US20120083332A1

US20120083332A1 - System and a Method for an On-Line Betting Game

Info

Publication number: US20120083332A1
Application number: US13/251,268
Authority: US
Inventors: Léon Magret
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-10-04
Filing date: 2011-10-02
Publication date: 2012-04-05

Abstract

A system and a method for an on-line betting game comprise clients being configured for obtaining registration information from users and obtaining bets from registered users in which each bet at least comprises a user choosing a determined amount of numbers chosen from a group of numbers in which the user bets the chosen numbers will be the least chosen by other betting users. A server is configured for receiving the registration information and bets. The server is further configured for determining a placement of the numbers within the group of numbers in which a first place number is the number least chosen by betting users and a last place number is the number most chosen by betting users. The server is further configured for determining winning users by comparing the bets to the placement of the numbers. The server is further configured for sending winning results to the clients.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present Utility patent application claims priority benefit of the U.S. provisional application for patent Ser. No. 61/389,641, titled “Gaming Rule and Method” filed Oct. 4, 2010 under 35 U.S.C. 119(e). The contents of this related provisional application are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes to the extent that such subject matter is not inconsistent herewith or limiting hereof.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER LISTING APPENDIX

Not applicable.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office, patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

One or more embodiments of the invention generally relate to globally networked gaming systems. More particularly, the invention relates to a virtual horse racing system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The following background information may present examples of specific aspects of the prior art (e.g., without limitation, approaches, facts, or common wisdom) that, while expected to be helpful to further educate the reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to be construed as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof, to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon.
Conventional systems for online gaming and betting often rely on random chance for determining winners and losers.
In view of the foregoing, it is clear that these traditional techniques are not perfect and leave room for more optimal approaches.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example GUI presentation for subscribing with the system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example GUI presentation for selecting bets and viewing past results, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3A illustrates an example GUI presentation, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3B illustrates an example GUI presentation, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example GUI presentation, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram depicting a conventional client/server communication system;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example method for operation of system for interacting with users and for processing, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 illustrates a typical computer system that, when appropriately configured or designed, may serve as a computer system for which the present invention may be embodied.

