to sell
lottery tickets.
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[00023] Each lottery ticket may contain identifying information.
Such identifying information may include, for example, the
(1) date and time the ticket was sold, the (2) entity
identifier as to where the ticket originated, and a (3)
ticket identifier. For example, if the District of Columbia
were a participating entity, the tickets from the District
of Columbia may use "DC" as the entity identifier of where
the ticket was sold. Other participating states may also
use the two letter U.S. Post Office state name
abbreviation. For instance, New York may use "NY" as the
entity identifier and Maryland may use "MD" as the entity
identifier on the sold ticket.
[00024] The ticket identifier may be a number, symbol, or
character, or any combination thereof. In an exemplary
embodiment of the invention, consecutive numbers may be
used as the ticket identifier. For example, numbers
starting at 1,000,001 may be used for the ticket identifier
for each participating entity. Based on the eligible
population of the participating entity, the numbers would
range from 1,000,001 to the sum of the eligible population
of that entity plus 1,000,000.
[00025] For instance, New York may have an eligible population
of 18,000,000 and Maryland may have an eligible population
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of 4,000,000. The ticket identifiers for New York may range
from 1,000,001 to 19,000,001 and for Maryland may range
from 1,000,001 to 5,000,001. The lottery tickets may be
issued in consecutive numbers so that the entity may be
aware of how many tickets have been sold at any given time.
Each entity may report its sales on a periodic basis to the
management body. In combining the entity identifier with
the ticket identifier, each lottery ticket may be unique
from all the other lottery tickets issued. For example, the
lottery ticket with the identifying information of "NY
1,000,001" is different from the lottery ticket with the
identifying information of "MD 1,000,001." Millions of
tickets may be sold with no duplicates. If an entity sells
the initial allotment of lottery tickets, the additional
tickets issued may continue to have the appropriate entity
identifier.
[00026] Each lottery ticket sold may have the identifying
information, such as entity identifier and ticket
identifier, stored on an entity data store. An example of
an entity data store is a database for each entity. As
depicted in Figure 2, each entity 202-204 may have their
own entity data store 215A-215C.
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[00027] Figure 3 continues the example depicted in Figure 2. At
the expiration of the specified time period 213A-213C, each
entity may transfer a portion of the proceeds of the ticket
sales from the entity escrow accounts 314A-314C into a
common account 316. For example, the lottery ticket
proceeds from each entity may be transferred into an escrow
account at a financial institution. As previously stated,
each entity may retain an entity lottery retailers
commission and an entity lottery administrative fee from
the proceeds. The entity lottery administrative fee may be
used to advertise the lottery and for other expenses
related to the lottery. Any deduction for fees may be based
on the total lottery ticket sales. In an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention, the entity lottery
retailers' commission and the entity lottery administrative
fee may be approximately five percent each (exclusive of
interest). Any interest in the entity escrow account earned
until the expiration of the specified time period 213A-213C
may be retained by the respective entity. Each entity may
retain other amounts as directed by the law or other rules.
[00028] Each entity may allocate a management fee 318 to pay for
the administrative costs relating to the management body
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functions. An example of such management fee may be five
percent of the total ticket sales.
[00029] The financial institution may certify to each
participating entity that the prize funds are on deposit
and available for distribution. The management body may
report to each participating entity the combined sales of
the participating entities to certify the prize pool. The
prize pool may be a certain percentage of the lottery
ticket sales. An example of such percentage may be fifty
percent of the lottery ticket sales. There may be several
drawings in a given lottery cycle with each drawing
deduction a portion of the prize pool. After the above-
described deductions, the remaining proceeds are
transferred to the common account 316.
[00030] Once all the participating entities 202-204 have
transferred the remaining proceeds and management fee
allocation into the common account 316, certain fees 318 -
319 may be deducted from the common account 316 as depicted
in Figure 3. The management fee 318 may be deducted from
the common account for the management body. As specified
above, the management fee 318 may be five percent of the
total ticket sales.
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[00031] Each participating entity may receive an entity payment
319. The entity payment 319 may differ for each
participating entity. The sum of each entity payment 319
for each participating entity may be a percentage of the
total lottery ticket sales. An example of such percentage
may be thirty-five percent of the lottery ticket sales to
be distributed amongst each participating entity. Each
entity may be assigned an entity unit number, which relates
to the eligible population of the entity. The entity
payment 319 may be proportional to the eligible population
of the entity. For example, New York may have an eligible
population of 18,000,000 and Maryland may have an eligible
population of 4, 000, 000. The unit number for NY may be 18
and the unit number for Maryland may be 4. New York will
have a greater entity payment 319 than Maryland due to the
larger unit number for New York.
[00032] The entity payment 319 may be calculated by multiplying
the total funds available to the entities as an entity
payment by the unit number of the respective entity and
dividing by the total eligible population of all
participating entities.
