JP2002041709A - Method and system for internet lottery - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and a system for Internet lottery which can promote the registration of more members and structure a database of high market value. SOLUTION: A server 1 manages lottery numbers of members who participate a lottery event, select winning numbers out of those lottery numbers, regards all the members of a group as winners when a member of a selected winning number is one of the members of the group, and distributes the profit obtained by the lottery to all the members of the group.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lottery method and a lottery method for a lottery event held on the Internet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the Internet has become widespread in homes, and transactions of goods and services, gazette activities and the like have been actively carried out on a worldwide scale. I have. When using the Internet as an advertising medium, products and services, corporate image, etc. can be effectively and widely appealed to users using voices and images, printing and delivery costs can be reduced, and the latest information can be provided immediately. There are many advantages such as being able to.

[0003] By the way, since the Internet is a user-driven medium via a computer, it is very difficult to distribute advertising information and catalog information to prospective users through the Internet. Acquiring basic attributes such as age, hobbies, preferences, and other useful information is more important than in the past.

[0004]

[0006] Researchers and advertising agencies whose main business is to acquire user information have established websites on the Internet that contain living and hobby information, as well as quizzes, games, and lotteries. An event or the like is performed, and an attribute or the like of an accessed user is acquired by a questionnaire or a member registration.

[0005] However, the conventional method is intended to give a privilege only to a user who has accessed based on the information posted on the Web site, and to obtain information about the user. Number, the information was limited.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide an Internet lottery method and a system thereof that can promote more member registrations and construct a database having a high market value.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems As a result of intensive studies to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventor has set the advantage of group participation in the lottery event held on the Web site, so that more users can become members. The inventors have found that registration is promoted, and have completed the present invention.

That is, the present invention relates to an Internet lottery method for accessing a server from a user terminal on the member side via the Internet and participating in a lottery event managed by the server, wherein the server participates in the lottery event. In addition to managing the lottery numbers of the selected members, a lottery number is selected from the lottery numbers by lottery, and when the member associated with the selected lottery number is participating as one member of a group composed of a plurality of people In addition, the present invention provides an Internet lottery method in which all members belonging to the same group are regarded as winners, and profits obtained by the winning are distributed to all members belonging to the same group.

[0009] The present invention is also an Internet lottery system in which a member's user terminal accesses a server via the Internet and participates in a lottery event managed by the server. A means for managing whether the form is a single participation or a form of participation as one member of a group composed of a plurality of persons; a means for managing a lottery number of the participating member; A means for selecting a winning number by lottery, and a member of the selected winning number
When participating as a member, an Internet lottery system is also provided, characterized in that the system is provided with means for distributing the selected money to all the members belonging to the group, using the winning money from the winning as a source.

[0010] Preferably, the server comprises means for managing the social character of the group.

[0011] Further, it is preferable that, prior to the distribution of the winning money to the group members, the server preempts a part of the winning money to the member of the winning number and distributes the remaining amount equally to all the members belonging to the server.

Further, it is preferable that the server adds an additional privilege according to the character of the group to the winning.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of an Internet lottery system according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for participating in a lottery event in the present system. The symbol S in the figure is a lottery system,
Reference numeral 1 denotes a server, and 2 denotes a user terminal.

The lottery system S is composed of a server 1 which manages a lottery event on the Internet, and a plurality of user terminals 2 which access the server 1 via the Internet.
Only the specific user terminal 2 registered as a member is given a qualification to participate in the lottery event from the server 1, and by logging in from the user terminal 2 on the member side using the member ID and password, the lottery event is performed. An entry screen for participation is transmitted from the server 1 to the user terminal 2.

The user terminal 2 is connected to the Internet via a mobile communication network, in addition to a personal computer, a television, or other stationary terminal connected to the Internet via a public network such as an ISDN or a telephone network from each home. Various types of mobile terminals, such as mobile phones, simplified mobile phones (PHS), and personal digital assistants (PDAs), can also be used.

