WO2000022908A2

WO2000022908A2 - Method, system and business model for performing electronic betting

Info

Publication number: WO2000022908A2
Application number: PCT/FI2000/000061
Authority: WO
Inventors: Björn KIVIMÄKI
Original assignee: Oy Prikatti Ab
Priority date: 1999-12-10
Filing date: 2000-01-28
Publication date: 2000-04-27
Also published as: WO2000022908A3

Abstract

The present invention relates generally to a method, a system and a business model for performing electronic betting. The betting may concern e.g. races, matches or casino games. The present invention relates more particularly to implementing online betting with telecommunications media and to measures for making their use easier for an average user. One idea of the present invention is providing a betting system where the betting event is transferred to potential bettors via an electronic mass media such as television, and the betting management system supplies information on the betting objects and betting parameters advantageously also on mass media or by transmitting digital group messages to potential bettors. The user can advantageously make bets using short message service of a mobile communications system (214, 250, 260, 262, 280, 290). This enables to create an entertaining program with online betting. The user of the betting service does not need to have a continuous telephone connection to the service provider. The user does neither need to make specific agreements with the service provider or a bank for the betting payments and rewards in order to use the betting service.

Description

METHOD, SYSTEM AND BUSINESS MODEL FOR PERFORMING ELECTRONIC BETTING

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a method, a system and a business model for performing electronic betting. The betting may concern e.g. races, matches or casino games. The present invention relates more particularly to implementing online betting with telecommunications media.

Background of the invention

It is well known to arrange betting in e.g. horse races where the audience of the race can make bets prior to a race. However, it may take much time to travel to the races, and it also requires a lot of effort to go to the betting booth, que up and make a bet. In order to be able to betting at home, also electronic betting services have been developed.

In an Internet-based electronic betting system bets are usually guaranteed by agreements or the bettors may have, for example, a general-purpose account, such as a credit or debit account for paying the bets during the betting. The bettor must therefore have an agreement with a bank and the betting service provider for the payment of bets.

Figure 1 illustrates a prior art betting management system 100 for receiving and processing bets from one or more bettors 130 and 140. The betting management system 100 processes each received bet to determine whether the bets can be accepted. There is usually one betting service provider that runs the betting management system, but there may also be several service providers 150, 160 in one betting management system. If a betting service provider accepts a given bet, the betting management system 100 binds the bettor to form a legally binding bet contract.

The bets may be guaranteed, for example, using a general purpose account, such as a credit or debit account, maintained by an issuing bank, such as issuing bank 170 and 180. The conditions specified in a bet may also include, for example, a description of the bet. If the bet is successful, a reward is payed to the bettor. For this purpose there is a further contract between the bettor and the betting service provider 150, 160 for binding the service provider to pay the reward to the bettors bank account 170, 180.

As shown in FIG. 1, the CPO management system 100 includes a central controller 190 for processing the information in a manner described above.

Each bettor contacts the betting management system 100, for example, by means of telephone line, in-person contact or through an agent, and provides the betting management system 100 with the terms of their bets. Each bettor may employ a general-purpose computer, for communicating with the betting management system 100. The general-purpose computer of each bettor is usually comprised of a processing unit, a modem, memory means and any software required to communicate with the betting management system 100.

There are certain drawbacks related with the described prior art solutions to implement an electronic betting. The communication between the betting management system and the user is carried out via a telephone line. The user may have a computer with a modem, and the user makes a call to the betting service provider. In order to get information on the betting objects and parameters, and in order to make bets, the user needs to have a continuous telephone connection to the betting management system. A continuous connection thus causes high expenses to the user. It also takes a lot of time for the user to follow the event/1, etting, and if the communication is made with the user's computer, the user has to stay by the computer for long periods. One solution could be using mobile teraiinals with wireless modems. However, this only makes it possible to follow the betting in different places, but the user still has to stay by the computer for long periods. The wireless data connections also tend to be even more expensive than data connections on a fixed telephone line. One possibility could also be to make short connections every now and then, but the drawback with this solution is that the right instant to make a bet may be missed.