Unless otherwise indicated illustrations in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is best understood by reference to the detailed figures and description set forth herein.
Embodiments of the invention are discussed below with reference to the Figures. However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the detailed description given herein with respect to these figures is for explanatory purposes as the invention extends beyond these limited embodiments. For example, it should be appreciated that those skilled in the art will, in light of the teachings of the present invention, recognize a multiplicity of alternate and suitable approaches, depending upon the needs of the particular application, to implement the functionality of any given detail described herein, beyond the particular implementation choices in the following embodiments described and shown. That is, there are numerous modifications and variations of the invention that are too numerous to be listed but that all fit within the scope of the invention. Also, singular words should be read as plural and vice versa and masculine as feminine and vice versa, where appropriate, and alternative embodiments do not necessarily imply that the two are mutually exclusive.
It is to be further understood that the present invention is not limited to the particular methodology, compounds, materials, manufacturing techniques, uses, and applications, described herein, as these may vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is used for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It must be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, a reference to “an element” is a reference to one or more elements and includes equivalents thereof known to those skilled in the art. Similarly, for another example, a reference to “a step” or “a means” is a reference to one or more steps or means and may include sub-steps and subservient means. All conjunctions used are to be understood in the most inclusive sense possible. Thus, the word “or” should be understood as having the definition of a logical “or” rather than that of a logical “exclusive or” unless the context clearly necessitates otherwise. Structures described herein are to be understood also to refer to functional equivalents of such structures. Language that may be construed to express approximation should be so understood unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Preferred methods, techniques, devices, and materials are described, although any methods, techniques, devices, or materials similar or equivalent to those described herein may be used in the practice or testing of the present invention. Structures described herein are to be understood also to refer to functional equivalents of such structures. The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
From reading the present disclosure, other variations and modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. Such variations and modifications may involve equivalent and other features which are already known in the art, and which may be used instead of or in addition to features already described herein.
Although Claims have been formulated in this Application to particular combinations of features, it should be understood that the scope of the disclosure of the present invention also includes any novel feature or any novel combination of features disclosed herein either explicitly or implicitly or any generalization thereof, whether or not it relates to the same invention as presently claimed in any Claim and whether or not it mitigates any or all of the same technical problems as does the present invention.
Features which are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable subcombination. The Applicants hereby give notice that new Claims may be formulated to such features and/or combinations of such features during the prosecution of the present Application or of any further Application derived therefrom.
References to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “example embodiment,” “various embodiments,” etc., may indicate that the embodiment(s) of the invention so described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, repeated use of the phrase “in one embodiment,” or “in an exemplary embodiment,” do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although they may.
As is well known to those skilled in the art many careful considerations and compromises typically must be made when designing for the optimal manufacture of a commercial implementation any system, and in particular, the embodiments of the present invention. A commercial implementation in accordance with the spirit and teachings of the present invention may configured according to the needs of the particular application, whereby any aspect(s), feature(s), function(s), result(s), component(s), approach(es), or step(s) of the teachings related to any described embodiment of the present invention may be suitably omitted, included, adapted, mixed and matched, or improved and/or optimized by those skilled in the art, using their average skills and known techniques, to achieve the desired implementation that addresses the needs of the particular application.
A “computer” may refer to one or more apparatus and/or one or more systems that are capable of accepting a structured input, processing the structured input according to prescribed rules, and producing results of the processing as output. Examples of a computer may include: a computer; a stationary and/or portable computer; a computer having a single processor, multiple processors, or multi-core processors, which may operate in parallel and/or not in parallel; a general purpose computer; a supercomputer; a mainframe; a super mini-computer; a mini-computer; a workstation; a micro-computer; a server; a client; an interactive television; a web appliance; a telecommunications device with internet access; a hybrid combination of a computer and an interactive television; a portable computer; a tablet personal computer (PC); a personal digital assistant (PDA); a portable telephone; application-specific hardware to emulate a computer and/or software, such as, for example, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an application specific instruction-set processor (ASIP), a chip, chips, a system on a chip, or a chip set; a data acquisition device; an optical computer; a quantum computer; a biological computer; and generally, an apparatus that may accept data, process data according to one or more stored software programs, generate results, and typically include input, output, storage, arithmetic, logic, and control units.
“Software” may refer to prescribed rules to operate a computer. Examples of software may include: code segments in one or more computer-readable languages; graphical and or/textual instructions; applets; pre-compiled code; interpreted code; compiled code; and computer programs.
