Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR LOTTERY-STYLE GAMES
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This patent application is related to U.S. Patent Application Nos. and
both entitled "Systems and Methods for Lottery-Style Games," filed
concurrently herewith,
each of which is incorporated herein in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to games of
chance. More
specifically, the present invention relates to systems and methods for lottery-
style games.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Lottery is a popular game of chance in which a number of players
contribute to form
a jackpot that is later awarded, wholly or partially, to one or more winners.
The participating
players pay money or contribute other things of value in exchange for lottery
tickets.
Typically, each lottery ticket bears a combination of numbers or other
symbols, and a winning
ticket has to at least partially match a randomly generated set of numbers or
symbols. In a
properly operated lottery game, any one of the outstanding lottery tickets
could be selected in a
random drawing as a winning ticket, entitling its holder to some or all of the
jackpot prize.
[0004] Sweepstakes in United States may be considered one special type of
lottery games
which are free to enter and are typically sponsored by merchants for
promotional marketing
purposes. In United Kingdom, a sweepstake is technically a lottery game in
which the prize is
financed through the tickets sold. Small-scale sweepstakes among private
parties (e.g.,
colleagues and classmates) may also be considered lottery games which are
often related to
ongoing sports events.
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[0005] Lottery games come in different formats. For example, the jackpot of a
lottery game
may be either a fixed cash amount or a certain percentage of ticket revenue.
The combination
of numbers on each lottery ticket could be a unique one, or each player may be
allowed to
select his or her own lucky numbers, making it possible for multiple tickets
to share a same
combination. Lottery games can be played either online or offline. The most
popular lottery
games, such as PowerballTM, Mega MillionsTM, and Euro MillionsTM, are mostly
paper-based,
requiring the purchase of actual tickets, although some are now starting to
open to online
participants. A few lottery games can be played completely online. That is,
instead of
purchasing a paper ticket and filling in desired numbers with a pencil, an
online player can
purchase an electronic (or virtual) lottery ticket and select a desired
combination via a web
interface such as an Internet browser.
[0006] In all traditional lottery games, lottery tickets are sold in
predetermined, fixed
denominations, for example, one dollar per ticket. Accordingly, one winning
ticket will entitle
its holder to an entire unit of a corresponding winning prize. Proportional
value lottery games
have been proposed, for example, in U.S. Patent Nos. 6,296,569 and 7,351,142,
but none
appears to have been commercially implemented. Both of those patents describe
the issuance
of proportional denomination lottery tickets, online or at a point of sale
(POS). For example, in
any transaction involving change under a dollar, the change can be converted
to a proportional
denomination share of a full-unit (one-dollar) lottery ticket. If the full-
unit lottery ticket is
qualified for a prize, the holder of the proportional denomination ticket will
be entitled to a
fraction of the prize. For instance, if a one-dollar ticket matching all the
winning numbers
would entitle its holder to a jackpot amount, then a 25-cent proportional
ticket entitles its holder
to 25% of the jackpot.
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[0007] All the existing types of lottery games appear to share a few common
characteristics.
First, they all have to issue some kind of lottery tickets, whether paper or
electronic, full-
denomination or proportional. The purposes for issuing lottery tickets are two-
fold. The
tickets bear numerical combinations or patterns to be compared to the randomly
generated
winning combination or pattern. The tickets also serve as proof of
participation in the lottery
games. However, the entire mechanism of generating, drawing, and matching
tickets could
impose significant overhead costs on the operation of lottery games.
[0008] Second, participation in traditional lottery games depends heavily on
player impulse
or enthusiasm, which causes ticket revenue to fluctuate. Except for a handful
of gambling
fanatics, most people only purchase lottery tickets occasionally. A loss in
one game might
cause an ordinary player to stop playing for a while. Also, public sentiment
towards a lottery
game often varies with the amount of jackpot prize available at the time.
There seems to be a
general belief that a one-dollar ticket somehow has a better chance of winning
when the jackpot
reaches several million dollars or more. Therefore, when the total jackpot
snowballs into an
unusually large amount, the public often become increasingly interested in the
game. Once the
jackpot is won, a period of stagnation typically follows the news-generating
big win. For all
these reasons, ticket revenues from traditional lottery games tend to swing
with time and
seldom generate a steady cash flow.
[0009] Third, players in a traditional lottery game have no direct or
perceivable incentive for
bringing more players into the game. Theoretically, an existing player may be
indirectly
benefited if more players join the lottery game, because the increased
participation will increase
the size of jackpot the existing player could potentially win. However, that
potential benefit
may not be tangible enough to encourage referrals of additional players. In
addition, the
existing player's chance of winning does not increase with the number of new
players.
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[0010] Furthermore, traditional lottery games including sweepstakes are pure
games of
chance and typically do not require any player skill or strategy. Every
player's chance of
winning is only affected by the number of lottery tickets he or she buys. One
player's chance
of winner is independent of another player's chance of winning. As a result,
there tends to be
very little interaction among lottery participants.
[0011] In view of the foregoing, it may be understood that there are
significant problems and
shortcomings associated with traditional lottery games.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] Systems and methods for lottery-style games are disclosed. In one
particular
exemplary embodiment, a computer-implemented method for lottery-style games
may
comprise: establishing an online game that is scheduled to have lottery
drawings on a number
of drawing days, each lottery drawing to take place on one drawing day;
accepting enrollment
of a plurality of players in the online game, each player being assigned at
least one unique
identifier and being committed to participate in a plurality of the lottery
drawings; receiving,
from each player, a designated number of tokens to be entered for each of the
at least one
unique identifier in each of the plurality of the lottery drawings said player
is committed to
participate in, each designated number being at least one and up to a
predetermined maximum;
and executing the online game by doing the following on each drawing day:
pooling tokens
entered for said drawing by players participating on said drawing day,
together with tokens
carried over from one or more previous drawing days, if any, to form a jackpot
for said drawing
day, conducting a drawing, from unique identifiers of the players
participating on said drawing
day, to select one winner, calculating a proportional value based on: (a) the
designated number
of tokens the selected winner has entered for said drawing, and (b) the
predetermined
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maximum, and providing a fraction of the jackpot to the selected winner based
on the
calculated proportional value.