Another drawback with the electronic betting services in the Internet is that their use is often not pleasant for all users. Even if the Internet services have gained popularity, many people do not find attractive to communicate with a computer system for long periods. A further problem is related to athentication of a bettor. Since the user may make binding bets through this telephone connection, there must be an authentication procedure before accepting the user to the electronic betting service. Before this kind of an authentication procedure is possible, there must be an agreement between the user and the electronic betting provider, and the electronic betting provider must give security codes for establishing the connections. A further problem with the prior art solutions is that one needs to have a payment agreement with the betting service provider and a bank as described above. Therefore it may be too troublesome for ordinary potential users to try and start using the betting services.

Summary of the Invention

The objective of the present invention is to create a solution for providing bettings wherein the above mentioned problems of the prior art solutions are reduced or avoided.

One idea of the present invention is providing an electronic betting system where information on the betting objects is transferred to potential bettors via an electronic group or mass media such as television. The betting management system advantageously comprises a display screen for the audience for showing said information on the betting objects. The information is preferably also broadcasted on a mass media such as television, or a group media such as mobile telecommunications system. This enables to create an entertaining program, where there is provided real time information for the betting information. "Electronic mass media" means here communications where a certain program is broadcasted to several receivers of the electronic broadcasting channel. The electronic mass media is advantageously one transferring moving video image such as television. Electronic group media means here communications, where a certain information is transmitted substantially simultaneously to a group of receivers. A group media can be e.g. a transmission of short messages to a group of mobile stations. A group media is here a subset of mass media.

Further, according to the invention, the communication for making bet orders from the user to the betting management system is accomplished by sending digital messages with some user dedicated communications. "A user dedicated communication" means here electronic communications where the receiving betting management system can identify the customer or subscriber sending the message. This communication may be preferably a short message service (SMS) of a mobile communications system, or it can be e.g. an authenticated Internet connection, email, etc. Short messages can be transferred from a mobile phone to the mobile communications center in order to transmit bet orders, and also short messages from the mobile communications center to the mobile phone can be used for acknowledging the bet orders. The communication between the mobile center and the betting management system can also be based on short messages, or some other type of data connection.

A short message service means in this context a service of transferring digital data messages without creating a continuous point-to-point connection. A short message service is available in new digital mobile communication systems. An example of such a system is the GSM (Global System for Mobile communications).

The inventive solution has several advantages over the prior art solutions. The event can be made a very entertaining online program using electronic mass media, and the viewers can have an immediate access to the betting. The user is able to view the event and take part in betting wherever there is the concerned TV channel available and where there is a mobile communications system coverage. Therefore a single betting service provider can arrange the betting in the context of an alive TV program in any country where the program is visible and where there is a mobile communication coverage. A user does not need to make a continuous data connection to the betting management system. The user can also get instant information on a possible acceptance of a user's bet order. And if the user wishes to make a new bet order, the user can send in real time a short message with the required bet order information. There is no need to make a new data transfer connection involving possible unsuccessful attempts causing a harmful delay in transmitting the order.

A further advantage with the present invention is that the payment of the bet can be confirmed by a mobile system operator. When an order is made with a short message, the mobile system operator and the betting service provider gets the phone number of the subscriber connection where the short message has been sent from. This is confirmed information on the subscriber and can therefore be used for confirming the bettor. The payment can be added in the subscriber's telephone bill or the betting service provider can use the subscriber information for sending an invoice to the bettor. Therefore there is no need for separate payment agreements between a user, the betting service provider and a bank. The only agreement that may be needed is an agreement between the betting service provider and a mobile system operator for transaction of the payments. The user can therefore start trying and using the betting service without any additional agreements. This is important for getting the large numbers of television viewers to attend to the betting.

The present invention concerns also a business model for arranging betting in the described manner.

The betting may for example concern results of matches, races or games. As the invention provides a solution for a real time betting, it is can also be used for betting on things that may happen with a very short time interval. For example, betting object may be "who makes the next goal in the hockey match". And the betting choices may then cover all players or the most probable ones. The evens may be predetermined according to e.g. historical number of goals of each player. Or the evens may be determined by the distribution of bets. Another possible objects for bets may be:

- How long does it take to change a tyre in a Formula race for a determined driver?

- What is the number of goals in a football match on a certain time instant?

- Who gets the next penalty in an icehockey match?

