AU751228B1 - A risk management system and method for fixed odds wagering - Google Patents

Description

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT Name of Applicant: Address of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: Timothy RYAN 7 Wharf Road Longueville NSW 2066 Australia Timothy RYAN Griffith Hack, Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys, 6th Floor, 256 Adelaide Terrace, Perth, Western Australia, 6000.

Standard Complete Specification for the invention entitled: A RISK MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FIXED ODDS WAGERING Details of Associated Provisional Applications: PR5906 dated 25 June 2001 PR3043 dated 12 February 2001 The following is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- A RISK MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FIXED ODDS WAGERING Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a risk management system and to a method for fixed odds wagering.

Background of the Invention It is known to provide totalisator betting systems which operate by pooling moneys wagered by all punters, deducting a commission from the money pool, and paying a dividend to the winning punters on the basis of the money remaining in the money pool. The amount received by each winning punter depends on the number of winning punters and the amount bet by the punter. Because the commission is taken from the money pool prior to calculating the dividend, the operator of the totalisator is guaranteed to receive a profit the amount of which depends only on the total amount of money in the money pool.

However, while this type of betting arrangement is advantageous to the operators, it has disadvantages to the punters because the odds are variable and may o change considerably from the time a bet is placed to the time that bets are closed.

Because of this, it is difficult for punters to rely on skill in selecting bets on the basis of a subjective perception as to whether the bets offered are favourable or not to the punter, since a bet may be placed by the punter when the odds are considered by the punter to be favourable, but the odds may change to a value which is considered by the punter to be unfavourable when the bets are closed.

As an alternative to totalisator wagering systems, fixed odds wagering systems are available which provide punters with odds the value of which does not change. In this way, a punter is able to place a bet when the odds are considered by the punter to be favourable, and the odds used to calculate the appropriate dividend received are those which were appropriate at the time of placing the bet irrespective of any subsequent raising or lowering of the odds by the bookmaker.

However, although fixed odds wagering is the preferred wagering method of a large number of punters, it is difficult for fixed odds bookmakers to manage risk. This is because profits, if any, are available only after dividends are paid to winners.

Summary of the Invention In this specification, it will be understood that the following terms have the 3 meanings respectively set out after them and shall be construed in accordance with those meanings.

"Punter" A punter is any person or entity who causes a bet to be placed on a contestant in an event or who causes a bet request to be made in relation to the contestant.

"Roll-Down" The term roll-down is a common term in the bookmaking industry and derives from the use of mechanical odds indicating boards which operate by rotating a wheel to indicate the correct odds in a window on the board. One "roll" of the wheel would change the odds displayed in the window to the next lower odds C'("roll down") or higher odds ("roll up").

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a risk management system for fixed odds wagering, said system including: a bookmakers communications network associated with a plurality of bookmakers; the system being arranged to receive a first bet or a first bet request from a punter or a first bookmaker associated with the bookmakers communications network; and the bookmakers communications network being arranged to transmit a plurality of second bets or second bet requests based on the first bet or first bet request to a corresponding plurality of second bookmakers associated with the bookmakers communications network so as to thereby distribute risk associated with the first bet or first bet request to the plurality of second bookmakers.

In this way, a plurality of bookmakers are able to offer fixed odds-type wagering to punters at a level of risk for each bet which is less for each bookmaker than would be the case if the bet was accepted wholly by one bookmaker.

It will be understood that although the system receives bets and/or bet requests, the risk for the operators of the system is zero since the bets and/or bet requests received are distributed by the system to a plurality of bookmakers who each assume a proportion of risk for the bet.

Preferably, the system is arranged to store information indicative of the domicile of a punter and the domicile of the bookmakers associated with the system, and to transmit second bets or second bet requests only to second bookmakers in the same jurisdiction as the punter.

Alternatively, the system may be arranged to store information indicative of the domicile of a punter and the domicile of the bookmakers associated with the system, and to monitor second bets or second bet requests attributable to each jurisdiction.

Preferably, the risk management system is also arranged to monitor the financial value of bets for a jurisdiction.

In this way, the risk management system provides for jurisdictional integrity by ensuring that bets by each punter are placed only with bookmakers in the same jurisdiction as the punter, and also provides a mechanism for monitoring the value of money flows attributable to gambling for ajurisdiction for the purpose of ensuring responsible gambling.