[0013] In another particular exemplary embodiment, a system for lottery-style
games may
comprise: a processor; at least one storage device coupled to the processor; a
user interface
coupled to the processor via one or more communication networks; wherein the
processor is
adapted to communicate with the at least one storage device and the user
interface to execute
instructions to perform the following tasks: establishing an online game that
is scheduled to
have lottery drawings on a number of drawing days, each lottery drawing to
take place on one
drawing day; accepting enrollment of a plurality of players in the online
game, each player
being assigned at least one unique identifier and being committed to
participate in a plurality of
the lottery drawings; receiving, from each player, a designated number of
tokens to be entered
for each of the at least one unique identifier in each of the plurality of the
lottery drawings said
player is committed to participate in, each designated number being at least
one and up to a
predetermined maximum; and executing the online game by doing the following on
each
drawing day: pooling tokens entered for said drawing by players participating
on said drawing
day, together with tokens carried over from one or more previous drawing days,
if any, to form
a jackpot for said drawing day, conducting a drawing, from unique identifiers
of the players
participating on said drawing day, to select one winner, calculating a
proportional value based
on: (a) the designated number of tokens the selected winner has entered for
said drawing, and
(b) the predetermined maximum, and providing a fraction of the jackpot to the
selected winner
based on the calculated proportional value.
[0014] In yet another particular exemplary embodiment, a computer-implemented
method
for lottery-style games may comprise: establishing a game that is scheduled to
have a number
of lottery drawings; accepting enrollment of a plurality of players in the
game, each player
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being assigned at least one unique identifier and being committed to
participate in a plurality of
the lottery drawings by contributing tokens of value; receiving, from each
player, a designated
number of tokens to be entered for each of the at least one unique identifier
contributes in each
of the plurality of the lottery drawings said player is committed to
participate in, each
designated number being at least one and up to a predetermined maximum; and
executing the
game by doing the following for each lottery drawing: pooling tokens which are
contributed to
said lottery drawing by players participating in said lottery drawing,
together with tokens
carried over from one or more previous lottery drawings, if any, to form a
jackpot for said
lottery drawing, conducting a drawing, from unique identifiers of the players
participating in
said lottery drawing, to select at least one winner, calculating a
proportional value based on: (a)
the number of tokens contributed by the selected at least one winner to said
lottery drawing,
and (b) the predetermined maximum, and providing a fraction of the jackpot to
the selected at
least one winner based on the calculated proportional value.
[0015] In still another exemplary embodiment, a computer-implemented method
for lottery-
style games may comprise: establishing a map-based game that is scheduled to
have a number
of lottery drawings associated with a plurality of grid units on a map;
accepting enrollment of a
plurality of players in the map-based game, each player being associated with
at least one grid
unit on the map and being committed to participate in a plurality of the
lottery drawings by
contributing tokens of value; receiving, from each player, a designated number
of tokens to be
contributed, on behalf of each of the at least one grid unit, to each of the
plurality of the lottery
drawings said player is committed to participate in; and executing the map-
based game by
doing the following for each lottery drawing: pooling tokens which are
contributed to said
lottery drawing on behalf of grid units participating in said lottery drawing,
together with
tokens carried over from one or more previous lottery drawings, if any, to
form a jackpot for
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said lottery drawing, and conducting a drawing, from said grid units
participating in said lottery
drawing, to select at least one first grid unit to win a first prize. In
addition, one or more
second grid units may be selected to win lesser prizes, the selection being
based on relative
map positions of the one or more second grid units with respect to the at
least one first grid
unit.
[0016] In a further exemplary embodiment, a system for lottery-style games may
comprise: a
processor; at least one storage device coupled to the processor; a user
interface coupled to the
processor via one or more communication networks; wherein the processor is
adapted to
communicate with the at least one storage device and the user interface to
execute instructions
to perform the following tasks: establishing a map-based game that is
scheduled to have a
number of lottery drawings associated with a plurality of grid units on a map;
accepting
enrollment of a plurality of players in the map-based game, each player being
associated with at
least one grid unit on the map and being committed to participate in a
plurality of the lottery
drawings by contributing tokens of value; receiving, from each player, a
designated number of
tokens to be contributed, on behalf of each of the at least one grid unit, to
each of the plurality
of the lottery drawings said player is committed to participate in; and
executing the map-based
game by doing the following for each lottery drawing: pooling tokens which are
contributed to
said lottery drawing on behalf of grid units participating in said lottery
drawing, together with
tokens carried over from one or more previous lottery drawings, if any, to
form a jackpot for
said lottery drawing, and conducting a drawing, from said grid units
participating in said lottery
drawing, to select at least one first grid unit to win a first prize.
[0017] One technical effect of the systems and methods of the present
invention is that they
facilitate more efficient and more entertaining implementation of lottery-
style games on
modem computers and communications systems. Another technical effect of the
systems and
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methods of the present invention lies in the specialized computer devices
and/or gaming kiosks
that may be configured and deployed to carry out the lottery-style games
disclosed herein.
[0018] The present invention will now be described in more detail with
reference to
exemplary embodiments thereof as shown in the accompanying drawings. While the
present
invention is described below with reference to exemplary embodiments, it
should be
understood that the present invention is not limited thereto. Those of
ordinary skill in the art
having access to the teachings herein will recognize additional
implementations, modifications,
and embodiments, as well as other fields of use, which are within the scope of
the present
invention as described herein, and with respect to which the present invention
may be of
significant utility.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] In order to facilitate a fuller understanding of the present invention,
reference is now
made to the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are referenced with
like numerals.
These drawings should not be construed as limiting the present invention, but
are intended to be
exemplary only.
[0020] FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method of facilitating
lottery-style
games in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 2 illustrates the flow of tokens from the perspective of a lottery
game operator in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 3 illustrates the flow of tokens from the perspective of a player
in a lottery game
in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system for
facilitating lottery-
style games in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
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[0024] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary software and data-
storage modules
for facilitating lottery-style games in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention.