A “computer-readable medium” may refer to any storage device used for storing data accessible by a computer. Examples of a computer-readable medium may include: a magnetic hard disk; a floppy disk; an optical disk, such as a CD-ROM and a DVD; a magnetic tape; a flash memory; a memory chip; and/or other types of media that can store machine-readable instructions thereon.
A “computer system” may refer to a system having one or more computers, where each computer may include a computer-readable medium embodying software to operate the computer or one or more of its components. Examples of a computer system may include: a distributed computer system for processing information via computer systems linked by a network; two or more computer systems connected together via a network for transmitting and/or receiving information between the computer systems; a computer system including two or more processors within a single computer; and one or more apparatuses and/or one or more systems that may accept data, may process data in accordance with one or more stored software programs, may generate results, and typically may include input, output, storage, arithmetic, logic, and control units.
A “network” may refer to a number of computers and associated devices that may be connected by communication facilities. A network may involve permanent connections such as cables or temporary connections such as those made through telephone or other communication links. A network may further include hard-wired connections (e.g., coaxial cable, twisted pair, optical fiber, waveguides, etc.) and/or wireless connections (e.g., radio frequency waveforms, free-space optical waveforms, acoustic waveforms, etc.). Examples of a network may include: an internet, such as the Internet; an intranet; a local area network (LAN); a wide area network (WAN); and a combination of networks, such as an internet and an intranet.
Exemplary networks may operate with any of a number of protocols, such as Internet protocol (IP), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), and/or synchronous optical network (SONET), user datagram protocol (UDP), IEEE 802.x, etc.
Embodiments of the present invention may include apparatuses for performing the operations disclosed herein. An apparatus may be specially constructed for the desired purposes, or it may comprise a general-purpose device selectively activated or reconfigured by a program stored in the device.
Embodiments of the invention may also be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. They may be implemented as instructions stored on a machine-readable medium, which may be read and executed by a computing platform to perform the operations described herein.
In the following description and claims, the terms “computer program medium” and “computer readable medium” may be used to generally refer to media such as, but not limited to, removable storage drives, a hard disk installed in hard disk drive, and the like. These computer program products may provide software to a computer system. Embodiments of the invention may be directed to such computer program products.
An algorithm is here, and generally, considered to be a self-consistent sequence of acts or operations leading to a desired result. These include physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers or the like. It should be understood, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities.
Unless specifically stated otherwise, and as may be apparent from the following description and claims, it should be appreciated that throughout the specification descriptions utilizing terms such as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” or the like, refer to the action and/or processes of a computer or computing system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulate and/or transform data represented as physical, such as electronic, quantities within the computing system's registers and/or memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computing system's memories, registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.
In a similar manner, the term “processor” may refer to any device or portion of a device that processes electronic data from registers and/or memory to transform that electronic data into other electronic data that may be stored in registers and/or memory. A “computing platform” may comprise one or more processors.
Embodiments of the present invention will be described which provide means and methods for a system for virtual horse racing. Users of system may select to bet on a virtual horse or a multiplicity of virtual horses. User may select a combination bet where user is anticipating selecting the sequence of virtual horses for first, second and third place. Virtual horse may be represented by a numeral located on a racing jacket. As a non-limiting example, racing jacket may be multi-colored with elaborate designs.
Following race completion, system processes the number of times a virtual horse has been selected. Virtual horses are sorted based upon the number of times selected. The winning virtual horse is noted as the least selected and the losing virtual horse is noted as the most selected. The sequence of winning virtual horse to losing virtual horse is presented as a column with the winning virtual horse positioned at the top of the column and the losing virtual horse positioned at the bottom of the column. This is classification is the pegase's scale.
System receives, stores and processes user personal information. Furthermore, system analyzes user legal status associated with betting via birth date information provided by user.
System receives, stores and processes user bets. As non-limiting examples, bets may be placed via a mobile device, cellular phone and/or global network. Furthermore, system sorts virtual horses with respect to winning/losing and processes sorting of combination bets.
System processes virtual races for determining winners with respect to stakes and prizes.
Following a race, results are posted by system for viewing via website. Furthermore, winning combinations, number of winners, prizes and associated prognostic information is presented for viewing. Furthermore, participants are notified of results. Non-limiting examples of methods for notification include telephone, email and Short Message Service (SMS).
System may reduce the number of virtual horses for special events. As a non-limiting example, system may reduce the number of virtual horses for a week-end race.
System processes results for insuring a winner for each race. At the end of the game, the system sorts all the virtual horses that have at least one bet. Once sorted, the virtual horses are classified in the pegase's scale. The systems search for three (or more depending on the configuration of the game) virtual horses with the least amount of bets. It there isn't any one with the least played combination, the system substitutes the third least played with the fourth least played and search for the winners. This principle is applied until either a winner is found or the system reaches the end of the scale. At this point the systems, substitutes the second and third least played virtual horses with the fourth and fifth. The system searches for a winner with this combination and then substitutes the fifth with the sixth virtual horses. The principles is repeated until the end of the scale or a winner is found. The system applies this substitution principle until the winners are found.