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[00033] For example, Entity Payment = Total Entity Payment Funds
Available * (Entity Unit Number / Total Eligible Population
of All Participating Entities)
[00034] The following examples show a complete distribution of
the total lottery ticket proceeds. 100,000,000 lottery
tickets may be sold in a lottery cycle with each ticket
price point being $20 USD. The total lottery ticket
proceeds are then 100,000,000 * $20 = $2,000,000,000. Ten
percent of the total lottery ticket proceeds are allocated
among each entity for the entity retailers commission and
the entity lottery administrative fee which is
$2,000,000,000 * 10% = $200,000,000. Five percent of the
total lottery ticket proceeds are allocated to the
management body fee which is $2,000,000,000 * 5% =
$100,000,000. Fifty percent is allocated for the prize pool
which is $2,000,000,000 * 50% = $1,000,000,000. Thirty-five
percent is then allocated as the entity payment for all the
participating entities which is 2,000,000,000 * 35% _
$700,000,000. The total eligible population of all
participating entities may be 188 million people. If New
York has a unit number of 18, then the entity payment for
New York will be as follows:
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[00035] New York Entity Payment = $700,000,000 * (18/188) _
$67,021,276.59.
[00036] Accordingly, Maryland may have an entity payment as
follows:
[00037] Maryland Entity Payment = $700,000,000 * (4/188)
$14,893,617.02.
[00038] Accordingly, all participating entities may share in the
lottery ticket proceeds systematically based on the unit
number of the entity and the eligible population of the
entity.
[00039] At the end of the expiration of the specified time
period 213A-213C, each participating entity may relay the
identifying information stored on each entity database
315A-315C into a common data store 317 such as a common
database. The common data store 317 may include the
identifying information of the lottery tickets sold from
each participating entity 315A-315C. After all the fees
318, 319 are deducted from the common account 316 as
depicted in 320, the remaining proceeds may be the prize
proceeds 322 for a plurality of different drawings. Once
the prize proceeds 322 are ready for disbursement, a single
lottery ticket may be selected as the winning lottery
ticket 321 for each drawing. In an exemplary embodiment of
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the present invention, a nationally recognized accounting
and drawing firm may conduct the drawing.
[00040] Once a winning lottery ticket 321 is selected for the
given drawing, a determination must be made as to whether a
winner claims the prize 323. The winner of the winning
lottery ticket may have a certain window of time to claim
the prize. If the winner 325 comes forward to claim the
prize, the winner 325 receives the prize money 327 from the
common account 316 holding a percentage of the prize
proceeds 322 for that drawing. If no one 324 comes forward
to claim the prize in the certain window of time, the prize
money may remain in the common account 316 to be used for
the next drawing 326 including any interest accumulated. In
another embodiment, if no one 324 comes forward to claim
the prize in the certain window of time, the prize money
may be alternatively distributed to each participating
entity based on their NL Unit numbers or alternatively the
prize money may be distributed to the entity from which the
winning lottery ticket was sold.
[00041] As stated above, there may be several drawings per given
lottery cycle. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention,
there may be 1 grand prize of $500 million USD, 1 first
prize of $300 million USD, 1 second prize of $100 million
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USD, 15 third prizes of $3.33 million USD, 100,000 fourth
prizes of $100 USD, and 8 early bird prizes at $5 million
USD. In this exemplary embodiment of the invention, there
may be 100,026 winners to win the prize pool.
[00042] The early bird prizes may be allocated for entrants that
purchase lottery tickets before an early date marker in the
specified time period of the lottery. An example of an
early date marker may be the end of the first 30 days of
the lottery cycle. If an individual consumer player wins an
early bird prize, the individual consumer player may still
be eligible to win the other prizes drawn later in the
lottery cycle. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention,
if an individual consumer wins a prize other than the early
bird, then the lottery ticket of the individual consumer
player does not enter into subsequent drawings. In another
exemplary embodiment of the invention, if an individual
consumer player wins a prize other than the early bird,
then the lottery ticket of the individual consumer player
may enter into subsequent drawings.
[00043] Since only a unique winning lottery ticket 321 is chosen
per drawing, the management body may guarantee the prize
pool with specified amounts per drawing and no split
winnings. As described above, the prize pool is a pre-
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determined amount of prize money stated at the commencement
of the draw. The amount of the prize money must be
guaranteed to be available from the start date. Each entity
may provide a percentage of the prize pool and the
management body may use a third party to provide any
necessary guarantees. With a drawing of a winner, the prize
may be awarded regardless of the number of tickets required
to be sold in order to generate funds for the prize pool.
In any given drawing, an entity may not reach their
expected sales goal while another entity may exceed their
expected sales gold. Since the prize designation is not
determined by the number of tickets sold, the number of
tickets sold is germane to the prof its. It is a design of
lottery to assure that the lottery ticket sales for the
drawings, are an easily attainable percentage of the total
drawing prize.
[00044] Figure 4 shows an example of the lottery system
according to an embodiment of the present invention. The
management body 400 may assign a plurality of entities 202-
204 respective allotments of lottery tickets. The allotment
may correspond to the number of eligible people in each
participating entity able to participate in a lottery. The
management body may oversee the drawing of a winning
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lottery ticket and the distribution of proceeds, among
other things. As described above, the lottery tickets have
unique identifying information so that each lottery ticket
is different and there is a unique winning lottery ticket
for a given prize drawing. The plurality of entities 202-
204 may make the lottery tickets available for sale during
the specified time period through the use of retailers 402-
403. The retailers 402-404 may sell the lottery tickets to
an eligible population 401, The eligible population 401 may
purchase tickets in any participating entity and are not
restricted to the entity in which they may reside.
[00045] The above description of the present invention is
susceptible to various modifications, changes and
adaptations, and the same are intended to be comprehended
within the meaning and range of equivalents of the appended
claims.