In this example, the server 1 is provided at the center of an advertising agency that performs a direct mail distribution operation in which advertisements and catalog information of an advertisement client are posted. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It can also be set up in the management center or office of a research agency or other business.

Two forms of participation in the lottery event are set in advance: single participation and participation as one member of a group composed of a plurality of people. Each member can determine which form to participate in. Can be selected through the entry screen. The server 1 manages the lottery number of each member who has participated in the lottery event, and has means for performing a lottery every predetermined period, selecting a winning number, and determining a winner based on this. The member associated with the selected winning number, that is, the winner, is one of the members of the group.
When participating as a member, all members of the group are considered to be winners, and the profit received from the election is distributed to all members of the group. In the lottery method of the present invention, it is not always necessary to prepare the above two forms, and if at least the group participation form is prepared, the single participation form may not be set.

As described above, the Internet lottery method and the system thereof according to the present invention are characterized in that, when a member belonging to a group wins, a profit is given to all members of the group. Although the amount paid will be reduced by the amount distributed, the advantage will be greater because the probability of winning multiplied by the number of members of the group will be obtained compared to the case of single participation, and the advantage will be large for the advertising agency etc. that runs the lottery event By promoting the above-mentioned advantages of group participation and encouraging members to register with a group, it is possible to expect the registration of a new member accompanying the group registration. When the new member registration is promoted in this way, the number of members of the site is increased, the member information stored in the server 1 is enriched, and a database having a higher market value is constructed. In addition, these groups, which are actively formed by family members, friends, circle friends, etc. under the initiative of the user, are divided into groups having common regions, ages, hobbies, tastes, etc., so that the social characteristics of these groups are By grasping the information, the database can be reconstructed, and more detailed and accurate useful information can be obtained.

First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

Server 1 under the control of an advertising agency
Is TCP / IP, SMTP, POP for transmitting various information such as central processing means, storage means, and e-mail.
A computer system having at least a communication control means for executing a communication protocol such as WWW (World Wide Web) which manages a Web site as a window for the user terminal 2 inside or on the middle of a communication path.
A system for realizing a Wide Web (server) function is provided, and a member or a general user is provided with a means of participating in a lottery event through a homepage of a Web site opened on the Internet.

The WWW server function is an HTTP (HyperT
ext Transfer Protocol) server software that performs protocol processing and the like, and an HTML (HyperText Markup Language) file in which hypertext information is stored. The homepage (top page) and lottery participation stored in the HTML file are implemented. Screen information such as a page is asynchronously transferred to the user terminal 2 via the Internet based on the HTTP protocol.

In addition, inside or outside the server 1,
A storage unit 10 is provided for storing e-mail addresses of members, other basic attributes, assigned lottery numbers, and the like in the form of a database. Each member's information table is associated with an ID and a password, and the members participating in the lottery event Are managed by the server 1 using the storage means 10.

On one user terminal 2, a display program for outputting and displaying a screen or an e-mail sent from the server 1, for example, a WWW for analyzing HTML format to arrange and display characters and image data A browser or the like is stored in an internal storage device, and other input means including a pointing device such as a keyboard and a mouse capable of inputting various information based on screen display, a communication means capable of accessing the server 1 via the Internet, a display means, and the like. It has.

From the server 1 under the control of the advertising agency, the user terminal 2 registered as a member receives a moving image format, audio / image format, HTML format, text Various types of direct mail are delivered.

The server 1 also distributes an e-mail magazine about once a week to the user terminal 2 of the member. The e-mail magazine includes information on the entry start date and end date and information on the winning number. In addition to the latest information on lottery events such as announcements, columns and posts from members are posted, and it is used as an information transmission tool to communicate with members continuously.

The user who has registered as a member can know the existence and status of the lottery event sequentially through these direct mails and e-mail magazines delivered to his / her own user terminal 2, and can be linked to the Web site. It is also possible to participate in a lottery event directly from the direct mail or mail magazine.

The procedure for participating in the lottery event will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The symbol “S” in the figure indicates a step (procedure).