System hosts and provides website for presenting and receiving information associated with users and races.
System provides information to user associated with participation. Non-limiting examples of associated information includes company information and rules for participation.
System presents information associated with past results for viewing. Non-limiting examples of information presented include user win/loss graph and virtual horse win/loss graph.
User may place a multiplicity of combination bets via system. Non-limiting examples for combination bet includes 2, 3, 4, and 5.
User may perform analysis via system by analyzing results associated with prior races with respect to other users.
User seeks to bet on virtual horses that other users are not placing a bet.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example GUI presentation for subscribing with the system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
A GUI presentation 100 includes a presentation control portion 102 and a personal information entry portion 104.
Presentation control portion 102 enables control of GUI presentation 100. Non-limiting examples of control performed include minimizing GUI presentation 100, maximizing GUI presentation 100, reducing GUI presentation 100 and closing GUI presentation 100.
Personal information entry portion 104 enables entry of information for purposes of subscribing to system and creating an account.
Non-limiting examples of information entered/selected via personal information entry portion 104 includes user identification, password, email address, first name, last name, address, city, state, country, telephone number, birth date, credit card type, credit card number, expiration month, expiration day, expiration year, terms/conditions and subscribe selection.
System may use received birth date information for verifying a potential user is of sufficient age with respect to laws and regulations for participation.
After entry of information, a potential user may select the subscribe selection in order to communicate the entered information/selections to the system for processing.
Results of processing by the system are presented to the potential user. Non-limiting examples of information presented to the potential user following processing include account successfully created and account creation rejected. Non-limiting examples for rejecting account include insufficient age and invalid credit card.
In operation, a potential user enters personal information and associated selections followed by selecting to subscribe in order to communication the entered information and selections to the system for processing. The system accepts or rejects the received information and communicates the acceptance or rejection to the potential user. Following a rejection, the potential user may modify entered information or selections and select submit in order to communicate information to system for processing. Following an acceptance, the potential user is considered a user and may access the created account.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example GUI presentation for subscribing where a potential user may enter information for purposes of subscribing to system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 illustrates an example GUI presentation for selecting bets and viewing past results, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
A GUI presentation 200 includes presentation control portion 102, a bet selection/entry portion 202 and a historic win/loss results portion 204.
Bet selection/entry portion 202 enables entry of amount for bet and selections for bet. Non-limiting examples of information entered/selected via bet selection/entry portion 202 include amount of bet, win selection, place selection, show selection, combination entry, pick 3 selection and pick 6 selection.
User may enter amount to bet for a particular virtual horse via bet entry portion. User may select an outcome of win via win selection. User may select an outcome of place via place selection. User may select an outcome of show via place selection. User may enter a combination via combination entry portion. As an example, a user may select an order of finish as 6, 1, 3, where the entity represented by 6 finishes in first place, the entity represented by 1 finishes in second place and the entity represented by 3 finishes in third place. User may select pick 3 to confirm entry of selecting to correctly pick the winners for the next three races. User may select pick 6 to confirm entry of selecting to correctly pick the winners of the next six races.
User may view past results via historic win/loss results portion 204. As a non-limiting example, user may view a chart representing accumulated wins and losses with respect to time.
In operation, a user enters a dollar amount associated with respective virtual horse icon(s). Furthermore, for respective dollar amount(s), user may select win, place or show. Furthermore, user may select a specific combination for a virtual horse race finish. For example, a user may select the order of finish as 6, 3, 4 where virtual horse icon number 6 finishes in first place, virtual horse icon 3 finishes in second place and virtual horse icon number 4 finishes in third place. Furthermore, user may select a pick 3 representing the user intends to select the winning virtual horse race icon for three consecutive races. Furthermore, user may select a pick 6 representing the user intends to select the winning virtual horse race icon for six consecutive races.
FIG. 2 illustrates an example GUI presentation for selecting bets and viewing past results where a user may enter amount bet and selections for the outcome, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3A illustrates an example GUI presentation, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A represents the race at the start where all virtual horses have zero bet associated with them. FIG. 3B represents the virtual race at one point in time in the game, having in first position the virtual horses with the least amount of bets, in the last position the virtual horses with the highest amount of bets and in the starting line the virtual horses that have not bet associated with them]
A GUI presentation 300 includes presentation control portion 102, a virtual race track 302 and a multiplicity of virtual race horse icons with a sampling noted as a virtual race horse icon 304.
GUI presentation 300 simulates operation of a virtual race horse track. Virtual race horse icons initially start in a starting gate 306 with the starting gate removed following the virtual horses maneuvering around virtual race track 302. The first virtual horse icon to cross a finish line 308 is considered the winner or the virtual horse icon receiving first place.