[0025] FIG. 6 shows a grid map for an exemplary GeoSweep game in accordance
with one
embodiment of the present invention.
[0026] FIGs. 7A-B illustrate an exemplary payout structure in an exemplary
GeoSweep
game in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
[0027] FIG. 8 illustrates an alternative payout structure in an exemplary
GeoSweep game in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
[0028] FIG. 9 illustrates another alternative payout structure in an exemplary
GeoSweep
game in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
[0029] FIG. 10 illustrates an alternative method of establishing a grid or
land boundaries in
an exemplary GeoSweep game in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0030] FIG. 11 illustrates another alternative method of establishing a grid
or land
boundaries in an exemplary GeoSweep game in accordance with one embodiment of
the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0031] Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a flow chart illustrating an
exemplary method of
facilitating lottery-style games in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention.
[0032] In step 102, a lottery game may be set up. The lottery game may be an
ongoing one
that is scheduled to have a plurality of lottery drawings over a period of
time. For example, the
lottery drawings may occur on a periodic basis, such as once every hour, one
or more times
every calendar day or every business day, one or more times every week, or a
predetermined
number of times per month or year. As the lottery game is set up, a set of
rules, terms and
conditions may be published or otherwise communicated to potential
participants. The rules
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may define how the lottery game is operated and how the lottery drawings are
conducted, as
well as calculation and payout of prizes, as will be described in more detail
below. The terms
and conditions may specify rights and obligations of persons participating in
the lottery game
and lottery drawings.
[0033] In preferred embodiments of the present invention, the lottery game is
established
online and accessible via an Internet website. The lottery game may also be
implemented in
connection with one or more social networking websites, such as FacebookTM,
MySpaceTM, or
LinkedlnTM. Alternatively, the lottery game may also be implemented in
connection with one
or more virtual reality games such as Second LifeTM or other multi-player
video games. The
lottery game may be either an add-on or an integrated part of an associated
website, wherein
participation in the lottery game may enhance a player's experience at the
associated website or
vice versa. According to some embodiments, the lottery game and lottery
drawings may be
implemented at least partially offline, without requiring every participant to
have computer or
Internet access.
[0034] In step 104, players may be enrolled in the lottery game. Each person
wishing to join
the lottery game may be required to make a commitment to participate in a
number of the
scheduled lottery drawings. In one exemplary enrollment process, a player may
(a) manifest consent to the set of rules, terms and conditions established in
the lottery game and
(b) deposit or pledge some amount of money or other things of value to be
contributed to the
game. The amount of initial deposit or pledge may depend on such factors as
how many lottery
drawings the player is obligated to participate in, how much wager the player
is to enter for
each drawing, the player's credit ratings, and so on.
[0035] Enrollment of players may be taken via a web interface, by mail, or
through other
communication means. When the lottery game is implemented in connection with a
social
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networking website or other membership sites, enrollment in the lottery game
may be
simplified with the existing membership information. Alternatively, the
lottery game operator,
administrator, or personnel may receive and approve enrollment in person. In
some instances,
new players may join through referrals and/or gift membership.
[0036] In step 106, each enrolled player may be assigned one or more unique
identifiers.
Each player identifier (or player ID) may be a text string, a serial number,
or other symbols.
According to one embodiment, each player ID may be associated with a "Lucky
Star" of the
player's choice. According to some embodiments, each player ID may comprise a
machine
readable portion (e.g., an alphanumeric string) and a human recognizable
portion (e.g., a logo,
icon or catch phrase). For a player, one of the assigned player IDs may be
used as a username
for logging into an Internet-based lottery game. Or, the player may choose a
different
username to log in but is still able to manage multiple player IDs assigned to
that player. The
assigned player IDs may be imprinted or encoded on a membership card.
[0037] In the drawings or games described herein, each registered player can
participate with
one or multiple player IDs. When participating with multiple player IDs, the
rules regarding
each of the multiple player IDs are the same as if each player ID is owned and
controlled by a
single player. For ease of illustration, it is assumed in the following
description that each
player participates with a single player ID.
[0038] In step 108, each player may designate the number of tokens to enter
for each
drawing. That is, with respect to each lottery drawing the player is committed
to participate in,
the player may specify a wager amount that is typically measured in the number
of tokens. As
used herein, a "token" may be or represent any physical or virtual thing of
value that can be
counted or quantified. For example, a token may be or represent one or more
units of cash or
credit. Or, a token may be or represent one or more points that are
exchangeable for things of
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value. According to one embodiment of the present invention, one token may be
the equivalent
of one cent (1/100 of a dollar). According to another embodiment, one token
may be or
represent one value point that may be used to exchange for music downloads,
cell phone ring-
tones, or for other online or in-store purchases. According to yet another
embodiment, one
token may represent one unit of a game score in an online video game or a
virtual society.
According to still another embodiment, one token may be or can be exchanged
for one or more
units of mobile telephone airtime or long-distance telephone minutes.
[0039] The players may purchase tokens with their initial deposits. They may
set up
electronic fund transfers and/or automatic credit card payments to refill
their accounts with
tokens. A player's account may be replenished automatically as soon as its
balance falls below
a preset lower limit. Apart from winning or purchasing refills, the players
may alternatively or
additionally obtain tokens through bartering or by engaging in certain
activities. For example,
a player may exchange credit card cash-back bonus points for tokens. The
player may also take
part in online surveys, view online advertisements, or increase activity level
at social
networking or blogger websites to earn tokens.
[0040] The number of tokens designated for each lottery drawing should
typically fall within
a certain range. For lottery drawings that take place on a daily basis, for
example, there may be
a daily minimum and a daily maximum for the number of tokens a player can
contribute per
player ID. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the daily
minimum may be
one token (e.g., one cent or one pence) and the daily maximum may be one
hundred tokens
(e.g., one dollar or one pound). The number of tokens that a player designates
for each drawing
may be any of a fixed value between and including the daily minimum and the
daily maximum.