When the general or member user terminal 2 accesses a Web site managed by the server 1 via the Internet, the server 1 sends the home page of the site to the user terminal 2 (Step).
1). This homepage contains, for example, the terms of membership, explanations about membership registration, details of the lottery event and how to participate, how to draw, how to pay out the winnings, announcement of the winning number, comments of the winners, how to change the registered contents, questions , Each screen listing the operating organization, etc. is associated, and a user who has already registered as a member can enter the assigned ID and password on the login screen,
You can immediately participate in the lottery event.

On the other hand, in order for a non-member general user who has not yet completed the initial registration (member registration) to participate in the lottery event, it is necessary to first perform the initial registration and become a member of the site (Step 2). ).

In the initial registration, if the first priority is to gather more members, it is preferable to complete the registration by a procedure as simple as possible, and enter an e-mail address in an input field provided on the screen. It is preferable that the server 1 that receives this automatically determines the ID and password of the user, distributes a confirmation screen to the user terminal 2 and completes the registration, and in particular, the password is
A preferred embodiment is not provided unilaterally by the server 1 but by the user inputting a desired password in the input field. Also, this confirmation screen is HTM
A more preferred embodiment is one in which the registration procedure is completed together with the confirmation of the environment of the user terminal 2 by sending the confirmation e-mail to the server 1 from the user terminal 2 receiving the request by sending the confirmation e-mail to the server 1. It is. Note that the initial registration procedure and its contents can be widely applied to the same procedures as those for membership registration conventionally performed by various clubs and organizations, and are not limited to the procedure via the Internet as in this example. Of course, it is also possible to carry out the procedure by telephone, facsimile, mail or the like.

It is also a preferred embodiment to register basic attributes, conduct a questionnaire, a quiz, a game, etc., in addition to the initial registration. As the basic attributes, the user's date of birth, gender, blood type, Name, address, postal code, telephone number, facsimile number, income, occupation, type of business, ownership, marriage, education, car (owned,
By registering information such as “owned by family”, it is possible to focus on more accurate members based on these attributes when distributing the client's advertisement, and distribute information suitable for each member It can be very useful for ordinary business as an advertising agency, and makes it easy to confirm the identity of members when paying out winnings.

The user who has become a member after such initial registration can further perform group registration, which is a prerequisite for participating in a group at a lottery event. There are two types of groups that can be registered: a family group consisting of family members and a group other than family consisting of friends and other acquaintances (hereinafter referred to as “general group”). In order to avoid complication of gold dividends, the number of general groups that can be registered per member is limited to one, and it is preferable to avoid overlapping registration with a plurality of general groups.

These group registrations can be performed only by members who have already completed the initial registration. First, based on the transmitted screen, the type of group to be registered, that is, one of family group registration and general group registration is selected (St.
ep 3) Then, either new registration or additional member registration is selected (Step 4).

When a new group is to be registered, the member's ID, password, e-mail address and the like are entered on the registration screen transmitted to the user terminal 2 (Step 5), so that the server 1 registers the new group. ID
And a password is given (Step 6). For example, when a family group is registered, a confirmation screen 31 as shown in FIG.
(Step 7). In the family name field on the confirmation screen 31, the user can enter a free name as long as it does not overlap with other family groups, and the entered family name is stored in the storage unit 1 of the server 1.
0 is registered and managed (Step 8).

In the case of additional registration for adding members belonging to a group that has already been registered, for example, FIG.
By inputting the e-mail address of the member to be added to the distribution input screen 33 as shown in (c), an e-mail prompting the member to register as a group is distributed via the server 1 (Step 9), The member who receives this W
By agreeing to additional registration on the website (Step 1
0), as shown in FIG. 3 (b), a confirmation screen 32 listing the handle names of the members belonging to the group is distributed to the user terminal of the additionally registered member (Step 1).
1), additional registration is completed by pressing the registration button,
The additionally registered member is registered and managed in the storage means 10 of the server 1 as a member of the group (Step 1).
2).