FIG. 3A illustrates an example GUI presentation simulating operation of a virtual horse racing event, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3B illustrates an example GUI presentation, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Virtual horse race icons are spread around virtual race track 302. Virtual race horse icon 304 has crossed the finish line and is the winner or the first place finisher.
FIG. 3B illustrates an example GUI presentation where virtual horse race icons traverse an oval track, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 illustrates an example GUI presentation, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
A GUI presentation 400 includes presentation control portion 102 and a results presentation portion 402.
Non-limiting examples of information presented via GUI presentation 400 include total win/loss results, race results, winnings for associated virtual horse icon selections, winnings for a combination, winnings for a pick 3, winnings for a pick 6 and total win/loss for race.
FIG. 4 illustrates an example GUI presentation where total win/loss results, race results, race win/loss results and total race win/loss results are presented, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram depicting a conventional client/server communication system.
A communication system 500 includes a multiplicity of networked regions with a sampling of regions denoted as a network region 502 and a network region 504, a global network 506 and a multiplicity of servers with a sampling of servers denoted as a server device 508 and a server device 510.
Network region 502 and network region 504 may operate to represent a network contained within a geographical area or region. Non-limiting examples of representations for the geographical areas for the networked regions may include postal zip codes, telephone area codes, states, counties, cities and countries. Elements within network region 502 and 504 may operate to communicate with external elements within other networked regions or within elements contained within the same network region.
In some implementations, global network 506 may operate as the Internet. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that communication system 500 may take many different forms. Non-limiting examples of forms for communication system 500 include local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), wired telephone networks, cellular telephone networks or any other network supporting data communication between respective entities via hardwired or wireless communication networks. Global network 506 may operate to transfer information between the various networked elements.
Server device 508 and server device 510 may operate to execute software instructions, store information, support database operations and communicate with other networked elements. Non-limiting examples of software and scripting languages which may be executed on server device 508 and server device 510 include C, C++, C# and Java.
Network region 502 may operate to communicate bi-directionally with global network 506 via a communication channel 512. Network region 504 may operate to communicate bi-directionally with global network 506 via a communication channel 514. Server device 508 may operate to communicate bi-directionally with global network 506 via a communication channel 516. Server device 510 may operate to communicate bi-directionally with global network 506 via a communication channel 518. Network region 502 and 504, global network 506 and server devices 508 and 510 may operate to communicate bi-directionally and also communicate bi-directionally with other networked device located within communication system 500.
Server device 508 includes a networking device 520 and a server 522. Networking device 520 may operate to communicate bi-directionally with global network 506 via communication channel 516 and with server 522 via a communication channel 524. Server 522 may operate to execute software instructions and store information.
Network region 502 includes a multiplicity of clients with a sampling denoted as a client 526 and a client 528. Client 526 includes a networking device 534, a processor 536, a GUI 538 and an interface device 540. Non-limiting examples of devices for GUI 538 include monitors, televisions, cellular telephones, smartphones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants). Non-limiting examples of interface device 540 include pointing device, mouse, trackball, scanner and printer. Networking device 534 may communicate bi-directionally with global network 506 via communication channel 512 and with processor 536 via a communication channel 542. GUI 538 may receive information from processor 536 via a communication channel 544 for presentation to a user for viewing. Interface device 540 may operate to send control information to processor 536 and to receive information from processor 536 via a communication channel 546. Network region 504 includes a multiplicity of clients with a sampling denoted as a client 530 and a client 532. Client 530 includes a networking device 548, a processor 550, a GUI 552 and an interface device 554. Non-limiting examples of devices for GUI 538 include monitors, televisions, cellular telephones, smartphones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants). Non-limiting examples of interface device 540 include pointing devices, mousse, trackballs, scanners and printers. Networking device 548 may communicate bi-directionally with global network 506 via communication channel 514 and with processor 550 via a communication channel 556. GUI 552 may receive information from processor 550 via a communication channel 558 for presentation to a user for viewing. Interface device 554 may operate to send control information to processor 550 and to receive information from processor 550 via a communication channel 560.
For example, consider the case where a user interfacing with client 526 may want to execute a networked application. A user may enter the IP (Internet Protocol) address for the networked application using interface device 540. The IP address information may be communicated to processor 536 via communication channel 546. Processor 536 may then communicate the IP address information to networking device 534 via communication channel 542. Networking device 534 may then communicate the IP address information to global network 506 via communication channel 512. Global network 506 may then communicate the IP address information to networking device 520 of server device 508 via communication channel 516. Networking device 520 may then communicate the IP address information to server 522 via communication channel 524. Server 522 may receive the IP address information and after processing the IP address information may communicate return information to networking device 520 via communication channel 524. Networking device 520 may communicate the return information to global network 506 via communication channel 516. Global network 506 may communicate the return information to networking device 534 via communication channel 512. Networking device 534 may communicate the return information to processor 536 via communication channel 542. Processor 536 may communicate the return information to GUI 538 via communication channel 544. User may then view the return information on GUI 538.