Preferably, the bookmakers communications network is arranged to receive first odds from at least one of the bookmakers associated with the bookmakers communications network and to make the first odds available to at least one other bookmaker associated with the bookmakers communications network. For each contestant in an event, the first odds offered by a plurality of bookmakers may be used to generate second odds representative of the plurality of first odds, and the second odds may be used to generate a bookmakers board including the name of at least one contestant in an event and the second odds associated with the at least one contestant.

In one embodiment, for each contestant the second odds are determined by calculating the median of at least some of the first odds associated with the contestant.

In an alternative embodiment, for at least one contestant the second odds are determined by applying a weighting to at least one of the first odds to provide third odds including non-weighted first odds and weighted first odds, and by calculating the median of the third odds associated with the contestant.

Preferably, the second odds for each contestant are used to generate fourth odds for each contestant, at least some of the fourth odds being a pre-determined amount less than the corresponding second odds. The fourth odds may used to generate a virtual board viewable by a punter, the virtual board including for each contestant in an event the name of the contestant and the fourth odds associated with the contestant.

In one arrangement, the predetermined amount is one roll down.

In one arrangement, the value of the second bets or second bet requests are weighted such that a greater proportion of a stake is used for second bets placed with bookmakers offering relatively low first odds and such that a lesser proportion of the stake is used for second bets placed with bookmakers offering relatively high odds.

In an alternative arrangement, the value of the second bet or second bet requests are calculated to take into account the domicile of the punter and the bookmakers, the level of risk accepted by the bookmakers and/or the financial standing of the bookmakers.

The bookmakers communications network may also be associated with a totalisator and the bookmakers communications network may be arranged to transmit a second bet to the totalisator based on the first bet or the first bet request.

Preferably, the system is arranged to facilitate selection of the bookmakers to which the second bets or second bet requests are to be transmitted. In one variation, the system is arranged to facilitate selection by a bookmaker of the bookmakers to which the second bets or second bet requests are to be transmitted. In an alternative variation, the system is arranged to automatically select the bookmakers to which the second bets or second bet requests are to be transmitted.

Preferably, the system is arranged to facilitate acceptance, rejection, part acceptance and/or conditional acceptance of a bet request by a bookmaker.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of managing risk in fixed odds wagering, said method including the steps of: providing a bookmakers communications network associated with a plurality of bookmakers; receiving a first bet or first bet request from a punter or a first bookmaker associated with the bookmakers communications network; transmitting a plurality of second bets or second bet requests based on the first bet or first bet request to a corresponding plurality of second bookmakers associated with the bookmakers communications network so as to thereby distribute risk associated with the first bet or first bet request to the plurality of second bookmakers.

Preferably, the method further includes the steps of storing the domicile of the punter, monitoring the domicile of the bookmakers associated with the system, and transmitting second bets or second bet requests only to second bookmakers in the same jurisdiction as the punter.

Alternatively, the method further includes the steps of monitoring the domicile of a punter and the domicile of the bookmakers associated with the system, and monitoring second bets or second bet requests attributable to each jurisdiction.

Preferably, the method further includes the steps of receiving first odds from at least one of the bookmakers associated with the bookmakers communications network, and making the first odds available to at least one other bookmaker associated with the bookmakers communications network.

For each contestant in an event, the first odds offered by a plurality of bookmakers may be used to generate second odds representative of the plurality of first odds, and the second odds may be used to generate a bookmakers board including the name of at least one contestant in an event and the second odds associated with the at least one contestant.

In one embodiment, the method further includes the step of determining the second odds by calculating for each contestant the median of at least some of the first odds associated with the contestant.

In an alternative embodiment, the method further includes the step of determining the second odds for at least one contestant by applying a weighting to at least one of the first odds to produce third odds including non-weighted first odds and weighted first odds, and calculating the median of the third odds associated with the contestant.

Preferably, the second odds for each contestant are used to generate fourth odds for each contestant, at least some of the fourth odds being a predetermined amount less than the corresponding second odds. The fourth odds may be used to generate a virtual board viewable by a punter, the virtual board including for each contestant in an event the name of the contestant and the fourth odds associated with the contestant. In one arrangement, the predetermined amount is one roll down.

In one arrangement, the value of each second bet or second bet request is weighted such that a greater proportion of a stake is used for second bets placed with bookmakers offering relatively low first odds and such that a lesser proportion of the stake is used for second bets placed with bookmakers offering relatively high odds.