It should be noted that the only user who can be registered as a member of the group at the time of new registration or additional registration of these groups is a member. If a non-member general user is to be added as a member, the user must first register as a member. After that, you can register as a group member. In particular, the server 1 that recognizes that the non-member e-mail address has been entered in each of the above-mentioned registration screens automatically It is a preferred embodiment that a member ID and a password are assigned to a member and the registration is confirmed, and then the member registration and the member registration are completed at the same time, because the procedure can be simplified and more members can be collected.

As described above, the member who has newly registered or additionally registered a group further enters the e-mail address of the member belonging to the group on the distribution input screen 33 as shown in FIG. By inputting, an e-mail can be transmitted to each member via the server 1 to easily inform that the group has been registered.

If the number of group members becomes too large, the payout per member at the time of winning decreases, and the merit of group registration decreases. Therefore, the number of people who can be registered is limited to an appropriate number. It is preferable to consider the total prize money and the number of winning numbers,
It is a preferred embodiment to have up to about 10 people.

Then, an entry screen 41 as shown in FIG. 4A is transmitted to the user terminal 2 which logs in the lottery event by inputting the member ID and password (Step 13) (Step 14). . This entry screen 4
1 includes a participation mode selection field 40 including a “single” button for single participation, a “group” button for participation in a general group, and a “family” button for participation in a family group. When "Single" is selected in the field (Step 15), a confirmation screen 42 for presenting the lottery number XXXXX assigned by the server 1 is transmitted as shown in FIG. 16) Even when “group” or “family” is selected, a similar confirmation screen for presenting the lottery number and confirming the entry is transmitted. Needless to say, you can enter a group only if you have already registered as a group with other members, but the lottery number given to each member who has entered is
The number given in the case of single participation and the number given in the case of group participation may be the same, or a unique lottery number may be formed in the case of group participation.

After confirming the final intention by transmitting and receiving the confirmation screen 42, the server 1 transmits a reception end screen 43 as shown in FIG. 4C to the user terminal 2 (Step 1).
7) Then, a lottery for selecting a winning number from these lottery numbers is performed on a predetermined date (Step 18). The lottery of these winning numbers is performed fairly by random number generating means provided in the server 1.

In the lottery method of this embodiment, the total amount of prize money for each lottery is determined in advance and is distributed equally to the members associated with the winning numbers. A preferred embodiment also includes a difference in the amount of money or a change in the total prize amount every lottery. In the present embodiment, the prize money in the month in which the winning number is not issued is carried over to the next month, so that a large prize may occur.

The procedure of the prize payout in the lottery process is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 6, four winning numbers are selected (Step 1).
9) In the event that a prize of, for example, 1 million yen is given to each of the members A2, B1, C and D related to the winning number, 2
Equally distributed every 50,000 yen (Step 20).

When the member A2 related to the winning number participates as a member of the family group "A family", if the individual participates alone, the winning amount to be given to the member A2 is 250,000 yen. However, as a result of all the members A1, A2 and A3 belonging to the family being regarded as winners, they are equally distributed to the three members (Step 21), and the dividend of each person is 83,333 yen.

When the member B1 associated with the winning number participates as a member of the "B group" which is a general group, if the member B1 alone participates, the winning amount to be given to the member B1 is 250,000 yen. However, as a result of all the members B1 and B2 belonging to the group being regarded as winners, they are equally distributed to the two (Step 22), and the dividend of each person is 125,
000 yen.

The members C and D related to the winning number are "single"
, That is, to the members C and D who participate alone, a total of 250,000 yen of the winning money is paid out (Step 2)
3).

The member A associated with the winning number as described above
2, B1, C, and D, and members A1, A3, and B2, who are deemed to be winners, are each awarded a paid prize after their identities are confirmed.
It is reliably provided in accordance with a predetermined method such as bank transfer, electronic money, and distribution of coupons.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the present embodiment, in the distribution of the prize in the lottery process, when the member related to the winning number participates in the group, an additional privilege according to the character of the group is added to the winning, and for example, If the member A2 participates in the "A family", the winning money of 250,000 yen will be paid to three members of the family members A1, A2 and A3.
At the same time, all the people are equally divided (Step 21), and for the A family, an additional privilege based on the winning amount, that is, a gift certificate for 12,500 yen, which is 5% of the winning amount of 250,000 yen in this example, is given. (Step 22). This gift certificate is
A service point or the like that can be used only on a Web site managed by the server 1 and is provided with a service corresponding to the number of points is preferable, but in addition to such gift certificates, gifts, travel, concert tickets, and bank transfer. The form of the privilege, such as cash or electronic money, is not limited to gift certificates, especially for general groups.
It is preferable that the privilege distributed to each member is given.