FIG. 6 illustrates an example method for operation of system for interacting with users and for processing, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
A flow chart 600 initiates in a step 602.
Then in a step 604, member creates a new account.
As an example, a prospective user may enter personal information for creating an account. Non-limiting examples of personal information provided/selected include email, name, address, phone number, credit card details, birth date, user account identification, user account password and selection of terms and conditions of use.
Then in a step 606, user accesses account.
As an example, user may enter user account identification and user account password via GUI 538 (FIG. 5).
Referring back to FIG. 6, then in a step 608 member configures account preferences.
As an example, user may configure bank account information for transferring funds to/from system.
Then in a step 610, user selects a race to perform.
As an example, user may select a virtual version of the Kentucky Derby.
Then in a step 612, user selects to perform a bet or bets.
User may be presented GUI presentation 200 described with reference to FIG. 2. As a non-limiting example, user may select to enter an amount associated with representative virtual icon or icons for placing a bet or bets. Furthermore, user may select the type of bet, win, place or show. Furthermore, user may select a combination where the sequence of first, second and third are entered. Furthermore, a user may select to bet a pick 3 or pick 6 where the user is anticipating selecting the next three or six winners, respectively. In some embodiments, the betting on a particular race may remain open for a specified period of time such as, but not limited to, twenty four hours or one day. In other embodiments, the betting on a particular race may remain open until a specified number of bets have been placed. In some other embodiments, a time period for betting may be specified, but may be extended until a specified minimum amount of bets is received.
Referring back to FIG. 6, then in a step 614 user views race.
As a non-limiting example, user may be presented with GUI presentation 300 as described with reference to FIGS. 3A-B. User may view virtual horse icons in the starting gate as described with reference to FIG. 3A. Furthermore, user may view virtual horse icons traversing the track as described with reference to FIG. 3B. Furthermore, user may view the sequence of virtual horse icons crossing the finish line. The winning virtual horse is determined as the virtual horse with the least amount of selections for placing a bet by users. The losing virtual horse is determined as the virtual horse with the most amount of selections for placing a bet by users. The second place virtual horse is determined as the virtual horse with the second least amount of selections for placing a bet by users. The third through the next-to-last losing virtual horse are determined in a similar manner as the first, second and last place virtual horses. After the virtual horses have been placed, the winning bets may be determined. In a non-limiting example, if the winning bet is choosing the 3 least played virtual horses, all bets choosing the first place virtual horse may be extracted from all the bets. Of those extracted, bets having first and second place may be extracted. If there are no matches to the second place, the ones matching first and third may be extracted. If there are no matches to the third place, the ones matching first and fourth may be extracted. The extracting continues down the list of placed virtual horses until a match with 3 of the least played horses is extracted. In other non-limiting examples, the operator of the game may choose the number of virtual horses that must be matched, thus defining a difficulty of the game.
Referring back to FIG. 6, then in a step 616 user views results of race.
As a non-limiting example, user may be presented with GUI presentation 400 as described with reference to FIG. 4. User may view total win/loss amount. Furthermore, user may view sequence of finish for the associated virtual icons. Furthermore, user may view win/loss amount associated with representative virtual icon(s) for placed bet or bets. Furthermore, user may view win/loss amount for other types of bets such as combination, pick 3 and pick 6. Furthermore, user may view total win/loss amount for the race.
Referring back to FIG. 6, then in a step 618 user may select to transfer funds to/from system. As a non-limiting example, user may select to transfer funds to/from a bank account.
Then in a step 620 execution of flow chart 600 terminates.
FIG. 6 illustrates an example method for operation of system for interacting with users and for processing, where a user creates an account, accesses account, configures account, selects race for participation, selects bet(s), views race, views results of race and transfers funds.
FIG. 7 illustrates a typical computer system that, when appropriately configured or designed, may serve as a computer system 700 for which the present invention may be embodied.
Computer system 700 includes a quantity of processors 702 (also referred to as central processing units, or CPUs) that may be coupled to storage devices including a primary storage 706 (typically a random access memory, or RAM), a primary storage 704 (typically a read only memory, or ROM). CPU 702 may be of various types including micro-controllers (e.g., with embedded RAM/ROM) and microprocessors such as programmable devices (e.g., RISC or SISC based, or CPLDs and FPGAs) and devices not capable of being programmed such as gate array ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) or general purpose microprocessors. As is well known in the art, primary storage 704 acts to transfer data and instructions uni-directionally to the CPU and primary storage 706 typically may be used to transfer data and instructions in a bi-directional manner. The primary storage devices discussed previously may include any suitable computer-readable media such as those described above. A mass storage device 708 may also be coupled bi-directionally to CPU 702 and provides additional data storage capacity and may include any of the computer-readable media described above. Mass storage device 708 may be used to store programs, data and the like and typically may be used as a secondary storage medium such as a hard disk. It will be appreciated that the information retained within mass storage device 708, may, in appropriate cases, be incorporated in standard fashion as part of primary storage 706 as virtual memory. A specific mass storage device such as a CD-ROM 714 may also pass data uni-directionally to the CPU.