Alternatively, the player may configure the daily wager to be a variable
amount. To have a
minimal level of participation in the lottery game (thus a more predictable
revenue from the
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game), the game system may be configured to prevent players from lowering
their preset daily
wager amount for any upcoming drawings.
[0041] For each lottery drawing, a jackpot prize may be formed, in step 110,
from two
sources: (a) tokens contributed by players who participate in that drawing,
and (b) tokens
carried over from one or more previous drawings, if available. Tokens from the
two sources
may be pooled together into one jackpot. The jackpot (or a portion thereof)
may account for a
maximum payable amount for a winner of that lottery drawing.
[0042] In step 112, a random drawing from the player IDs may be conducted to
select at
least one winner. Note that the word "random" does not require randomness in
the most
rigorous statistical sense as such randomness is difficult to achieve.
Instead, the word
"random" implies a fair drawing process that does not appear to favor any one
player more than
any other player. The random (fair) drawing from the player IDs may be
achieved in a number
of computational methods as are well known in the gaming industry. According
to some
embodiments of the present invention, a single winner may be selected for each
lottery
drawing. According to some alternative embodiments, two or more winners may be
selected
for each drawing and they may share a prize fund on equal footings or
according to an award
hierarchy.
[0043] Then, in step 114, a proportional value may be calculated based on the
number of
tokens the selected winner(s) contributed versus the maximum number allowed
per player ID.
Assuming there is only one selected winner, the proportional value (F) may be
calculated by
dividing the number of tokens the winner contributed (n) with the maximum
number a player is
allowed to contribute (M) to that individual lottery drawing. That is -
F= n
M
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If there are multiple winners, the proportional value may be calculated for
each winner. For
example, if a selected winner contributed the maximum number of tokens for
that lottery
drawing, the proportional value for that winner would be one (1) or 100%. If
the selected
winner contributed half of the maximum number of tokens allowed, the
proportional value
would be 1/2 or 50%. The proportional value calculated in this step may be
represented with
either a fraction or a percentage.
[0044] In step 116, a fraction of the jackpot (or maximum payable prize) may
be provided to
the selected winner(s) according to the proportional value calculated in step
114 above. That
is, whatever the full prize amount (P) a winner might have been entitled to
had he or she
contributed the maximum number of tokens (M), the actual payout amount (p) may
be reduced
to a fraction of that full prize amount in proportion to the number of tokens
contributed (n).
That is -
p=FxP=MxP
[0045] The same proportional payout rule applies to single-winner as well as
multiple-
winner scenarios. The actual payout may be made by depositing tokens into a
winner's account
in the game system. Alternatively, the winner may receive the prize in the
form of cash, points,
airtime or long-distance minutes, other things of value, or a combination
thereof. Other payout
arrangements are also possible.
[0046] In step 118, the remainder of the jackpot prize may be rolled over to a
next drawing.
Unless one or more selected winners happen to have wagered the maximum number
of tokens
and therefore won the entire jackpot, there would always be some remaining
jackpot to add to
the jackpot of the next drawing. In addition, the enrollment rule ensures
continuous
participation in the ongoing lottery drawings. As a result, the jackpot may
quickly snowball
into a large amount, further increasing players' interest in the game.
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[0047] For business advantages, it may be preferable to set the maximum number
of tokens
that each player ID can contribute to each drawing at a relatively low value.
For example, if
the daily maximum that can be entered for a daily drawing is one dollar, a
player can contribute
as little as one cent but never more than one dollar. The player will not feel
any significant
financial impact or burden to continue playing the lottery game for many
drawing days. By
wagering the equivalent of pocket change on a daily basis, the player may
still enjoy a decent
chance of winning a substantial amount of money.
[0048] FIG. 2 illustrates the flow of tokens from the perspective of a lottery
game operator in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. For ease of
illustration, it will be
assumed that lottery drawings in the lottery game occur on a daily basis. On
each drawing day,
a pie chart 202 represents a jackpot prize and sources thereof, whereas a pie
chart 204
represents the same jackpot prize (but shown separately for clarity) and
disbursement
therefrom. The pie chart 202 indicates that a first portion of the present
drawing day's jackpot
include tokens carried over from one or more previous drawing days. The pie
chart 202 also
indicates that second portion of the jackpot include tokens contributed by
individual players for
the current drawing. The pie chart 204 indicates that at least a fraction of
the jackpot prize may
be paid out to a winner of the day. Assuming there is a single winner and that
player
contributed 40 tokens out of the maximum 100 allowed, 40% of the jackpot prize
may be paid
out to the winner. In that case, the remaining 60% of the jackpot may be
rolled over to a next
drawing day.
[0049] FIG. 3 illustrates the flow of tokens from the perspective of a player
in a lottery game
in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The exemplary
player, Player K,
may be committed to participate in N lottery drawings occurring on N
consecutive days,
wherein N is an integer greater than one. The bucket of dollar-sign tokens
represents an
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account balance for Player K. Player K may have started with a "full bucket"
of tokens that
were purchased upon enrollment. As described earlier, Player K may designate
one or more
tokens to be contributed to each daily drawing. The number of tokens
designated may be
constant or may vary day-to-day. As drawing days go by, unless Player K wins
in one or more
lottery drawings, Player K's account may be slowly depleted and may have to be
replenished.
If Player K happens to be picked as a winner in one of the drawings, the
proportional payout
from that drawing may also replenish Player K's account to some extent.
[0050] According to one embodiment of the present invention, Player K may also
enjoy
another source of tokens - referral rewards. In order to encourage Player K to
refer additional
players to join the lottery game, Player K may be awarded a number of tokens
for each new
player brought into the game. The referral rewards may be simply deposited
into Player K's
account. Alternatively, the referral rewards may be automatically entered into
daily drawings
on behalf of Player K and in addition to Player K's own contribution to the
daily drawings. For
example, for each new player that Player K received, one or more tokens may be
added to
Player K's daily wager amount. These additional tokens may be awarded to
Player K as long
as the newly referred player remains an active participant in the lottery
drawings. Furthermore,
the amount of referral rewards may be linked to activity level of the new
player referred.