When the member associated with the winning number participates in the group, prior to the distribution of the winning money to the group members, the member is made to take part of the winning money in advance (Step
23), distribute the remaining amount equally among all the members (Step
24) In this example, if the member B1 associated with the winning number participates as a member of the "B group" which is a general group, a part of the winning money 250,000 yen, for example, a predetermined amount for the winning amount As a percentage, in this example, the member B1 preempts 5% of 12,500 yen, and the balance 237,
500 yen is equally divided by all members (2 persons) of the group members B1 and B2, and as a result, the member B1 associated with the winning number
Is 131,250 yen, member B who is another member
118,750 yen is allocated to 2.

[0050]

As described above, according to the Internet lottery method and system of the present invention, when a member related to a winning number participates as one member of a group consisting of a plurality of members, Since all members of the group are regarded as winners and profits are given to the entire group, the probability of winning multiplied by the number of members of the group is obtained compared to when participating alone, and for the operator of the lottery event, the group The benefits of participation can be appealed to encourage members to register as a group, and new members can be expected to register through group registration. When new member registration is promoted in this way, the number of members of the site increases, and the member information stored on the server is enriched,
Build a database with higher market value.

Each of these groups, which is actively formed by the initiative of the user, is divided into groups having common regions, ages, hobbies, interests, and the like. Therefore, the database is re-created by grasping the social characteristics of these groups. It can be built and can provide more detailed and accurate useful information.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of an Internet lottery system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for participating in a lottery event.

3A is an explanatory diagram showing a confirmation screen when a new group is registered, FIG. 3B is an explanatory diagram showing a confirmation screen when adding a group member, and FIG. 3C is a diagram for e-mail distribution. Explanatory drawing showing an input screen.

4A is an explanatory diagram showing a lottery event entry screen, FIG. 4B is an explanatory diagram showing a lottery number and a confirmation screen of a participation form, and FIG. 4C is an explanatory diagram showing an entry acceptance end screen.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a lottery process.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a prize distribution method.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a lottery process according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a prize distribution method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 S lottery system 1 server 10 storage means 2 user terminal 31 confirmation screen 32 confirmation screen 33 input screen 40 selection field 41 entry screen 42 confirmation screen 43 acceptance end screen

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An Internet lottery method for accessing a server from a user terminal of a member via the Internet and participating in a lottery event managed by the server, wherein the server selects a lottery of a member who participated in the lottery event. In addition to managing the numbers, a winning number is selected from among the lottery numbers by lottery. When the member associated with the selected number is participating as one member of a group composed of a plurality of people,
An Internet lottery method in which all members of the same group are regarded as winners, and profits from the election are distributed among all members of the same group. 2. An Internet lottery system in which a member's user terminal accesses a server via the Internet and participates in a lottery event managed by the server, wherein the server has a member's lottery participation form: A means for managing whether the participation is a single participation or a form of participation as a member of a group composed of a plurality of persons; a means for managing a lottery number of the participating members; Means for selecting numbers and when the member associated with the selected winning number participates as a member of the group, the winnings from the winning will be used as a source of funds and distributed to all members of the group. Means, and an internet lottery system comprising: 3. The Internet lottery system according to claim 2, wherein said server comprises means for managing the social character of the group. 4. The server according to claim 2, wherein, prior to the distribution of the winnings to the group members, the member of the winning number pre-empts a part of the winnings and distributes the remaining amount equally to all the members. Internet lottery system. 5. The Internet lottery system according to claim 2, wherein the server adds an additional privilege according to the character of the group to the winning.