CPU 702 may also be coupled to an interface 710 that connects to one or more input/output devices such as such as video monitors, track balls, mice, keyboards, microphones, touch-sensitive displays, transducer card readers, magnetic or paper tape readers, tablets, styluses, voice or handwriting recognizers, or other well-known input devices such as, of course, other computers. Finally, CPU 702 optionally may be coupled to an external device such as a database or a computer or telecommunications or internet network using an external connection shown generally as a network 712, which may be implemented as a hardwired or wireless communications link using suitable conventional technologies. With such a connection, the CPU might receive information from the network, or might output information to the network in the course of performing the method steps described in the teachings of the present invention.
Those skilled in the art will readily recognize, in light of and in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, that any of the foregoing steps and/or system modules may be suitably replaced, reordered, removed and additional steps and/or system modules may be inserted depending upon the needs of the particular application, and that the systems of the foregoing embodiments may be implemented using any of a wide variety of suitable processes and system modules, and is not limited to any particular computer hardware, software, middleware, firmware, microcode and the like. For any method steps described in the present application that can be carried out on a computing machine, a typical computer system can, when appropriately configured or designed, serve as a computer system in which those aspects of the invention may be embodied.
It will be further apparent to those skilled in the art that at least a portion of the novel method steps and/or system components of the present invention may be practiced and/or located in location(s) possibly outside the jurisdiction of the United States of America (USA), whereby it will be accordingly readily recognized that at least a subset of the novel method steps and/or system components in the foregoing embodiments must be practiced within the jurisdiction of the USA for the benefit of an entity therein or to achieve an object of the present invention. Thus, some alternate embodiments of the present invention may be configured to comprise a smaller subset of the foregoing means for and/or steps described that the applications designer will selectively decide, depending upon the practical considerations of the particular implementation, to carry out and/or locate within the jurisdiction of the USA. For example, any of the foregoing described method steps and/or system components which may be performed remotely over a network (e.g., without limitation, a remotely located server) may be performed and/or located outside of the jurisdiction of the USA while the remaining method steps and/or system components (e.g., without limitation, a locally located client) of the forgoing embodiments are typically required to be located/performed in the USA for practical considerations. In client-server architectures, a remotely located server typically generates and transmits required information to a US based client, for use according to the teachings of the present invention. Depending upon the needs of the particular application, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, in light of the teachings of the present invention, which aspects of the present invention can or should be located locally and which can or should be located remotely. Thus, for any claims construction of the following claim limitations that are construed under 35 USC §112 (6) it is intended that the corresponding means for and/or steps for carrying out the claimed function are the ones that are locally implemented within the jurisdiction of the USA, while the remaining aspect(s) performed or located remotely outside the USA are not intended to be construed under 35 USC §112 (6). In some embodiments, the methods and/or system components which may be located and/or performed remotely include, without limitation: servers and global network.
It is noted that according to USA law, all claims must be set forth as a coherent, cooperating set of limitations that work in functional combination to achieve a useful result as a whole. Accordingly, for any claim having functional limitations interpreted under 35 USC §112 (6) where the embodiment in question is implemented as a client-server system with a remote server located outside of the USA, each such recited function is intended to mean the function of combining, in a logical manner, the information of that claim limitation with at least one other limitation of the claim. For example, in client-server systems where certain information claimed under 35 USC §112 (6) is/(are) dependent on one or more remote servers located outside the USA, it is intended that each such recited function under 35 USC §112 (6) is to be interpreted as the function of the local system receiving the remotely generated information required by a locally implemented claim limitation, wherein the structures and or steps which enable, and breath life into the expression of such functions claimed under 35 USC §112 (6) are the corresponding steps and/or means located within the jurisdiction of the USA that receive and deliver that information to the client (e.g., without limitation, client-side processing and transmission networks in the USA). When this application is prosecuted or patented under a jurisdiction other than the USA, then “USA” in the foregoing should be replaced with the pertinent country or countries or legal organization(s) having enforceable patent infringement jurisdiction over the present application, and “35 USC §112 (6)” should be replaced with the closest corresponding statute in the patent laws of such pertinent country or countries or legal organization(s).
All the features disclosed in this specification, including any accompanying abstract and drawings, may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.
Having fully described at least one embodiment of the present invention, other equivalent or alternative methods of virtual horse racing systems according to the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The invention has been described above by way of illustration, and the specific embodiments disclosed are not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed. For example, the particular implementation of the GUI may vary depending upon the particular type computing device used. The GUIs described in the foregoing were directed to laptop computing implementations; however, similar techniques using mobile computing device implementations of the present invention are contemplated as within the scope of the present invention. The invention is thus to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the following claims.
Claim elements and steps herein may have been numbered and/or lettered solely as an aid in readability and understanding. Any such numbering and lettering in itself is not intended to and should not be taken to indicate the ordering of elements and/or steps in the claims.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented system comprising:

