Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • A63F3/00—Board games; Raffle games
  • A63F3/06—Lottos or bingo games; Systems, apparatus or devices for checking such games
  • A63F3/0605—Lottery games

Definitions

• the invention relates generally to lottery games and, more specifically, to lotto games that have a first pool out of which a player draws the same number of options as the lottery operator and a second pool out of which the player draws a smaller number of options than the lottery operator.
• Another type of lottery ticket is the pull-tab ticket. It utilizes layers of cardboard glued together, with one layer having a series of perforations to form tabs. As the tabs are pulled away from the ticket they reveal symbols underneath and matching various combinations of symbols leads to the winning of prizes.
• the last category of lottery type games are generally referred to as lotto games and are based on the concept of picking numbers. These games usually involve players picking their own numbers or using a computer or some other mechanism to choose the numbers, in an attempt to match the numbers against those drawn by the lottery.
• the lotto concept was originally developed in Italy about 1580. It evolved from bets being placed on which candidates were chosen at random to serve in the senate. The betting was so popular among the citizenry that the incidence of the drawings was increased and the names of senators changed to numbers.
• Another typical lotto game in the United States and much of the rest of the world involves establishing a field of numbers from one to X. A player chooses, say, six of these numbers. The lottery then draws six numbers and a top prize is won if all numbers match in any order. The odds of winning the top prize can be altered by making X a larger number. In doing so there will be fewer winners of the top prize, which allows lottery sellers to offer a large jackpot prize. The prize can further be enhanced if no winner is chosen in a particular drawing. The lottery is then able to bank part or all of the non-won prize money from a previous drawing and offer it as an incentive for sales in a subsequent drawing, by increasing the size of the jackpot.
• a typical prize structure for a pick 6 out of 30 game is to pay the jackpot prize if all 6 matches are correct, the approximate average odds of which are 1:593,775; pay $100 if there are 5 matches, the approximate average odds of which are 1:4,124; pay $10 if there are 4 matches, the approximate average odds of which are 1:144; and provide a free play if there are 3 matches, the approximate average odds of which are 1:15.
• the allocation of prize money to be divided is subject to selection or design for each ticket sold.
• Keno is a lottery game in which the house draws a number of balls, say, from a group or field of balls that is larger than the number of balls selected by a player, but any match between the balls selected by the player to the balls drawn by the house counts. Lotto games are actually a subset of keno games; in lotto games, the number of balls drawn by the house or lottery equals the number of balls picked by the player.
• a typical prize structure and relative occurrences for a pick 5 out of 55 rolldown game may be to pay the jackpot if all 5 numbers are matched, the probability of which is 1:3,478,761; pay $500 if 4 numbers are matched, the probability of which is 1:13,915; pay $10 if 3 numbers are matched, the probability of which is 1:284; and pay $1 if 2 numbers are matched, the probability of which is 1:18.
• a bonus ball can be added to a lotto game to create a prize smaller than the jackpot prize but larger than any of the other prizes. So, for instance, in a pick six lotto game a player matches only five of the six numbers drawn by the lottery; however, the lottery has also drawn a seventh ball, the bonus ball, which if paired with any five of the six other numbers drawn by the lottery creates a prize intermediate between matching five and matching the six original balls drawn.
• Powerball® Multi-State Lottery Association, West Des Moines, Iowa. It was emulated by the Big Game in the United States (now Mega Millions), by Powerball in Australia, and similar games introduced in other countries. Unlike lotto, where the player picks six balls from one to N drawn by the lottery, the player instead chooses five numbers from one to X, and one number from one to Y. The lottery then draws five numbers from one to X and one number from one to Y from separate drawing machines and prizes are awarded according to various matches.
• the Powerball® lottery game is a combination of two lotto games in one. Both games must be won to win the jackpot prize.
• Table 1 lays out a prize structure applicable to a typical Powerball® lottery game.
• Table 1 lays out a prize structure applicable to a typical Powerball® lottery game.
• the present invention is a lotto game in which selections are made from two pools of numbers. If the first pool is defined to have a total of X selections, the lottery operator picks x selections out of the first pool and a player also picks x selections out of the first pool. If the second pool is defined to have Y selections, a player picks one selection from the second pool while the operator picks two or more selections from the second pool. The odds of matching all x selections out of the first pool are unchanged from the known, single bonus selection game in which only one selection is made by the lottery operator from the second pool.
• the odds of a player matching a selection of the lottery operator from the second pool is the same multiple as the multiple number of selections from the second pool made by the lottery; i.e., if the lottery operator picks two selections from the second pool, the odds of a player matching one of the selections is twice that of the known bonus ball game.
• the practical effect is to move prize money from the matches on the first pool to prizes that are won on matching only the second pool or both pools together.