In an alternative arrangement, the value of the second bets or second bet requests are calculated to take into account the domicile of the punter and the bookmakers, the level of risk accepted by the bookmakers and/or the financial standing of the bookmakers.

The bookmakers communications network may be associated with a totalisator and the bookmakers communications network may be arranged to transmit a second bet to the totalisator based on the first bet or the first bet request.

Preferably, the method includes the step of facilitating selection of the bookmakers to which the second bets or second bet requests are to be transmitted. In one variation, the selection step is carried out by a bookmaker. In an alternative variation, the selection step is carried out automatically by the system.

Preferably, the method further includes the step of facilitating acceptance, rejection, part acceptance and/or conditional acceptance of a bet request by a bookmaker.

In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a risk management system for fixed odds wagering, said system including: a bookmakers communications network associated with a plurality of bookmakers; the bookmakers communications network being arranged to receive a plurality of first fixed odds from a corresponding plurality of bookmakers associated with the bookmakers communications network; the bookmakers communications network being arranged to generate second fixed odds using the plurality of first fixed odds, the magnitude of the second fixed odds being intermediate the magnitude of the highest of the first fixed odds and the lowest of the first fixed odds; and the bookmakers communications network being arranged to receive a bet or a bet request on the basis of the second fixed odds.

In this way, odds can be presented to a punter which are more representative of the total acumen of all bookmakers in relation to each contestant and thereby which are more likely to be reflective of the true underlying probability of the contestant winning a particular event.

In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of managing risk in fixed odds wagering, said method including the steps of: providing a bookmakers communications network associated with a plurality .E of bookmakers; receiving at the bookmakers communications network a plurality of first fixed odds from a corresponding plurality of bookmakers associated with the bookmakers communications network; generating second fixed odds using the plurality of first fixed odds, the magnitude of the second fixed odds being intermediate the magnitude of the highest first fixed odds and the lowest first fixed odds; and receiving a bet or a bet request on the basis of the second fixed odds.

Brief Description of the Drawings The present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a block diagram of a risk management system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a representation of a bookmakers board of the risk management system shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a representation of a virtual board of the risk management system shown in Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the risk management system shown in Figure 1 in operation.

Description of an Embodiment of the Present Invention.

In the following description of an embodiment of the present invention, it will be understood that the invention may be implemented as hardware and/or software using an appropriate platform such as a computing system.

Referring to the drawings, in Figure 1 there is shown a risk management system 10 for use with a plurality of bookmakers 12, the risk management system serving to reduce the risk of each bookmaker 12 to financial loss and the operators of the system to zero financial loss.

The risk management system 10 includes a bookmaker communications network 14 which may be an Intranet, a virtual board 16 for enabling punters 20 to view odds and place bets, and a control unit 18 for controlling operation of the bookmakers communications network 14 and of the virtual board 16.

The bookmakers communications network 14 is arranged to receive first odds offered from each of the bookmakers 12 and, depending on whether permission has been given by each bookmaker 12, to transfer the received first odds to each of the bookmakers 12 so that each bookmaker 12 is able at any time to view the first odds offered by other bookmakers 12 associated with the bookmakers communications network 14. The system may also be arranged to allow each bookmaker 12 to view the risk position of each other bookmaker 12, depending on whether permission has been given by each bookmaker 12.

The bookmakers communications network 14 is also arranged to receive first bet requests from a bookmaker 12 and first bets from the virtual board 16, and to distribute second bets and second bet requests to at least one other bookmaker 12. The second bet/bet request receiving bookmakers 12 may be selected by the first bet receiving bookmaker or may be automatically selected by the bookmakers communications network 14 under control of the control unit 18. The second bet request receiving bookmakers 12 may accept, partly accept, make a counter bet offer or reject the second bet request. In addition, each bookmaker 12 may forward to the bookmakers communications network 14 information indicative of the bets that the bookmaker is prepared to accept, for example in relation to which contestants and at what price the bookmaker is prepared to take bets.

Using the bookmakers communications network 14, each bookmaker 12 is also able to post on a virtual notice board viewable by all other bookmakers 12 bet offers/requests indicative of the bets the bookmaker 12 is prepared to accept/make.

Other bookmakers 12 may then select one of more of the posted bet offers/requests.