clients executing computer-executable applications being configured for obtaining registration information from users for an on-line betting game and for obtaining bets from registered users for the betting game in which each bet at least comprises a user choosing a determined amount of numbers chosen from a group of numbers in which the user bets the chosen numbers will be the least chosen by other betting users;

a server executing a computer-executable program being configured for receiving and storing the registration information and bets from registered users, said server being further configured for determining a placement of the numbers within the group of numbers for the betting game in which a first place number is the number least chosen by betting users and a last place number is the number most chosen by betting users, said server being further configured for determining winning users for the betting game by comparing the bets to the placement of the numbers, said server being further configured for sending winning results of the betting game determined by the comparison to said clients and for storing the winning results; and

a database being configured for at least storing registration information, bets and the winning results.

2. The computer-implemented system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a web site being configured to be hosted by said server through which said clients and said server communicate.

3. The computer-implemented system as recited in claim 1, in which said server is further configured to send to said clients the determined amount of number in which the determined amount is determined by an operator of said server.

4. The computer-implemented system as recited in claim 1, in which said server is further configured to send to said clients the group of numbers in which the group of numbers is determined by an operator of said server.

5. The computer-implemented system as recited in claim 1, in which said server is further configured to only accept bets for the betting game during a period of time.

6. The computer-implemented system as recited in claim 5, in which the period of time ends after a determined number of bets have been received.

7. The computer-implemented system as recited in claim 5, in which the period of time ends after a determined time period.

8. The computer-implemented system as recited in claim 1, in which said server is further configured to message users winning the betting game.

9. The computer-implemented system as recited in claim 1, in which said server is further configured to send to a client a registered user's accumulated results of past betting games.

10. The computer-implemented system as recited in claim 1, in which each bet further comprises a monetary value.

11. A computer-implemented system comprising:

means for obtaining registration information from users for an on-line betting game and for obtaining bets from registered users for the betting game in which each bet at least comprises a user choosing a determined amount of numbers chosen from a group of numbers in which the user bets the chosen numbers will be the least chosen by other betting users;

means for receiving the registration information and bets from registered users, said receiving means being further configured for determining a placement of the numbers within the group of numbers for the betting game in which a first place number is the number least chosen by betting users and a last place number is the number most chosen by betting users, said receiving means being further configured for determining winning users for the betting game by comparing the bets to the placement of the numbers, said receiving means being further configured for sending winning results of the betting game determined by the comparison to said obtaining means;

means for connecting said obtaining means and said receiving means; and

means for at least storing registration information, bets and the winning results.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium with an executable program stored thereon, wherein the program instructs a processor to perform the following steps of:

obtaining registration information from users for an on-line betting game;

obtaining bets from registered users for the betting game in which each bet at least comprises a user choosing a determined amount of numbers chosen from a group of numbers in which the user bets the chosen numbers will be the least chosen by other betting users in which a server executing a computer-executable program is configured for receiving and storing the registration information and bets from registered users, the server being further configured for determining a placement of the numbers within the group of numbers for the betting game in which a first place number is the number least chosen by betting users and a last place number is the number most chosen by betting users, the server being further configured for determining winning users for the betting game by comparing the bets to the placement of the numbers; and

displaying winning results of the betting game determined by the comparison.

13. The program instructing the processor as recited in claim 12, further comprising the step of connecting to a web site for playing an on-line betting game.

14. The program instructing the processor as recited in claim 12, further comprising the step of receiving a determined amount of numbers in which the determined amount is determined by an operator of the on-line betting game.

15. The program instructing the processor as recited in claim 12, further comprising the step of receiving a group of numbers in which the group of numbers is determined by an operator of the on-line betting game.

16. The program instructing the processor as recited in claim 12, in which the server is further configured to only accept bets for the betting game during a period of time.

17. The program instructing the processor as recited in claim 16, in which the period of time ends after a determined number of bets have been received.

18. The program instructing the processor as recited in claim 16, in which the period of time ends after a determined time period.

19. The program instructing the processor as recited in claim 12, in which said server is further configured to message users winning the betting game.

20. The program instructing the processor as recited in claim 12, further comprising the step of receiving accumulated results of past betting games.