The characterising features of the present invention are as follows:

A method for performing electronic betting on an event, comprising the steps of: providing several potential bettors with information on a betting object; obtaining a bet order from a potential bettor; transferring the information on the bet order from the potential bettor to a betting management system; providing an acceptance of said bet order; wherein the step of transferring the information on the bet order from the potential bettor to the system is provided with a digital message on user dedicated communications, and A system for performing electronic betting, comprising: means for providing at least one potential bettor with information on a product in sale; means for obtaining a bet order from a potential bettor; means for receiving the information on the bet order from the potential bettor to a betting management system; means for providing an acceptance of said bet order; wherein the means for receiving the information on the bet order from the potential bettor to the system is means for receiving a digital message on user dedicated communications, and the potential bettors are provided with information on a product in sale using electronic group media or mass media.

A business model for performing betting using telecommunications media, comprising the steps of: providing several potential bettors with information on a betting object; obtaining a bet order from a potential bettor; transferring the information on the bet order from the potential bettor to a betting management system; providing an acceptance of said bet order; wherein the step of transferring the information on the bet order from the potential bettor to the system is provided with a digital message on user dedicated communications, and the potential bettors are provided with information on a betting object using electronic group / mass media.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in the dependent claims.

A more complete understanding of the present invention, as well as further features and advantages of the present invention, will be obtained by reference to the following detailed description and drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a prior art electronic betting management system; FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplary electronic betting system according to the invention; and

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram for an exemplary method for providing electronic betting according to the invention until the acceptance of a bet order,

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram for an exemplary method for providing electronic betting according to the invention starting from the acceptance of a bet order,

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a short message for transmitting a bet order according to the invention, and

Detailed Description

Figure 1 was described in the prior art section of the specification.

Figure 2 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a betting arrangement in accordance with the invention. The event is in this exemplary case a car race. The race is imaged with a TV/video camera 205, and the race is further broadcasted, 206, 209, on an electronic mass media such as television channel 208 as a live program. There may also be audience present in the race. There is a large display screen 202 on the race where there may be information on the situation in the race as well as information on possible betting objects and evens. The display screen is controlled by the betting management system 230, and the display can therefore give real time information on the betting. The betting information is also transmitted in a electronic group media, which is advantageously the same television channel where the live event is broadcasted. The betting information can be shown as text which is added on the video signal to be broadcasted. If the text is added directly to on the broadcasted images, the text is visible for all the viewers of the event. Another possibility is to send the betting information in a teletext service of the broadcast channel. It is then visible for those viewers who have the teletext properties in their television set and who have activated the correct text page in the television set. It is, of cource, possible to have a teletext information visible together with the program of the event. In order to have real time information on the betting, it is preferable to synchronize the transmission of the betting text pages with the changing incidents of the betting information and/or with incidents of the broadcasted live event.

It is also possible to transmit the betting information as digital messages to the mobile stations of the viewers. A group transmission of short messages can be used for this purpose. The messages can be transmitted to those viewers who have informed that they wish to take part in the betting. The bettors can enter on the active list of potential bettors by e.g. sending a short message to the betting service provider. After the bettor does no longer wish to receive the betting information from the concerned event, the bettor can send another short message indicating that the bettor is to be removed from the active list of bettors.

A person who attends to the betting may thus watch the event in the television 216, and receive the betting information 245 from a tv or from a mobile station. If the person wants to make a bet order, the order can be transmitted to the betting management system with a user dedicated communication. The exemplary betting management system may include connection ports for both Internet terminals and for mobile stations. A user 210 with an Internet terminal 212 may send orders to the electronic betting management system 230 via the Internet 240. The communication is, as in usual Internet connections, using HTTP and TCP/IP protocols. The betting management system 230 includes an MS SQL server 7 (234) and an MS IIS 4 Web server (232). The communication between the Internet terminal and the electronic betting management system can be implemented according to the prior art. The Internet use, however, commonly requires the registration of a bettor by making agreements with the service provider and a bank.

A customer 210 that attends to the betting with a mobile station 214, makes a decision on a bet order, connects to a mobile communication system and sends the order information to the betting management system with a short message.

The mobile station has a wireless signalling link to one of many base stations 262, further connected to a base station controller of the mobile communication system. A mobile communcation system generally also includes mobile switching centers that interconnect the base station controllers into a mobile communication net 260.

The mobile communication system has also registers with e.g. subscriber information. Together with these registers the operator 280 of the mobile system provides a Short Message Services Center (SMSC) for storing and conveying the short messages. The short messages are further transferred 290 between the mobile communication system and the electronic betting management system 230. The transfer can take place via the Internet 240 or some other communication link. The information may be transferred between the mobile communication system and the electronic betting management system in the form of short messages, or in some other form.

After the bet order has reached tha betting management system, and the bet order has been registered and accepted, a betting management system may send an acknowledgement message to the concerned bettor indicating that the bet has been received and approved (or disapproved). The acknowledgement message can be transmitted with the same data transfer means as the bet order. The acknowledgement message can therefore be advantageously a short message.

It is clear that the electronic betting management system may comprise communication ports for many mobile communications systems that are provided by different operators. These mobile communications systems may also have different communications standards such as GSM, GPRS or UMTS. Most digital mobile communications systems provide a short message service that is based on short messages that are transferred in the form of signalling without forming a continuous call connection.

The subscriber registers of a mobile communications system include information on accumulated value of calls for billing the subscribers. Except calls, the accumulated values may include payments also for other services or products. A user of a mobile phone can thus buy services or products by calling to a certain telephone number, and the price of the call then includes the price of the bought product. The provider of the electronic betting services may therefore have an agreement with the mobile system operator according to which the payments of the bets are added to the accumulated value of calls/messages of the subscriber. Even if the payments are not directed through the mobile communications system operator, the betting service provider can use the information of the short message to authenticate the sender of the message and use it in a direct billing procedure.

The functional units in Figure 2 are not explained in more detail, as they can be designed by a person skilled in the art using this description of the basic inventive idea. Also functional details as described with Figure 1 can be applied. One should also note that the "electronic betting management system" may in the simpliest form be just a receiver device for receiving digital messages and showing the orders for the personnel of the betting provider. The betting transactions can then be approved manually, if this is desirable.

Figure 3 illustrates a flow diagram of an examplary method 300 for providing betting according to the invention. The event is preferably video imaged with e.g. a television camera, and the program is broadcast on an electronic mass media, such as television channel. First in step 310 the betting service provider determines a betting object and possible choices for betting. The betting service provider may also detemiine an evens for each choise for betting. The evens means a factor by which the bet stake is multiplied for a reward, if the bet is successful. This is convenient for a bettor, because the bettor knows in advance what the evens is. However, informing a fixed evens means that the betting service provider carries a risk on the betting. Another possibility is to determine the evens according to the amounts of bets for different choices. If the evens is thus calculated, the betting service provider can take a certain percentage of the betting turnover as a profit and does not need to carry a monetary risk for deterrrύning the evens parameters.

After the betting object and choices have been determined, the betting management system may enter the information on the betting object, on a display screen for the audience, step 320. This information may include a betting objects, choices, evens and bet prices. The betting information is also transmitted to other potential bettors by wireless transmission, step 330. The information can be included in the mass media program showing the event, or the information can be sent in group messages to those mobile stations that have entered in a list of active bettors, or that are near to the location where the event takes place. This way the information on the betting is broadcasted to the viewers of the event.

If a viewer wants to take part in the betting a user of a mobile station may, for example, send an initial short message to the betting management system informing that the user wants to take part in the betting (this step is not shown in the flow diagram). After receiving this initial message, the betting management system enters the mobile station identity information in said list. It is also possible that no registration of a user is required. When a potential bettor sees information on betting objects, the bettor evaluates whether a bet order should be made, step 340. If the viewer does not find the product information attractive, step 350, the viewer may remain waiting e.g. for changes in the event, in the betting object, in the betting choices or in the evens for the choices, step 352. When the betting situation changes, steps 354, 310, the same steps as described above are repeated.

When the bettor then decides to make a bet order the bettor writes a short message according to a determined form that includes information on the bet, step 360. If there is just one choice for betting, or if different choices have different telephone numbers for sending a bet order, it may be unnecessary to identify the choice in the short message for the order. The short message is then transmitted from the bettor's mobile station to the betting management system. The information of the short message is then read and stored in the register of the betting management system. It is also possible to use other ways to send a digital message including the order information, such as the Internet.

After the bettor has transmitted an order to the betting management system, it may happen that the bet is not accepted, step 390. This may happen for example, because the bet order was received too late or because the predetermined evens has changed and/or does not match with the evans required by the bettor. In such a case an acknowledgement message is transmitted to the bettor informing that the bet was not accepted, step 395. Then the bettor has to make a new evaluation and decision on whether to make a next bet order or not, step 340.

If the bet order matches with the bet object information and parameters of the betting management system, a decision can be made that the bettor's order is accepted. The decision can be made by the betting management system on other predetermined conditions. If all the betting parameters are given by the system, the betting management system may wait for bet orders until a determined time instant, and accept the orders that have been received until the determined time instant. If the bettor can give a desired choice and evens, the system may compare the betting parameters of the bet order and the system, and the decision can be made based on this comparison.

Figure 4 illustrates a flow diagram on steps after the acceptance of the order in the method of Fig. 3. After the betting management system has accepted the order, the corresponding bettor is informed on the acceptance with an acknowledgement message. One possibility is to give the information on the acceptances of bets via the mass media. However, there may be a need to transmit an acceptance message to the bettor the receipt of which can be confirmed. The message can be transferred by e.g. a short message or via the Internet/email. In the method of Figure 4 the betting management system forms a short message with the information on acceptance of the bet order, step 410. The betting management system then transmits the short message to the mobile station of the bettor thus indicating that the order has been accepted, step 420.

It is important that there is a way for binding the bettor with the accepted order to pay the bet. The betting service provider may identify the bettor's payment and banking information based on the short message that included the accepted order. The short message usually includes the telephone number of the subscribers mobile station. The betting service provider may get the name and address of the subscriber from the operator of the mobile communications system or the betting service provider may have its own list of subsciber information.

Since the short message from the bettor includes a certified telephone number of the subcriber, it is possible to carry out the billing procedure, step 440. If the bet of the bettor has been successful, step 450, the betting management system pays a reward for the bettor, step 460. The reward can be payed according to the telephone subscriber information of the bettor via the telephone operator or a mail transfer. It is also possible that the bettor informs a bank account to the betting service provider for the payment of rewards. This can be informed e.g. by sending a short message to the betting management system, the short message including the bank account number. The betting management system can then identifies the sender of the short message and interpret the information of the short message to mean the bank account for rewards. There may be a separate telephone number for informing the bank account numbers for the betting service provider. A advantage in using short messages for iriforming the bettor's bank account is that there is no need to make any special agreements for paying the rewards.

Figure 5 illustrates an example on a short message that can be used for transmitting an order to the betting management system according to the invention. The short message comprises a first identifier field 510 for identifying the object for the bet, such as "FI winner". The short message further comprises a second identifier field 530 for identifying the choice for the bet, such as "Mika Hakkinen". This identifier field may not be needed, if there is just one choice available for betting at any time and/or choice that the order is made for. This identifier fields 510 and/or 530 may also not be needed, if the different objects/choices are separated by different telephone numbers for transmitting the bet order. The object and choice may also have a common identifier.

A third identifier field 550 includes the monetary amount that is made for the bet. This identifier field may not be needed, if the bets are made with a fixed price. A third identifier field 570 includes information for authenticating the bettor. This identifier field may not be needed, if the bettor making the order is identified in some other way, such as the subscriber identifier that is transmitted together with the short message data. It is also possible to use more than one method for authenticating the user in order to achieve a high degree of security.

The identifier fields are separated with separating characters 520, 540 and 560. In this example the separating character is ":". The separating character can be any predetermined character or it may consist of more than one successive characters. The short message in this example has a maximum length of 160 characters. Usually all this data space is not needed for the order data, so there is unused data space in the short message, 560. There may also be other ways to recognize the identifier fields of the short message than using separating characters. One alternative possibility is to use predetermined locations for the different identifier fields in the short message. However, this solution is more difficult for the user because one would need to check that all the input data is in its correct place in the short message.

One should further note that a very simple way of realizing the inventive idea is to use different telephone numbers for different choices of bets. The advantage is that the user does not need to write betting object/choice information to a short message. The monetary value of a bet may also be fixed. The advantage of this is also that the user does not need to write bet value information to a short message. Another advantage is that the bet is then very easy to pay by just determining a corresponding price for sending a short message to the concerned telephone number. So it is possible to realise a betting system where it is not necessary to write any information to the short message of the bet order. As mentioned above, the short message usually includes, exept the user input data, also informaton that identifies the subscriber connection where the short message is transmitted from, and information on the address (telephone number) where the short message is transmitted to.

As described above, the present invention gives remarkable advantages over prior art systems for implementing an electronic betting. When group/mass media is used in informing the user about the betting objects, choices and evens, the user gets the information instantly without any need to keep continuous telephone connection to the betting management system.

If short messages are used in making bet orders, the user can make a bet quickly without any need to make a telephone connection and authentication procedures. The user does not need to make special agreements with banks or the betting service provider in order to start using the betting service. The user can attend to the betting wherever the user's mobile phone is serviced. The user does not need to have a phone with Internet connection capabilities, and neither does the mobile communications system need to have a capability to provide Internet services.

It is to be understood that the embodiments and variations shown and described herein are merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and that various modifications may be implemented by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Especially, it is to be understood that the present invention is not in any way restricted to the mentioned communications systems. For example, the mass media for broadcasting the event may be, except television channel, e.g. radio, the Internet or a broadcast channel of a mobile communications system. The idea of using short messages in making bet orders is not either restricted to the mentioned mobile communications systems, but it can be applied to any digital communications system with the ability to transfer short messages or similar digital messages. The invention is not either restricted for the use in sports or similar events; the invention can as well be applied in e.g. different alive television shows or in playing casino games with a TV for showing the game and a mobile station making bets.

Claims

1. A method for performing electronic betting on an event, comprising the steps of: providing several potential bettors with information on a betting object; obtaining a bet order from a potential bettor; transferring the information on the bet order from the potential bettor to a betting management system; providing an acceptance of said bet order; wherein the step of ttansferring the information on the bet order from the potential bettor to the system is provided with a digital message on user dedicated communications, and the potential bettors are provided with said information on the betting object using group or mass transmission media.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the user dedicated communications is short message service of a mobile telecommunications system.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the step of ttansferring the information on the bet order from the potential bettor to the system comprises the steps of: forming a short message including information on a new order of the potential bettor; transferring said short message from the bettor to the system; and reading said information from said short message for determining the betting order of said potential bettor.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the user dedicated communications is the Internet.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein said information on a new bet order of the potential bettor includes at least one of the following information:

- betting object,

- bet choice, - a betting parameter,

- monetary amount of the bet, and

- bettor identifier.

6. A method according to claim 5, further comprising the step of initiating a payment of said bet, and the use of said bettor identifier to collect funds from said bettor.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the information on the betting object comprises at least one of the following information:

- the betting object,

- betting choices,

- possible monetary amounts of the bets, and - telephone number(s) for sending the bet orders.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the group/mass media is television communications.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the information on the betting object is transferred via the text television service.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the event is distributed on a live broadcast on a mass media, such as television communications.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the information on the betting object is transmitted on the same media on which the event is distributed.

12. A method according to claim 10, wherein the information on the betting object is transferred via the teletext service using the same television channel as the distribution of the event.

13. A method according to claim 1, wherein information on betting and information on the current evens for a bet are shown on a display screen of the betting management system.

14. A method according to claim 1, wherein said betting object concerns a race, a match or a casino game.

15. A method according to claim 1, wherein the acceptance of the bet order is based on obtaining the bet no later than on a determined point of time.

16. A method according to claim 1, wherein the acceptance of the bet order is based on comparing the evens parameter of the bet order and the evens parameter of the betting management system at the instant of obtaining the bet order.

17. A method according to claim 3, wherein the bet order identifiers of the short message are recognised based on at least one separating character between two identifier fields.

18. A method according to claim 2, wherein the payment of the bet is conveyed via a mobile system operator.

19. A method according to claim 2, wherein the bettor is identified on basis of an identifier of a subscriber connection in the mobile system, and said identifier is received from the mobile communications system within the short message.

20. A method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of transferring an initial short message from a mobile station to the betting management system and storing the mobile station identity information on a list of subscribers that take part in the betting.

21. A method according to claim 20, further comprising a step of transferring a termination short message from a mobile station to the betting management system and removing the mobile station identity information from the list of subscribers that take part in the betting.

22. A method according to claim 1, wherein the acceptance or non-acceptance of a bet order is informed to the corresponding bettor with a short message.

23. A method according to claim 1, wherein the acceptance of a bet order is informed with the mass media communications.

24. A system for performing electronic betting, comprising: means for providing at least one potential bettor with information on a product in sale; means for obtaining a bet order from a potential bettor; means for receiving the information on the bet order from the potential bettor to a betting management system; means for providing an acceptance of said bet order; wherein the means for receiving the information on the bet order from the potential bettor to the system is means for receiving a digital message on user dedicated communications, and the potential bettors are provided with information on a product in sale using electronic group media or mass media.

25. A system according to claim 24, wherein the user dedicated communications is short message service of a mobile telecommunications system, and the system comprises one or more communications ports to receive short messages.

26. A system according to claim 25, wherein the means for receiving the information on the bet order from the potential bettor to the system comprises: means for receiving a short message from the potential bettor to the system; and means for reading information on a new bet order of the potential bettor from said short message.

27. A system according to claim 24, wherein the user dedicated communications is the Internet and the system comprises one or more communications ports to receive a bet order via the Internet.

28. A system according to claim 24, wherein said information on a new bet order of the potential bettor includes at least one of the following information: - betting object,

- bet choice,

- a betting parameter,

- monetary amount of the bet, and

- bettor identifier.

29. A system according to claim 28, further comprising means for initiating a payment of said bet, and the use of said bettor identifier to collect funds from said bettor.

30. A system according to claim 24, wherein the information on the betting object comprises at least one of the following information:

- the betting object, - betting choices,

- possible monetary amounts of the bets, and

- telephone number(s) for sending the bet orders.

31. A system according to claim 24, wherein the group / mass media is television communications.

32. A system according to claim 24, comprising a display screen for showing information on the betting objects for the audience of the event.

33. A system according to claim 24, wherein said betting object concerns a race, match or a casino game.

34. A system according to claim 24, comprising means for the acceptance of the bet order based on obtaining the bet latest on a determined point of time.

35. A system according to claim 24, comprising means for the acceptance of the bet order based on comparing the evens parameter of the bet order and the evens parameter of the betting management system at the instant of obtaining the bet order.

36. A system according to claim 25, comprising means for recognising the bet order identifiers of the short message based on at least one separating character between two identifier fields.

37. A system according to claim 25, comprising means for conveying the payment . of the bet via the mobile system operator.

38. A system according to claim 25, comprising means for identifying the bettor on basis of an identifier of a subscriber connection in the mobile system received from the mobile communications system within the short message.

39. A system according to claim 24, further comprising means for ttansferring an initial short message from a mobile station to the betting management system and means for storing the mobile station identity information on a list of subscribers that take part in the betting.

40. A system according to claim 39, further comprising means for transferring a termination short message from a mobile station to the betting management system and means for removing the mobile station identity information from the list of subscribers that take part in the betting.

41. A system according to claim 24, comprising means informing on the acceptance of a bet order to the corresponding bettor with a short message.

42. A system according to claim 24, comprising means for informing the acceptance of a bet order with the electronic mass media communications.

43. A business model for performing betting using telecommunications media, comprising the steps of: providing several potential bettors with information on a betting object; obtaining a bet order from a potential bettor; transferring the information on the bet order from the potential bettor to a betting management system; providing an acceptance of said bet order; wherein the step of transferring the information on the bet order from the potential bettor to the system is provided with a digital message on user dedicated communications, and the potential bettors are provided with information on a betting object using electronic group / mass media.

44. A business model according to claim 43, wherein the user dedicated communications is short message service of a mobile telecommunications system.

45. A business model according to claim 43, wherein the group/mass media is television communications and the event is shown in a television program.

46. A business model according to claim 43, wherein the betting object concerns an event with an audience, and the information on the betting object is displayed on a display screen which is visible for the audience of the event.