[0051] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system 400 for
facilitating
lottery-style games in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0052] The system 400 may be or include a computer system. This embodiment of
the
present invention may be described in the general context of computer-
executable instructions,
such as program modules, being executed by a computer. Generally, program
modules include
routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform
particular tasks or
implement particular abstract data types. A series of programmable
instructions may be stored
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in a computer-readable medium performing the lottery-style gaming functions
disclosed herein
and to achieve technical effects in accordance with the disclosure. More
exemplary software
and data-storage modules will be described below in connection with FIG. 5.
[0053] The lottery-style games described herein may be entered into and/or
played at one or
more game terminals or kiosks on or near the premises of a casino, a
department store, a
shopping mall, or other suitable commercial sites. For example, potential
participants in a
lottery-style game might be limited by laws which prohibit online wagering
with payment
cards. It may be beneficial for those participants to visit, or have someone
else visit on their
behalf, a commercial outlet with above-mentioned game terminals or kiosks
where they can
lawfully register and/or play the lottery-style games. Once a player has
registered and funded
his/her membership, he/she may continue monitoring the daily progress of the
game via
Internet or other communication means. As needed, the player may occasionally
re-visit the
game terminals or kiosks to re-fill accounts associated with his/her player
IDs.
[0054] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be
practiced with
various computer system configurations, including hand-held wireless devices
such as mobile
phones or personal digital assistants (PDAs), multiprocessor systems,
microprocessor-based or
programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the
like. The
invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where
tasks are
performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a
communications network. In
a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both
local and
remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.
[0055] The computer system may include a general purpose computing device in
the form of
a computer including a processing unit, a system memory, and a system bus that
couples
various system components including the system memory to the processing unit.
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[0056] Computers typically include a variety of computer readable media that
can form part
of the system memory and be read by the processing unit. By way of example,
and not
limitation, computer readable media may comprise computer storage media and
communication media. The system memory may include computer storage media in
the form
of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) and
random access
memory (RAM). A basic input/output system (BIOS), containing the basic
routines that help to
transfer information between elements, such as during start-up, is typically
stored in ROM.
RAM typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediately
accessible to and/or
presently being operated on by processing unit. The data or program modules
may include an
operating system, application programs, other program modules, and program
data. The
operating system may be or include a variety of operating systems such as
Microsoft
Windows operating system, the Unix operating system, the Linux operating
system, the
Xenix operating system, the IBM AIXTM operating system, the Hewlett Packard
UXTM
operating system, the Novell NetwareTM operating system, the Sun Microsystems
SolarisTM
operating system, the OS/2TM operating system, the BeOSTM operating system,
the
MacintoshTM operating system, the ApacheTM operating system, an OpenStepTM
operating
system or another operating system of platform.
[0057] At a minimum, the memory includes at least one set of instructions that
is either
permanently or temporarily stored. The processor executes the instructions
that are stored in
order to process data. The set of instructions may include various
instructions that perform a
particular task or tasks, such as those shown in the appended flowcharts. Such
a set of
instructions for performing a particular task may be characterized as a
program, software
program, software, engine, module, component, mechanism, or tool. The system
400 may
include a plurality of software processing modules stored in a memory as
described above and
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executed on a processor in the manner described herein. The program modules
may be in the
form of any suitable programming language, which is converted to machine
language or object
code to allow the processor or processors to read the instructions. That is,
written lines of
programming code or source code, in a particular programming language, may be
converted to
machine language using a compiler, assembler, or interpreter. The machine
language may be
binary coded machine instructions specific to a particular computer.
[0058] Any suitable programming language may be used in accordance with the
various
embodiments of the invention. Illustratively, the programming language used
may include
assembly language, Ada, APL, Basic, C, C++, COBOL, dBase, Forth, FORTRAN,
Java,
Modula-2, Pascal, Prolog, REXX, and/or JavaScript, for example. Further, it is
not necessary
that a single type of instruction or programming language be utilized in
conjunction with the
operation of the system and method of the invention. Rather, any number of
different
programming languages may be utilized as is necessary or desirable.
[0059] Also, the instructions and/or data used in the practice of the
invention may utilize any
compression or encryption technique or algorithm, as may be desired. An
encryption module
might be used to encrypt data. Further, files or other data may be decrypted
using a suitable
decryption module.
[0060] The computing environment may also include other removable/non-
removable,
volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. For example, a hard disk drive
may read or write
to non-removable, nonvolatile magnetic media. A magnetic disk drive may read
from or writes
to a removable, nonvolatile magnetic disk, and an optical disk drive may read
from or write to a
removable, nonvolatile optical disk such as a CD-ROM or other optical media.
Other
removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media that can
be used in the
exemplary operating environment include, but are not limited to, magnetic tape
cassettes, flash
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memory cards, digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM,
solid state ROM, and
the like. The storage media are typically connected to the system bus through
a removable or
non-removable memory interface.
[0061] The processing unit that executes commands and instructions may be a
general
purpose computer, but may utilize any of a wide variety of other technologies
including a
special purpose computer, a microcomputer, mini-computer, mainframe computer,
programmed micro-processor, micro-controller, peripheral integrated circuit
element, a CSIC
(Customer Specific Integrated Circuit), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated
Circuit), a logic
circuit, a digital signal processor, a programmable logic device such as an
FPGA (Field
Programmable Gate Array), PLD (Programmable Logic Device), PLA (Programmable
Logic
Array), RFID integrated circuits, smart chip, or any other device or
arrangement of devices that
is capable of implementing the steps of the processes of the invention.
[0062] It should be appreciated that the processors and/or memories of the
computer system
need not be physically in the same location. Each of the processors and each
of the memories
used by the computer system may be in geographically distinct locations and be
connected so
as to communicate with each other in any suitable manner. Additionally, it is
appreciated that
each of the processor and/or memory may be composed of different physical
pieces of
equipment.