It will be understood that in order for the bookmakers communications network 14 to operate as described above, the bookmakers communications network would be integrated with the individual bet transaction system of each bookmaker 12.

Implementation of the bookmakers communications network 14 may be local, for example using a LAN and/or remote using the Internet, TCP/IP Networks and so on, or in any other way which is suitable for facilitating communication of bets, bet requests and information between bookmakers.

The system 10 may be implemented using a configuration of servers arranged to collect, collate and disseminate information in real time. One or more of the servers may be arranged to provide wagering activity information to regulatory authorities as appropriate.

Using the first odds information gathered from the bookmakers 12 by the bookmakers communications network 14, the control unit 18 generates a bookmakers board, an example of which is shown at 22 in Figure 2.

The bookmakers board 22 indicates for each event the names of the contestants 24, in this example runners, and second odds 26 associated with each contestant. The second odds 26 for each contestant are calculated using the first odds offered for the contestant by each of the bookmakers 12 associated with the bookmakers communications network 14, the aim being to generate odds which are representative of the total acumen'of all bookmakers 12 in relation to each contestant. In one example, the second odds 26 appearing on the bookmakers board 22 for each contestant is merely the median of all odds first offered for the contestant. However, a more complex calculation method may be used, for example to allow for differences in wager amounts held by each bookmaker in relation to a contestant, and/or to take into account whether the event is a "home" event for one or more of the bookmakers 12. With this arrangement, a weighting may be applied to the first odds offered by a specific bookmaker 12 so as to provide third odds including some non-weighted first odds and at least one weighted first odds, and the appropriate second odds derived by calculating the median of the third odds.

It will be understood that the bookmakers board 22 may be used by each bookmaker 12 to assess whether odds offered by the bookmaker 12 for each contestant 24 are approximately in line with odds offered by other bookmakers or whether a possible inappropriate assessment of odds for the contestants has been made.

It will be understood that the bookmakers communications network 14 may also be arranged to provide the bookmakers with real-time approximated dividend information from available totalisator betting systems for comparison purposes and, if required, to provide a facility to place bets with the totalisator systems.

Using the bookmakers board 22, the control unit 18 generates a virtual board, for example as shown at 16 in Figure 3. The virtual board 16 includes information which identifies contestants 24 in an event, in this example runners, and which includes fourth odds 28 offered for each contestant. The fourth odds 28 are slightly less than the corresponding second odds 26 appearing on the bookmakers board 22. In one example, the fourth odds 28 are one "roll down" from the corresponding second odds 26 appearing on the bookmakers board 22. In a further example, the fourth odds 28 may include some odds which are one "roll down" from the corresponding second odds 26 on the bookmakers board 22 and some odds which are the same as the corresponding second odds 26 on the bookmakers board 22.

The virtual board 16 may be locally accessible or may be remotely accessible using any suitable communications network, such as the Internet and using any suitable device, such as a personal computing device or mobile telephone. The system may also incorporate other software and/or hardware such as Interactive Voice Recognition.

Using the virtual board 16 under control of the control unit 18, a punter 20 is able to place a bet on a contestant 24 at the fourth odds 28. The virtual board 16 and control unit 18 then forward the bet to the bookmakers communications network 14 which distributes the bet by forwarding second bets according to predetermined rules to bookmakers 12 offering odds which are greater (for example one "roll up") than the appropriate fourth odds 28 for the bet. For example, the second bets may be derived by dividing the amount bet evenly between the appropriate bookmakers 12, by allocating a proportion of the amount bet to each second bet in inverse proportion to the odds offered by each bookmaker 12, or in any other suitable way. By generating a plurality of second bets, the risk of financial loss is distributed amongst a plurality of bookmakers and a low risk is taken by each bookmaker 12 for the bet placed by the punter.

Any profit which is received by the risk management system 10 as a result of the difference between the second odds 26 and the fourth odds 28 may be used to operate the system, with the remainder being paid as a fee to race clubs and as profit to the member bookmakers 12.

An example of operation of the risk management system 10 will now be described in relation to Figure 4.

A punter 20 is able to place a bet either directly with a bookmaker 12 as indicated by arrow 30 or with the virtual board 16 as indicated by arrow 36. These two scenarios will be separately described as follows.