• the novel game allows continued funding for the top or jackpot prizes and enhanced smaller prizes at the expense of some of the intermediate range subordinate prizes.
• the intermediate range prizes that do not require matches from both pools have less money available which is balanced by the odds that make those prizes less likely to be won.
• An object of the present invention is to provide a lotto game that increases the odds of winning top or jackpot prizes.
• Another object of the present invention is to provide a lotto game that pays an increased percentage of prize money to lower range subordinate winners.
• Another object of the present invention is to increase the odds of winning top or jackpot prizes and increasing the money awarded to lower range subordinate prizes at the expense of intermediate range prizes.
• An example of a known two pool lottery game is the Powerball® lottery game. Unlike lotto, where the player picks six balls from one to N drawn by the lottery operator, the player instead chooses five numbers from one to X, and one number from one to Y. The lottery then draws five numbers from one to X and one number from one to Y from separate drawing machines and prizes are awarded according to various matches.
• the Powerball® lottery game is a combination of two lotto games in one. Both games must be won to win the jackpot prize. It is also designed so that any player matching the single ball drawn from the one to Y device wins a prize.
• the lottery game of the present invention is a variation of this known two pool lottery game.
• the lottery operator and the players pick the same number of selections out of the first pool, but the lottery operator selects two or more numbers out of the second pool while the players are allowed to select only one number from second pool. For example, if the first pool has a total of X selections and the lottery operator picks x selections, then each player also picks x selections out of the first pool of X.
• the lottery operator may pick two selections out of the second pool of Y total selections whereas each player is allowed to pick only one selection of the second pool of Y selections.
• a player must match all selections from both pools to win the jackpot prize.
• the odds of a player winning a prize based only by matching numbers from the first pool remain unchanged, while the odds of winning any prize based on matching a number from the second pool are doubled.
• the numbers X, Y, and x are chosen by the lottery operator to create a game that has the desired prize structure. For example, in comparison to the known Powerball® lottery game, increasing X and Y, that is, the number of balls in both pools, and having the lottery operator pick two numbers from the second pool, effectively moves prize money from the matches on the first pool to prizes that are won on matching only the second pool or both pools together.
• Table 2 is prize structure for a hypothetical lotto game of interest in which X is 61, Y is 51 and x is 5. Accordingly, this is a lottery game in which 5 numbers are picked from a first pool of 61 and each player picks one number from a second pool of 51 while the lottery operator picks 2 numbers from the second pool of 51. The tickets are sold for $2 each. Given a sellout of the game where each chance purchased is unique, the prizes paid are illustrated according to rules where the percentage of sales allocated to that prize is specified in the right hand column.
• Table 3 is prize structure for a traditional two-pool lotto game in which both the lottery operator and the players pick one number out of a pool of 61 and 5 numbers out of a pool of 51. The tickets are sold for $2 each. Given a sellout of the game where each chance purchased is unique, the prizes paid are illustrated according to rules where the percentage of sales allocated to that prize is specified in the right hand column. The prize structure can be compared to that of the game of the present invention described in Table 2.
• Table 4 is prize structure for a traditional two-pool lotto game in which both the lottery operator and the players pick one number out of a pool of 51 and 5 numbers out of a pool of 61. The tickets are sold for $2 each. Given a sellout of the game where each chance purchased is unique, the prizes paid are illustrated according to rules where the percentage of sales allocated to that prize is specified in the right hand column. The prize structure can be compared to that of the game of the present invention described in Table 2 and the prize structure of the related game described in Table 3.
• Another alternative game within the scope of this invention is a game that may be described as a keno-keno game which would provide for the lottery owner to make a larger number of picks than the players out of both pools (for example, 5/6/61 and 1/2/51). It is also within the scope of this invention to have more than two pools of numbers with one or more of the pools having the feature of having the lottery owner make more picks than the players (for example, 5/51 and 2/25 and 1/2/45).

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Multimedia (AREA)
• Management, Administration, Business Operations System, And Electronic Commerce (AREA)
• Credit Cards Or The Like (AREA)
• Display Devices Of Pinball Game Machines (AREA)

Priority Applications (5)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

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Cited By (42)

Citations (9)

• 2003
  • 2003-03-07 US US10/383,470 patent/US20040173965A1/en not_active Abandoned
• 2004
  • 2004-03-04 CA CA002518454A patent/CA2518454A1/fr not_active Abandoned
  • 2004-03-04 WO PCT/US2004/006496 patent/WO2004080552A2/fr active Search and Examination
  • 2004-03-04 AU AU2004220663A patent/AU2004220663A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2004-03-04 EP EP04717351A patent/EP1603647A4/fr not_active Withdrawn

Patent Citations (10)

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