[0063] A user may enter commands and information into the computer through a
user
interface that includes input devices such as a keyboard and pointing device,
commonly
referred to as a mouse, trackball or touch pad. Other input devices may
include a microphone,
joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, voice recognition device,
keyboard, touch screen,
toggle switch, pushbutton, or the like. These and other input devices are
often connected to the
processing unit through a user input interface that is coupled to the system
bus, but may be
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connected by other interface and bus structures, such as a parallel port, game
port or a universal
serial bus (USB).
[0064] One or more monitors or display devices may also be connected to the
system bus via
an interface. In addition to display devices, computers may also include other
peripheral output
devices, which may be connected through an output peripheral interface. The
computers
implementing the invention may operate in a networked environment using
logical connections
to one or more remote computers, the remote computers typically including many
or all of the
elements described above.
[0065] Various networks may be implemented in accordance with embodiments of
the
invention, including a wired or wireless local area network (LAN) and a wide
area network
(WAN), wireless personal area network (PAN) and other types of networks. When
used in a
LAN networking environment, computers may be connected to the LAN through a
network
interface or adapter. When used in a WAN networking environment, computers
typically
include a modem or other communication mechanism. Modems may be internal or
external,
and may be connected to the system bus via the user-input interface, or other
appropriate
mechanism. Computers may be connected over the Internet, an Intranet,
Extranet, Ethernet, or
any other system that provides communications. Some suitable communications
protocols may
include TCP/IP, UDP, or OSI for example. For wireless communications,
communications
protocols may include Bluetooth, Zigbee, IrDa or other suitable protocol.
Furthermore,
components of the system may communicate through a combination of wired or
wireless paths.
[0066] Although many other internal components of the computer are not shown,
those of
ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that such components and the
interconnections are well
known. Accordingly, additional details concerning the internal construction of
the computer
need not be disclosed in connection with the present invention.
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[0067] More specifically, the system 400 may comprise at least one gaming
server 402
coupled to one or more databases 404 and/or other data sources. The gaming
server 402 may
run a plurality of software modules to facilitate lottery-style games in
accordance with
embodiments of the present invention. The database(s) 404 may hold data
records related to
players and lottery drawings. One additional data source may be a bank or
payment provider
(406) that performs payment and/or credit services for the lottery game
operator and players.
Via a network 401, the players may communicate, locally or remotely, with the
gaming server
402 in order to enroll in the lottery game, participate in drawings, and
manage player accounts.
The players may employ a variety of computing devices 408 such as personal
computers,
mobile computers, personal digital assistants or handheld devices for
communication with the
gaming server 402.
[0068] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary software and data-
storage modules
for facilitating lottery-style games in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention.
The exemplary modules may include a user interface module 502, an enrollment
module 504,
an accounting module 506, a game execution module 508, an
administration/service module
510, a player data module 512, and a game data module 514. These software
modules may be
programmed or configured to communicate with one another or with the data-
storage modules.
[0069] The user interface module 502 may provide computer and/or Internet
access for
players and game operators/administrators to communicate with the other
software modules.
The enrollment module 504 may perform functions related to registering new
players, such as
verifying player information, assigning player IDs, and creating player
records. The
accounting module 506 may be responsible for managing player accounts and
handling debit
and credit transactions against the player accounts, including daily wagering
and winner
payouts. The game execution modules may perform functions such as scheduling
and
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conducting lottery drawings, generating and publishing drawing results, and
calculating
proportional values and payout amounts. The administration/service module 510
may facilitate
administrative and customer service tasks to be performed by an operator or
personnel of the
lottery game system.
[0070] The player data module 512 may contain and manage data records related
to each
player, such as player ID, personal information, wager preferences, account
history, and so on.
The game data module 514 may contain and manage data records related to the
lottery
drawings, such as drawing results, winner IDs, jackpot payouts, and roller
amounts.
[0071] As variations of and/or improvement upon the above-described lottery-
style games,
other embodiments of the present invention may offer similar, membership-based
games in
connection with virtual and/or real maps. This type of lottery-style games may
be referred to
and are intended to be marketed or promoted as GeoSweepTm games. In a typical
GeoSweepTm
game, a grid pattern may be overlaid over a map dividing a land into grid
units. A player may
enroll in the game by taking virtual land ownership of one or more grid units
and becoming
committed to participate in a series of scheduled lottery drawings. The player
may participate
in a drawing by contributing tokens of value on behalf of at least one grid
unit the player owns.
During any of those drawings, if a grid unit owned by the player is selected
as a (first-prize)
winner, that player may receive a full or proportional prize amount.
Additional winners in that
drawing may be selected to win lesser amounts than the first-prize winner.
Those additional
winners are selected and their payout amounts are determined based on map
positions of the
additional winners with respect to the first-prize winner.
[0072] FIG. 6 shows a grid map for an exemplary GeoSweep game in accordance
with one
embodiment of the present invention. The game may be referred to as "GeoSweep
Texas,"
wherein a map of the State of Texas is overlaid with a grid 602. Each grid
unit 604 may be a
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rectangle or a square of the same or similar size. In general, a grid unit can
take any other
shape, such as triangle, hexagon (honeycomb) or other polygon. In some
GeoSweep games,
the grid units can have different shapes and/or sizes without substantially
affecting the
operation of the games. As a result, the grid 602 may divide up land of Texas
into a plurality of
small parcels with well defined boundaries. Each of the parcels (or grid units
604) may be
uniquely identified.
[0073] To participate in the GeoSweep Texas game, a player may be required to
register to
become a member. During registration, the player may pick one or more of
available parcels to
become a virtual owner thereof. There may or may not be an upfront cost for
"owning" a
parcel. Both sole and shared ownership may be possible for a parcel. In some
instances, it
might be beneficial to hold an auction among multiple interested players to
determine which
player gets a popular parcel. In addition, the player may make a commitment to
participate in a
plurality of scheduled lottery-style drawings involving the one or more
parcels. The plurality
of scheduled lottery-style drawings may take place periodically, such as once
or more times a
day, every other day or every few days, or a number of times per week or
month. In each
drawing, each participating parcel may be required to contribute a
predetermined number of
tokens to a prize pool or jackpot. The predetermined number may be a fixed one
set by the
game operator or administrator, or, alternatively, a variable one to be
designated by each
individual owner of the participating parcels. In any case, upon registration,
each player may
be required to fund his or her commitment to participate in drawings by
depositing or pledging
some amount of money.
[0074] At each drawing, one or more parcels or grid units 604 may be randomly
selected as
sole winner(s) or first-prize winner(s). For ease of explanation, it is
assumed hereinafter that
each drawing selects a single grid unit as a sole winner or a first-prize
winner. In the case of a
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sole winner, an entire amount of jackpot or a calculated fraction thereof may
be awarded to the
owner of that winning grid unit. More typically, in addition to a first-prize
winner, one or more
winners of lesser amounts may be determined based on their relative map
positions with respect
to the first-prize winner. According to some embodiments, the drawing may be
limited to
parcels that are already owned or claimed by participating players, thereby
ensuring at least one
player will be entitled to a prize as described in more detail below.
According to some
embodiments of the present invention, the parcels or grid units may each have
the same chance
of being drawn as a first-prize winner. According to other embodiments, the
parcels or grid
units may have varying chances of being picked as a winner. For example, when
a parcel costs
more to own than others, it might enjoy a better chance of winning.
[0075] The prizes in each drawing may comprise tokens of value which have been
contributed to that drawing by participating parcels. The prizes may also
comprise rollover
prizes from a previous drawing. In addition or as an alternative, the prizes
may comprise other
things of value. For example, a marketing partnership may be formed between
the game
operator and other business entities. In return for promotional or advertising
activities on the
GeoSweep game platform, the business partners may contribute products and
services to be
awarded as prizes. If justified by the cost or return on investment, an actual
piece of land or
other real property may be awarded to a first-prize winner or a sole jackpot
winner.
[0076] FIGs. 7A-B illustrate an exemplary payout structure for the GeoSweep
Texas game
described above.
[0077] FIG. 7A shows one grid unit that has been selected as a first-prize
winner. That first-
prize winning grid unit has eight neighboring grid units among which six are
owned by
participating players while the other two (702 and 704) are not owned by any
player. Grid
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units 706, 708 and 710, which are owned by some players, do not share any
common boundary
with the grid unit selected for the first prize.
[0078] Referring to FIG. 7B, the first-prize winning grid unit may be
allocated a prize
amount that equals 20% of the jackpot available for that drawing. The eight
grid units which
happen to be the winner's neighbors may each be allocated 10% of the jackpot.
Thus, were all
eight grid units of the winner's neighbors owned by participating players, the
entire jackpot
would have been disbursed among owners of the nine parcels (i.e., 1x20% +
8x10% = 100%).
However, since two of the winner's neighbors (702 and 704) are not occupied or
owned by any
player, the two 10% shares (i.e., 20% of jackpot) that would have been
allocated to owners of
grid units 702 and 704 may now be deemed not won by anyone and can be rolled
over to the
next drawing. The grid units 706, 708 and 710, which are further away from the
first-prize
winning grid unit than the winner's neighbors, do not win anything in this
round of drawing.
[0079] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the GeoSweep game
may
include mechanisms to encourage player referrals. For example, in a GeoSweep
Texas game
where Texas is divided into 20 million parcels, a player owning 20 parcels may
be gifted an
additional unit for every new player that he or she refers. Each parcel has an
equal chance of
winning the first prize. Thus, the effect of the referral reward may be
somewhat different from
that in a proportional lottery-style game described earlier. In a lottery-
style game, the referral
reward has the effect of increasing the proportion of the prize that a
referring player would win.
Here, in a GeoSweep game, the referral reward has the effect of increasing the
chance of
winning.
[0080] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the GeoSweep
game may
also have a proportional lottery aspect to it. In that case, at or shortly
after registration, a player
in the GeoSweep Texas game may specify how many tokens to be entered for
drawings on
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behalf of a parcel the player owns. The number of tokens entered for each
drawing and on
behalf of each parcel may be within a predetermined range, for example,
between 1 and 100
inclusive. In a drawing, if a parcel is selected as a first-prize winner, then
a proportional value
may be calculated based on the number of tokens that have been entered on
behalf of that
parcel. For instance, if 100 is the maximum number of tokens that can be
entered for each
parcel and 45 tokens are actually entered on behalf of the first-prize winning
parcel, then the
proportional value is calculated to be 45% (i.e., 45/100). Next, that
proportional value may be
applied to whatever payout structure is applicable, such that the owner of the
first-prize
winning parcel will only be awarded a fraction (e.g., 45%) of the full first-
prize amount.
According to some embodiments, owners of the winner's neighboring parcels may
be subject to
the same proportional value applied to the first-prize winner. Alternatively,
according to some
other embodiments, the payout to a winner's neighboring parcel may be subject
to a different
proportional value calculated based on the number of tokens contributed on
behalf of that
particular parcel. Therefore, the above-described map-based payout structure
may be used to
determine full prize amounts for the winner's neighbors, whereupon such full
prize amounts
may be reduced according to the individual proportional values calculated for
each of those
parcels.
[0081] It should be appreciated that the above description of the GeoSweep
Texas game is
exemplary only. Numerous variations or modifications may be applied to that
exemplary
game, such as payout structure, grid geometry, and map subject.
[0082] FIG. 8 illustrates an alternative payout structure in an exemplary
GeoSweepTM game
in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In a grid with
rectangular or
square shaped units, cell D-6 may be selected as a first-prize winner during a
drawing. Then,
four closest neighbors of cell D-6 (i.e., D-5, D-7, C-6, and E-6), each of
which shares one side
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with cell D-6, may become entitled to second prizes. Four other neighbors of
cell D-6 (i.e., C-
5, C-7, E-5, and E-7), each of which shares only one node with cell D-6, may
be entitled to
third prizes. The third prizes may be of a lesser amount than the second
prizes, and the second
prizes of a lesser amount than the first prize. For example, the third prizes
may each be 5% of a
jackpot amount, the second prizes may each be 10% of the jackpot amount, and
the first prize
may be 40% of the jackpot amount. According to another embodiment, the first
prize may be
60% of the jackpot, the second prizes may share 30% (i.e., 7.5% each), and the
third prizes may
share the remaining 10% (i.e., 2.5% each).
[0083] FIG. 9 illustrates another alternative payout structure in an exemplary
GeoSweep
game in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In this
embodiment, cell
D-6 is again selected as a single first-prize winner. The eight neighbors of
cell D-6 may
become winners of second prizes. Further away from cell D-6, the sixteen next
closest
neighbors of cell D-6 may be winners of third prizes. For example, the first
prize may be 68%
of a jackpot, the second prizes may share 16% of the jackpot (i.e., 2% each),
and the third
prizes may share 16% of the jackpot (i.e., 1% each). According to other
embodiments,
additional "rings" of neighbors may be included as winners of even lesser
prizes.
[0084] According to some embodiments of the present invention, two or more
grid units may
be selected as first-prize winners. A set of rules may be established to
determine which other
grid units qualify as second-prize winners, third-prize winners, and so on.
For example, grid
units which are immediate neighbors of the selected first-prize winners may
win second prizes.
Then, if the first-prize winning grid units are far apart from one another,
there may be multiple
pockets or clusters of prize winners, each pocket or cluster being centered
around one first-
prize winner.
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[0085] FIG. 10 illustrates an alternative method of establishing a grid or
land boundaries in
an exemplary GeoSweep game in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention.
In this version of the GeoSweep Texas game, rather than overlaying a uniform
grid over the
Texas map, actual boundaries among the Texas counties may help define grid
units of various
sizes and shapes. Alternatively, actual land boundaries may define grid units
for the GeoSweep
game, such that the GeoSweep grid units correspond to actual land parcels.
According to one
embodiment, every grid unit (e.g., county or smaller parcels) may still cost
exactly the same to
"own" and/or have the same chance of being selected as a winner. According to
another
embodiment, the grid units or counties may cost differently and/or have
varying chances of
winning based on size and popularity of each county or parcel. In some
embodiments, game
parameters associated with a parcel on the GeoSweep map may be correlated to
or associated
with the conditions, market value, and popularity of the corresponding piece
of land in the real
world.
[0086] Since the grid units are irregularly shaped and in a non-uniform grid,
different grid
units may have different number of neighbors. For example, County A has eight
neighboring
counties, County B has five, and County C has only one. Depending on which
grid unit is
selected as a first-prize winner, there may be at least one but up to eight
immediate neighbors
who may be entitled to a second prize. One solution is to designate a fixed
percentage of the
jackpot that each second-prize winner is entitled to. For example, if each
second-prize winner
takes 2% of the jackpot, then 9 neighbors of the first-prize winner will share
18% of the jackpot
while 2 neighbors (if there are only two) will only take 4% of the jackpot.
Alternatively, a
fixed percentage of the jackpot may be shared among the second-prize winners
regardless of
how many second-prize winners there may be. In that case, if a first-prize
winner has only one
neighbor, such as the case of County C, that single neighbor will be the sole
second-prize
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winner taking the entire amount that has been allocated to second prizes. If
the first-prize
winner has eight neighbors, such as the case of County A, the eight neighbors
will each take
1/8 of the entire amount that has been allocated to second prizes.
[0087] Many variations of prize-sharing schemes may be implemented for
GeoSweep and/or
proportional lottery-style games. In one embodiment, players that were
introduced to the game
by an existing player may share some of their winnings with that original
(referring) player. In
a further embodiment, groups of players may form prize-sharing clusters or
syndicates.
[0088] Although a map of the State of Texas is used above as an example, it
should be
appreciated that maps of other types of geographic regions (e.g., township,
city, county,
country, ocean, island, and continent) may also be appropriate in GeoSweep
games in
accordance with embodiments of the present invention. For example, there may
be GeoSweep
USA, GeoSweep Europe, GeoSweep London, GeoSweep Hawaii, and so forth. In fact,
a
GeoSweep game may be established for a tourist destination and help promote
tourism by
offering prizes related to that destination or portions thereof. For example,
a GeoSweep Alaska
game may offer free roundtrip airline tickets as or in addition to a first
prize. The game may
also offer free hotel accommodation in hotels that happen to be located within
a winning grid
unit. Since the GeoSweep games are map-based and/or location-specific,
promotional
opportunities and variations are almost endless, as will be appreciated by
those of ordinary skill
in the art of advertising and marketing.
[0089] FIG. 11 illustrates part of a New York City map to be used in an
exemplary game
which may be referred to as "GeoSweep Big Apple." As shown, the actual streets
and avenues
in mid-town Manhattan may serve to define grid units for the GeoSweep game.
Local
residents, business entities, and/or tourists may be encouraged to participate
in this game. Each
potential group of players may be offered different incentives. A local
resident may be
CA 02731234 2011-01-18
WO 2010/010419 PCT/IB2008/002369
-31-
interested in virtual ownership of a street block that he or she actually
lives on, and
participation in the GeoSweep game may also be a social networking opportunity
with other
community members. A local business might be interested in sponsoring
promotions and
placing its name on the GeoSweep map. In fact, the GeoSweep map may be an
online,
interactive map with promotional and informational features. A tourist may
also be interested
in the game for various reasons, such as to get familiar with the area and to
win travel-related
prizes offered by local businesses.
[0090] While the foregoing description includes many details and
specificities, it is to be
understood that these have been included for purposes of explanation only, and
are not to be
interpreted as limitations of the present invention. It will be apparent to
those skilled in the art
that other modifications to the embodiments described above can be made
without departing
from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, such modifications
are considered
within the scope of the invention as intended to be encompassed by the
following claims and
their legal equivalents.