In the first scenario, a punter 20 places a bet directly with a primary bookmaker 1 2a. The primary bookmaker 1 2a then has the option of either personally accepting the bet and thereby accepting all risk associated with the bet, or of making a request to the bookmakers communications network 14 to distribute the bet with other secondary bookmakers 12b, as indicated by arrow 32. The bookmakers communications network 14 under control of the control unit 18 then forwards second bet requests either to the secondary bookmakers 12b specified by the primary bookmaker 12a, or the bookmakers communications network 14 automatically distributes second bet requests to secondary bookmakers 12b selected by the system The second bet requests which are forwarded to the secondary bookmakers 1 2b are indicated by arrows 34 in Figure 4. The secondary bookmakers 12b receiving a second bet request then have the option of either accepting the second bet, partly accepting the second bet, making a counter offer, or rejecting the second bet.

It will be appreciated that distributing second bet requests in this way enables the original bet receiving primary bookmaker 12a to minimise risk by distributing the risk amongst a plurality of other secondary bookmakers 12b.

In the second scenario, a punter 20 views the virtual board 16 for example by connecting to the system 10 through the Internet, and places a bet on a particular contestant shown on the virtual board 16, as indicated by the arrow 36 in Figure 4.

Following receipt of the bet, the control unit 18 selects the bookmakers 12 offering greater odds for the relevant contestant than the odds offered on the virtual board 16 and places second bets with those bookmakers 12. For example, if the odds offered on the contestant by the virtual board 16 are 3.40, the bookmakers 12 providing odds of 3.50 or 3.60 will be selected and second bets will be forwarded to the selected bookmakers 12, as indicated by arrows 34 in Figure 4. As indicated by parallel lines 38, one bookmaker 12 has opted out and therefore does not wish to receive any more bets on the contestant.

The amount bet on the remaining selected bookmakers 12 may be divided evenly between the selected bookmakers 12 or may be derived using more complex formulae. For example, the second bets may be calculated on the basis of the odds offered, with the proportion bet with each selected bookmaker 12 being inversely proportional to the odds offered. The value of each second bet may also be calculated to take into account the domicile of the punter and the bookmakers, the level of risk 12 accepted by individual bookmakers, the financial standing of individual bookmakers, and so on.

A simple example of one method of calculating the amount bet with each selected bookmaker is as follows, although it will be understood that more complex calculations of second bets are possible.

Using the virtual board 16, a punter 20 bets $100 on a contestant at odds shown on the virtual board 16 of 3.40. This corresponds to a potential dividend of $340. The control unit 18 selects the appropriate bookmakers offering odds greater than 3.40 and discards the bookmakers 12 that have opted out 38. In this example, of the bookmakers 12 selected and indicated on Figure 4 with arrows 34, four bookmakers 12 are offering odds of 3.50 and two bookmakers 12 are offering odds of 3.60. On the basis of these odds, the control unit 18 determines the amount of money which must be bet on each selected bookmaker 12 in order to cover the liability of $340, and the proportions of money to be received from the bookmakers offering odds of 3.50 and from the bookmakers offering odds of 3.60 in the event of a win are determined. In this example, 20% is to come from the bookmakers offering odds of 3.60 and ($272) is to come from the bookmakers offering odds of 3.50. This translates to required second bets of $9.45 for each bookmaker offering odds of 3.60 and $19.43 for each bookmaker offering odds of 3.50. The total amount which must be bet in order to receive $340 is therefore $96.60.

Accordingly, if the contestant selected by the punter 20 wins, the punter will receive $340 from the system and the system 10 will receive $3.40 to be used to operate the system 10 and to be distributed to race clubs and amongst member bookmakers 12.

If the contestant selected by the punter loses, all stakes are retained by the appropriate bookmakers accepting the second bets.

It will be understood that irrespective of the outcome, for this example the system will receive $3.40 to be used to operate the system 10 and to be distributed amongst member bookmakers 12.

It will be appreciated that the system may be implemented at one location, for example at a race club, or the system may be implemented by locating different parts of the system at different locations, with the different parts communicating with each other by any suitable communications network, such as the Internet.

Although the above embodiment has been described in relation to a simple bet, it will be appreciated that the invention is also applicable to the provision of complex bets such as quinellas and trifectas, and so on. It will be understood that the invention is particularly applicable to these types of bets since the risk undertaken by bookmakers is 13 generally higher for complex bets that it is for simple bets.

Although the above embodiment has been described in relation to placing second bets with bookmakers associated with the system, it will be appreciated that as an alternative the system may be arranged to communicate with bookmakers and a totalisator so that second bets may be placed with bookmakers and/or with a totalisator where appropriate. In addition, the system may be arranged so that individual bookmakers are able to place bets directly with each other or with a totalisator system so as to lay off bets and thereby minimise risk.

It will also be appreciated that the risk management system in accordance with the present invention may be adapted so as to provide for jurisdictional integrity by receiving and storing information indicative of the domicile of the punters, the domicile of the bookmakers associated with the system, the location of the event in relation to which bets are placed, and by distributing second bets to bookmakers in the same jurisdiction as the operators of the system and the punters. It will also be appreciated that interconnecting bookmakers through a centralised network enables the system to be used to monitor money flows attributable to gambling in a jurisdiction so as to ensure responsible gambling.

The jurisdiction of the punters may be derived from an account registration and management process whereby prospective users of the system are required to provide documentary evidence of domicile such as banking account details.

Modifications and variations as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (34)

1. A risk management system for fixed odds wagering, said system including: a bookmakers communications network associated with a plurality of bookmakers; the system being arranged to receive a first bet or first bet request from a punter or a first bookmaker associated with bookmakers communications network; and the bookmakers communications network being arranged to transmit a plurality of second bets or second bet requests based on the first bet or first bet request to a corresponding plurality of second bookmakers associated with the bookmakers communications network so as to thereby distribute risk associated with the first bet or first bet request to the plurality of second bookmakers.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system is arranged to store information indicative of the domicile of a punter and the domicile of the bookmakers associated with the system, and to transmit bets or second bet requests only to second bookmakers in the same jurisdiction as the punter.

3. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system is arranged to store information indicative of the domicile of a punter and the domicile of the bookmakers associated with the system, and to monitor second bets or second bet requests attributable to each jurisdiction.

4. A system as claimed of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the bookmakers communications network is arranged to receive first odds from at least one of the bookmakers associated with the bookmakers communications network and to make the first odds available to at least one other bookmaker associated with the bookmakers communications network.

A system as claimed in claim 4, wherein for at least one contestant in an event said first odds offered by a plurality of bookmakers are used to generate second odds representative of the plurality of first odds, and said second odds are used to generate a bookmakers board including the name of at least one contestant in an event and the second odds associated with the at least one contestant.

6. A system as claimed in claim 4, wherein for each contestant the second odds are determined by calculating the median of at least some of the first odds associated with the contestant.

7. A system as claimed in claim 5, wherein for at least one contestant the second odds are determined by applying a weighting to at least one of the first odds to provide third odds including non-weighted first odds and weighted first odds, and by calculating the median of the third odds associated with the contestant.

8. A system as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the second odds for each contestant are used to generate fourth odds for each contestant, at lease some of the fourth odds being a pre-determined amount less than the corresponding second odds.

9. A system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the fourth odds are used to generate a virtual board viewable by a punter, said virtual board including for each contestant in an event the name of the contestant and the fourth odds associated with the contestant.

A system as claimed in any one of Claims 4 to 9, wherein the value of the second bets or second bet requests are weighted such that a greater proportion of a stake is used for second bets placed with bookmakers offering relatively low first odds and such that the lesser proportion of the stake is used for second bets placed with bookmakers offering relatively high first odds.

11. A system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the value of second bets or each second bet requests are calculated to take into account the domicile of the punter and the bookmakers, the level of risk accepted by the bookmakers and/or the financial standing of the bookmakers.

12. A system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bookmakers communications network is also associated with a totalisator and the bookmakers communications network is arranged to transmit a second bet to the totalisator based on the first bet or the first bet request.

13. A system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the system is arranged to facilitate selection of the bookmakers to which the second bets or second bet requests are to be transmitted.

14. A system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the system is arranged to facilitate selection by a bookmaker of the bookmakers to which the second bets or second bet requests are to be transmitted.

A system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the system is arranged to automatically select the bookmakers to which the second bets or second bet requests are to be transmitted.

16. A system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the system is arranged to facilitate acceptance, rejection, part acceptance and/or conditional acceptance of a bet request by a bookmaker.

17. A method of managing risk in fixed odds wagering, said method including the steps of: providing a bookmakers communications network associated with a plurality of bookmakers; 16 receiving a first bet or first bet request from a punter or a first bookmaker associated with the bookmakers communications network; transmitting a plurality of second bets or second bet requests based on the first bet or first bet request to a corresponding plurality of second bookmakers associated with the bookmakers communications network so as to thereby distribute risk associated with the first bet or first bet request to the plurality of second bookmakers.

18. A method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the method includes the steps of storing information indicative of the domicile of a punter and the domicile of the bookmakers associated with the system, and to transmit bets or second bet requests only to second bookmakers in the same jurisdiction as the punter.

19. A method as claimed in claim 17, further includes the steps of monitoring the domicile of a punter and the domicile of the bookmakers associated with the system, and monitoring second bets or second bet requests attributable to each jurisdiction.

A method as claimed in claim 17, further including the steps of receiving first odds from at least one of the bookmakers associated with the bookmakers communications network, and making the first odds available to at least one other bookmaker associated with the bookmakers communications network.

21. A method as claimed in claim 20, further including the steps of, for each contestant in an event, using the first odds offered by a plurality of bookmakers to generate second odds representative of a plurality of first odds offered by a corresponding plurality of bookmakers, and using the second odds to generate a bookmakers board including the name of at least one contestant in an event and the second odds associated with the at least one contestant.

22. A method as claimed in claim 21, further including the step of determining the second odds by calculating for each contestant the median of at least some of the first odds associated with the contestant.

23. A method as claimed in claim 21, further including the step of determining the second odds for at least one contestant by applying a weighting to at least one of the first odds to produce third odds including non-weighted first odds and weighted first odds, and calculating the median of the third odds associated with the contestant.

24. A method as claimed in any one of claims 21 to 23, further including the step of using the second odds for each contestant to generate fourth odds for each contestant, at least some of the fourth odds being a predetermined amount less than the corresponding second odds.

25. A method as claimed in claim 24, further including the step of using the fourth odds to generate a virtual board viewable by a punter, said virtual board including for each contestant in an event the name of the contestant and the fourth odds associated with the contestant.

26. A method as claimed in any one of claims 17 to 25, wherein the value of the second bets or second bet requests are weighted such that a greater proportion of a stake is used for second bets placed with bookmakers offering relatively low first odds and such that the lesser proportion of the stake is used for second bets placed with bookmakers offering relatively high first odds.

27. A method as claimed in any one of claims 17 to 25, wherein the value of the second bets or second bet requests are calculated to take into account the domicile of the punter and the bookmakers, the level of risk accepted by the bookmakers and/or the financial standing of the bookmakers.

28. A method as claimed in any one of claims 17 to 25, wherein the bookmakers communications network is also associated with a totalisator and the bookmakers communications network is arranged to transmit a second bet to the totaliser based on the first bet or fist bet request.

29. A method as claimed in any one of claims 17 to 25, further including the step of facilitating selection of the bookmakers to which the second bets or second bet requests are to be transmitted.

A method as claimed in claim 29, further including the step of facilitating selection by a bookmaker of the bookmakers to which the second bets or second bet requests are to be transmitted.

31. A method as claimed in claim 29, wherein the selecting step is carried out automatically by the system.

32. A method as claimed in any one of claims 17 to 31, further including the step 25 of facilitating acceptance, rejection, part acceptance and/or conditional acceptance of a bet request by a bookmaker.

33. A risk management system for fixed odds wagering, said system including: a bookmakers communications network associated with a plurality of bookmakers; the bookmakers communications network being arranged to receive a plurality of first fixed odds from a corresponding plurality of bookmakers associated with the bookmakers communications network; the bookmakers communications network being arranged to generate second fixed odds using the plurality of first fixed odds, the magnitude of the second fixed odds being intermediate the magnitude of the highest of the first fixed odds and the lowest of the first fixed odds; and 18 the bookmakers communications network being arranged to receive a bet or bet request on the basis of the second fixed odds.

34. A method of managing risk in fixed odds wagering, said method including the steps of: providing a bookmakers communications network associated with a plurality of bookmakers; receiving at the bookmakers communications network a plurality of first fixed odds from a corresponding plurality of bookmakers associated with the bookmakers communications network; generating second fixed odds using the plurality of first fixed odds, the magnitude of the second fixed odds being intermediate the magnitude of the highest first fixed odds and the lowest first fixed odds; and receiving a bet or bet request on the basis of the second fixed odds. DATED this 1 lth day of February 2002 TIMOTHY RYAN By His Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK Fellows Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia.