WO2012162838A1

WO2012162838A1 - Virtual betting game performance metrics

Info

Publication number: WO2012162838A1
Application number: PCT/CA2012/050366
Authority: WO
Inventors: Louis-Philippe Lussier; Cameron Adams; Eric Roy; George Rassias; Jason Lam; Ken Schulzke; Serge Roy; Todd Heintz; Dan BEEBE; Jason CHOW
Original assignee: Interprovincial Lottery Corporation
Priority date: 2011-06-02
Filing date: 2012-06-01
Publication date: 2012-12-06

Abstract

There is described herein a virtual betting game where performance is tied to features other than amounts of money won. Performance may be measured using a metric directly related to how accurate the selected bets are, independently of how much money is wagered on each selected bet. In addition, individual and/or group achievements are set-out and highlighted when accomplished. The virtual betting game may be presented in a manner similar to a traditional video game, whereby trophies or medals may be obtained, and whereby performance allows a player to advance in the game on a level-by- level basis.

Description

VIRTUAL BETTING GAME PERFORMANCE METRICS

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001 ] The present application claims priority under 35 USC 1 19(e) of United States Provisional Patent Application No. 61/492,704, filed on June 2, 201 1 , the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present invention relates to the field of betting games, such as for sports, and more particularly, to virtual betting games integrating more traditional gaming components and providing performance metrics independent of a total amount of winnings.

BACKGROUND OF THE ART

[0003] Sports betting is a very popular activity in many countries around the world. Some of the various professional sports for which betting occurs are basketball, football, baseball, soccer, hockey, and golf. Some less traditional sports for which better occurs are, for example, bowling, curling, darts, billiards, and various races or competitions involving animals.

[0004] Betting is now regularly performed online via various online betting platforms or websites. The online component to betting opens up the possibilities for integration with more traditional aspects of gaming, and with the emerging world of online social networks.

SUMMARY

[0005] There is described herein a virtual betting game application where performance is tied to features other than amounts of money won. Performance may be measured using a metric directly related to how accurate the selected bets are, independently of how much money is wagered on each selected bet. In addition, individual and/or group achievements are set-out and highlighted when accomplished. The virtual betting game may be presented in a manner similar to a traditional video game, whereby trophies or medals may be obtained, and whereby performance allows a player to advance in the game on a level-by-level basis.

[0006] In accordance with a first broad aspect, there is provided a virtual betting game system comprising a processor in a computer system, a memory accessible by the processor, and at least one application stored in the memory and having program code executable by the processor. The program code is executable for: receiving at least one virtual bet slip for placing wagers on at least one event, each virtual bet slip having at least one selected bet thereon and being associated with at least one player profile; tracking the at least one event in real time to monitor an outcome thereof; tagging each selected bet on the at least one virtual bet slip as one of winning and losing in accordance with the outcome of the event; allocating points to the player profile as a function of a performance during the event using a performance metric related to an ability to select a winning bet independent of an amount of winnings for the at least one virtual bet slip; and ranking the player profile compared to other player profiles using the points allocated based on the performance metric.

[0007] In accordance with a second broad aspect, there is provided a computer- implemented method for providing a virtual betting game, the method comprising: receiving at least one virtual bet slip for placing wagers on at least one event, each virtual bet slip having at least one selected bet thereon and being associated with at least one player profile; tracking the at least one event in real time to monitor an outcome thereof; tagging each selected bet on the at least one virtual bet slip as one of winning and losing in accordance with the outcome of the event; allocating points to the player profile as a function of a performance during the event using a performance metric related to an ability to select a winning bet independent of an amount of winnings for the at least one virtual bet slip; and ranking the player profile compared to other player profiles using the points allocated based on the performance metric. [0008] In accordance with a third broad aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having stored thereon program code executable by a processor for providing a virtual betting game by: receiving at least one virtual bet slip for placing wagers on at least one event, each virtual bet slip having at least one selected bet thereon and being associated with at least one player profile; tracking the at least one event in real time to monitor an outcome thereof; tagging each selected bet on the at least one virtual bet slip as one of winning and losing in accordance with the outcome of the event; allocating points to the player profile as a function of a performance during the event using a performance metric related to an ability to select a winning bet independent of an amount of winnings for the at least one virtual bet slip; and ranking the player profile compared to other player profiles using the points allocated based on the performance metric.

[0009] In the present specification, the expression "event" will be understood to mean a sporting event, a television event, a political event, or any other event that can be delimited by a start time and an end time and that has elements that unfold or occur as the event takes place. For example, a television event may be an episode of a popular sitcom, and the occurrences may be references to specific characters, actions of the characters, words spoken by the characters, etc. A political event may be an election, and the occurrences may be having specific candidates win or lose in their respective ridings. Even a weather report may be an event, whereby temperature highs and lows predicted by the weatherperson may constitute the occurrences. The expression "sporting event" will be understood to refer to any activity governed by a set of rules and engaged in competitively, either between two parties or against oneself. For example, a two party competition may be a ping-pong game, while a one-party competition may be a weight-lifting competition, where the weightlifter competes with himself in trying to lift the heaviest weights possible. The term "occurrence" will be understood to refer to any one of a sub-event, a happening, an episode, an incidence, an outcome, a result, a consequence, an upshot, or an aftermath of a given event. For example, in the case of a sporting event, an occurrence may be a final score, a fight taking place, a given team scoring first, a statistic for a given player, an overtime period, a winning team, etc. The term "bet" will be understood to mean a bet or wager made on an occurrence. The bet may or may not have a set of odds associated thereto.

[0010] A sporting event will be used in the detailed description of the present specification to illustrate some of the embodiments. However, it should be understood that the concepts described with regards to a sporting event may be extended to other events, as listed above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[001 1 ] Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in combination with the appended drawings, in which:

[0012] Fig. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of the virtual betting game application;

[0013] Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment the step of playing the virtual betting game from the flowchart of fig. 1 ;

[0014] Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of the step of selecting at least one bet from the flowchart of fig. 2;

[0015] Figs. 4a-4b are exemplary screen shots illustrating selecting a sport and selecting a game for the virtual betting game;

[0016] Figs. 5a-5c are exemplary screen shots illustrating populating a new betting slip for the virtual betting game;

[0017] Figs. 6a-6c are exemplary screen shots illustrating adding new bets to an existing betting slip for the virtual betting game; [0018] Figs. 7a-7c are exemplary screen shots illustrating winning and losing bets on betting slips;

[0019] Figs. 8a-8e are exemplary screen shots illustrating achievements, awards, and leaderboards;

[0020] Fig. 9 is a schematic illustration of a system for executing the virtual betting game, in accordance with one embodiment;

[0021 ] Fig. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary application running on the processor of the system of fig. 9;

[0022] Fig. 1 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary leaderboard module of fig. 10; and

[0023] Fig. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary player account manager for the application of fig. 10.

[0024] It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like features are identified by like reference numerals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] There is described herein a virtual betting game for playing during live events. Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary method for the virtual betting game. In a first step 102, the game is launched via a client device. If the player is a new player 104, a player account is created 106. If the player is an existing player, he or she may skip the step of creating a player account and begin playing the virtual betting game 108. In the case of a win 1 10, winnings are collected by the player 1 12. If the game does not result in a win for the player, the player may play again 1 14 or exit 1 16. The collected winnings may be in the form of real money or virtual money convertible to real money.

[0026] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment for playing the virtual betting game 108. In this embodiment, the player is asked to select at least one bet 202. In some embodiments, the player is required to select at least two bets while in other embodiments, this is not a requirement. This feature may depend on specific legislation of a given jurisdiction. The selected bets are provided on a virtual bet slip, as will be illustrated below. In some embodiments, a player may only have one bet slip active at a time, and the bet slip may contain any number of bets. In another embodiment, the player may have multiple bet slips active at a time and each bet slip is limited to a given number of bets. Many configurations for bet slip settings are possible, including having both the number of bet slips and the number of bets per bet slip unlimited. Once the bets are selected, they are confirmed 204 and become part of the bet slip.

[0027] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment for selecting the one or more bets 202 for playing the betting game. In this embodiment, the player may first choose one or more event categories 302. For example, the event categories may be presented as sports, television, politics, and weather. For each category, the player may then select one or more events 304. In some embodiments, the actual event selection is preceded by another level of selection, whereby the event category may have sub-categories. For example, if the category is sports, a first set of sub-categories may be hockey, baseball, football, and basketball. Once a sub-category is selected, a second set of subcategories may be presented, such as a listing of teams forming the league in the sport that has been selected. For example, Once the player has selected baseball as a sport, he may be asked to choose from the Mets, the Yankees, the Red Sox, and the Braves. Once all sub-categories have been presented, the player may then select from a list of events for the specific category selected 304. For example, If the player has chosen the Yankees, a list of upcoming Yankees games is presented to the player and he selects at least one game on which he wishes to place a wager. From this one game, the player will select at least one bet to add to a betting slip 306. [0028] As indicated above, the betting slip may contain bets from many different events, corresponding to many different categories and/or sub-categories. Alternatively, each betting slip may correspond to one event, or to one subcategory of events, or to one category of events. The player may be asked to choose all of the events he would like to place wagers for and then be shown in one listing all of the bets available for all of the events. Alternatively, the player may be asked to choose a single event, presented bets for that single event, and then asked whether he would like to choose another event. Figure 4a is a screen shot illustrating an exemplary listing of sports leagues from the category of sporting events. Figure 4b illustrates all events for the NHL Hockey subcategory.

[0029] A player may create a new bet slip or add bets to an existing bet slip. Figures 5a to 5c illustrate the process of creating a new bet slip. In figure 5a, an empty bet slip is illustrated. The heading "Canucks at Calgary" indicates that the event selected by the player is an NHL hockey game between the Vancouver Canucks and the Calgary Flames. By selecting the "Props" tab, the player is presented with all of the available bets for the selected event, as illustrated in figure 5b.

[0030] In the present example, the bets are in the form of a question or statement, whereby the answer or outcome is one of the two teams competing against each other. The odds associated with each team are displayed next to each statement. An alternative way to present the bets may be to include the outcome directly in the statement, such as "Van wins" and have the odds for that outcome presented next to that statement. Another bet of "Cal wins" and its accompanying odds would then be presented as a separate bet.

[0031 ] In another alternative embodiment, the statements and/or answers may be represented by symbols, logos, or numbers. For example, a statement may be the following image:

[0032] indicating that the statement is "Winner?" and the answer may be a logo of one of the two teams competing in the event. In another embodiment, the entire bet may be represented by a single statement that incorporates the answer, or that implies the answer. For example, "Van wins", or "Van wins?" with an implied answer being "yes".

[0033] In some embodiments, more than one bet slip is displayed at once, while in other embodiments, the player may change the display from one bet slip to another bet slip using various input devices, such as a mouse or a touch screen. The layouts illustrated in figures 4 to 7 may be modified in a variety of ways without affecting the way the virtual betting game is played.

[0034] Figure 5c illustrates the confirming step in the process of creating a bet slip. In this embodiment, the player is asked to select how much he wishes to wager for the entire bet slip. The player may enter the amount directly or choose a wager amount from the list of predefined wager amounts. Once this information has been confirmed, a transaction is formalized and the player has purchased a bet slip. In an alternative embodiment, the player may place a wager per bet instead of per bet slip. In this embodiment, a player may choose to wager a larger amount of money on a bet in which he feels very confident, and a lower amount of money on a bet in which he feels less confident. Also alternatively, the bets themselves may be presented with predetermined wager amounts. For example, the bet of "Van wins" may automatically be associated with a 1 $ wager and therefore, by virtue of selecting it, the player has agreed to wager 1 $. The confirmation step would then consist in confirming the selections made in the previous selection step. Various other configurations for wagering are also possible. [0035] Figures 6a to 6c illustrate the process of adding new bets to an existing bet slip. In the embodiments illustrated herein, a winning bet is marked with a checkmark while a losing bet is marked with an "x" . A bet with a yet to be determined outcome is marked with a plus sign (+). These features may be presented by alternative means, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art. Figure 6a illustrates an existing bet slip having three bets already, all three bets being winning bets. A bet slip may be considered closed when all the bets listed thereon have their outcomes determined, or it may be kept opened until either the game operator decides it should be closed or the player decides to close it. In one embodiment, the bet slip is set to close after the event for which bets have been selected has ended. If the player selects the "add prop" button on the display when viewing a bet slip, he is then brought to another screen where the different bets are listed, as illustrated in figure 6b. The screen to which the player is taken may be the same one from which the bets from the existing bet slip were selected, or it may be a higher level screen asking the player to choose a category, a sub-category, an event, etc. In the example illustrated, the player is within the event of the Vancouver vs. Calgary hockey game and therefore, the other bets that may be added are selected from a list of available bets for that event.

[0036] In one embodiment, all bets for the given event are displayed to the player even after the event has started, but those that are no longer available, such as "first goal" after a first goal has been scored, are unselectable by the player. In another embodiment, only the bets that may still be selected are displayed. Figure 6c illustrates a screen that may be used for confirming the new bets added to the existing bet slip.

[0037] In some embodiments, the bets available for the players to select may be changed in real time as the event unfolds. In some cases, some possible events may only be available under special circumstances. For example, a bet of "overtime" may be offered from the very beginning, or it may only be offered if the two teams are tied with five minutes remaining in the game. The player may then be asked if he wants to add a new bet to his bet slip, the new bet having only been made available at the five minute mark of the game. A time limit is then placed on the availability of the new bet for the bet slip, and if the player does not elect to add the new bet before the time runs out, for example at 4min30s from the end of the game, the new bet is no longer available.

[0038] In another example, a penalty in a hockey game gives a team a 2:00 minute power play, which increases their chances of scoring a goal. A possible bet of "goal during PP" may be offered from the very beginning of the game, or it may be available only when an actual penalty is called. Similarly to the example of overtime, the player is given a time limit to choose whether to add the newly available bet to his existing bet slip.

[0039] In yet another example, as the game unfolds, the odds of winning and losing may vary. This variation may impact the amount of money that can be won, depending on the outcome. For example, if a team is losing 3-0 and the odds of a victory are significantly reduced, a player who chooses to add a bet for a victory by the team that is presently losing may double his possible winnings. In one embodiment, the winnings vary as the event unfolds in accordance with the changing odds. If a player adds bets after the event has begun or while the event is unfolding, then the odds available at the time the bets are selected are those that get locked in to the bet slip. Various other embodiments for determining winnings and providing bets in real time are possible and will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

[0040] Various historic views are available for the player, as shown in figures 7a-7c. Figure 7a is a historic view of a winning bet slip. In the embodiment illustrated, all bets on a given bet slip have to have a winning outcome in order for the player to win money. The three bets illustrated in figure 7a are winning bets, and the player's 5$ wager has resulted in a win of 37.43$. Figure 7b illustrates a losing bet slip. Only one of the three bets turned out to be a winning bet and therefore, the player's 2$ bet did not result in any winnings. In alternative embodiments, various settings are possible with regards to the allocation of winnings on a per bet basis.

[0041 ] Figure 7c illustrates a more comprehensive historic view. The player's betting history is displayed per bet slip. Various information may be shown in this view, such as date and time of purchase, bet outcomes, wagered amounts, winnings, etc. The player may select any individual bet slip from the view illustrated in figure 7c and be taken to the views illustrated in figures 7a and 7b, which may be more detailed for a given bet slip than that shown in figure 7c.

[0042] As illustrated in the upper right hand and left hand corners of figures 4 to 7, the player is using a given currency to make purchases. In one embodiment, the currency is actual money from the real world. Purchases are made directly with real currency from a player account. In another embodiment, the currency used to make purchases is a virtual currency embodied by credits, tokens, etc, and having an equivalent in a real world currency. The equivalent may be 1 : 1 or it may be as a function of a ratio set by the game operator. In this embodiment, the player may purchase credits in order to participate in the virtual betting game. This facilitates transactions and player account management as the transactions with real money will only occur when players purchase a given number of credits or redeem their credits for the real world currency. The purchased credits will then be used at will by the player until they run out. Credits can be repurchased at any time, whether the outstanding balance of credits in a player's account is zero or non-zero. In one embodiment, the application will illustrate at all times the balance of the player's account and the amounts that have been spent. These numbers may be provided per session, per day, per game, per week, etc. In another embodiment, the player may access a profile page having detailed information regarding remaining currency, spent currency, past transactions, and past purchases and/or redemptions of credits. [0043] Also illustrated in the upper left hand and right hand corners of figures 4 to 7 is the option to see player leaderboards. Leaderboards are used as a social component in the game by allowing a community of players to see how other players are doing and compare themselves to these other players. The leader boards may be integrated into the application or provided externally thereto, in a social network such as Facebook™ or MySpace™.

[0044] In some embodiments, players may be able to see not only the performance of other players on the leader board, but also the actual bet slips/bets being played by other players in real time. In this embodiment, players may be able to see which bets have been selected by other players. This option may be reserved for other players that are "Friends" of the player.

[0045] In some embodiments, the metric used to measure player performance is independent from the total winnings accumulated by the player. The metric may be directly related to how successful the player is in picking winning bets, regardless of whether the wager on a winning bet is 1 $ or 100$. For example, a winning bet may result in a given number of points, such as 1 , and rankings on the leader boards are determined based on accumulated points. A player who has selected 50 winning bets would then have 50 points.

[0046] In an alternative embodiment, the points are earned as a function of how many bets are winning bets from a total number of selected bets. For example, if a player has 50 winning bets out of 100 selected bets, his ranking would be lower than a player who has 50 winning bets out of 55 selected bets. In this case, the points allocation may be determined by multiplying the winning ratio of a given bet slip by a multiplier such as 100 (to remove decimals). A player having one winning bet from a three bet bet-slip would earn 0.33 * 100 = 33 points, whereas a player having two winning bets from a three bet bet-slip would earn 0.66 * 100 = 66 points. This scenario may also be modified by adding another multiplier to take into account a small number of bets per bet slip versus a large number of bets per bet slip. This would avoid the situation where, for example, a single bet bet-slip with a winning bet would result in 100 points but a ten bet bet-slip with nine winning bets would result in 90 points. The additional multiplier may be the total number of bets on the bet slip, which would give the player with an outcome of 1/1 earnings of 100 * 1 = 100 points, while the player with 9/10 would obtain earnings of 90 * 10 = 900 points. This would also encourage players to select more bets as their potential point earnings are increased.

[0047] In another alternative embodiment, the first scenario described of one point per winning bet is maintained, but with an added variable corresponding to a total number of bets over an entire betting history. Therefore, a player having 5/50 as a betting history, all bet slips confounded, would have a points standing of 5 ÷ 50 * 100 = 10 points. If this same player gets the next 15 bets right and climbs to 20/65, the points standing becomes 31 points (rounded to the nearest integer).

[0048] In yet another embodiment, players are penalized for getting bets wrong, thereby subtracting from their points total. Also alternatively, players are only rewarded with points for winning bets from winning bet slips (i.e. bet slips with only winning bets), not winning bets from losing bet slips. However, this may discourage players from having bet slips with multiple bets. By not limiting earned points for leaderboard rankings to winning bet slips, players are still being rewarded for correct choices, even if they don't satisfy the requirements for a pay-out in order to earn money.

[0049] In some embodiments, the leaderboard rankings may also include total money won. This may be used as a separate metric, also displayed for each player, or it may be used as a component of the total performance metric, thereby affecting the player's ranking. When used as a separate metric, players may choose to view leader boards in order of winnings or in order of points. When used as a component of a total performance metric, players may only view the leaderboard using the single performance metric. [0050] Figures 8a and 8b are exemplary illustrations of leaderboards for earned points using a metric other than only earned money. The leaderboards may be displayed using a variety of settings for the rankings, such as Top 10 (figure 8b), Top 25 (figure 8a), etc, showing the leaders in points earned. The rankings may also be displayed on a per event basis, a per category basis, or a per subcategory basis. In addition, the displayed rankings may be pre-configured by the game operator and/or a systems administrator, configurable by each player, or a combination thereof. For example, a player may choose to configure a leaderboard to show the top point earners for NHL hockey games, or the top point earners for NHL hockey games involving the Vancouver Canucks. This leaderboard may only be available to the player who configured it, or it may be available to those that the player allows to see it, such as "Friends" in the player's social network. Alternatively, all player-created leaderboards are available for all to see. In addition, various parameters may be used to create a leaderboard, such as day of the week combined with sporting event combined with a minimum of five bets per event. This player would therefore be able to create a leaderboard to show rankings for players who bet on Mondays for Monday Night Football™ and have at least five bets selected during the game. Other setting configurations are also possible.

[0051 ] In addition, to being a leader in earned points, players may also be rewarded for individual achievements. These achievements may be highlighted using trophies or other forms of awards given to players. Figure 8c is an exemplary screenshot of an awards viewing page, the awards being leaderboard awards or bet awards. Bet awards are individual awards that can be achieved by any player. All players may eventually be awarded such awards. Figure 8d illustrates some examples of bet awards, such as selecting a first bet, selecting a first winning bet, and selecting a fifth winning bet. These awards are related to the player's own progression in the game, similarly to a player playing a traditional video game and progressing through the different levels of the game. In this case, the levels may be represented by a bet award. What may be considered as reaching the half-way mark in a level may be one award (ex. fifth bet selection), and completing the level may be another award (ex. fifth winning bet). Other awards that are not yet achieved by the player but are within reach may also be displayed, in order to encourage the player to strive for the next award.

[0052] Leaderboard awards, as illustrated in figure 8e, relate to a player's advancement or ranking on a leaderboard. For example, an award may be won by placing in the top 10 of a leaderboard, the top 5 of a leaderboard, or first place of a leaderboard. In the example illustrated, these three awards have not yet been presented to the player, as evidenced by their "locked" aspect. When the player achieves a ranking corresponding to one of the awards, that award is "unlocked" and the player is the recipient.

[0053] Awards may be publicized or promoted in the gaming community such that other players are made aware when another player wins an award. This may be a feature set only for "Friends" of the player, or it may be set to every player in the community. Alternatively, it may also be set to any sub-group of players as defined by the game operator, system administrator, and/or the player. In some embodiments, awards may also be created or customized by the players themselves, either for their own progression in the game or for the progression of their friends. For example, a player may decide to allocate an award to a player who can obtain fifteen winning bets during one event. This award may be promoted before the event begins by the player, either within a sub-group of players or within the entire player community. A player may also choose to set his own individual awards for every 10^th winning bet. Various other configurations for player-customized awards are also possible.

[0054] The features described above are used to incorporate a significant social networking aspect to virtual betting, where the benefits of the bet are not only potential money earned but also a form of social recognition amongst the peers of a player. In addition, these features work to create a craze or a buzz around the game and attracts more players. Player engagement in the game is also increased using the awards and the leaderboards by presenting them with milestones that can be achieved by continued play, and giving an impression of progression within the game, without requiring large sums of money to be invested.

[0055] While the virtual betting game may be an individual game, it may also be played in a challenge format with other players. For example, players may consult the leaderboard and challenge other players to a "bet-off" for a given event. The challenge may be for the first to obtain a winning bet, or it may be for other tasks, such as obtaining a winning bet slip, obtaining the most winning bets for a given event, etc. The winnings for such challenges may be different than those allocated for a more traditional single-player game. In some embodiments, players may choose to wager a given amount for a challenge, whereby each player provides part or all of the given amount and the winning player collects the pot. In other embodiments, certain challenges are pre-set with wagers and/or jackpots.

[0056] In some embodiments, a virtual bet slip may be purchased and gifted to another player. The giftee may be selected from a list of friends, other players, group members, or any other variation. For example, a person not yet a player in the virtual betting game may be invited to join the game by receiving a gift from an existing player. The player may choose to gift a pre-configured bet slip (i.e. pre-selected bets) or an empty bet slip with a set wager amount capable of receiving a given number of bets (for example 3). The bet slip is then sent to the giftee.

[0057] The player may access information regarding past and present gift recipients. This information may indicate whether each person in the list has already been the recipient of a gift, either by the present gifter or by another player. This information may also indicate whether a gifted bet slip has ever turned out to be a winning bet slip, or included winning bets. Details of a gift sent may also be provided. Any gift information may be provided, such as a list of gift recipients, bet slips for each recipient, event dates, and results. Winnings for past gifted bet slips may be displayed. In some embodiments, winning bets selected for a gifted bet slip may also be taken into consideration for earned points and rankings on leaderboards. In addition, special consideration may be given to gifted winning bets, thereby increasing the number of points earned for such a winning bet.

[0058] In some embodiments, an entire bet slip is gifted, with the gifter not retaining any rights to winnings resulting from the gifted bet slip. In other embodiments, a portion of the winnings resulting from a gifted bet slip may remain with the gifter. For example, the gifter may choose to split the bet slip 50-50, 40-60, 18-82, 37-63, etc. These options may be pre-set by the game operator and/or a system administrator, or free of choice for the player. Whatever the conditions of the gift, they are recorded before an event involving any of the bets on the bet slip and applied in the case of a winning bet/bet slip.

[0059] Referring to figure 9, there is illustrated a system for executing the virtual betting game. One or more server(s) are provided remotely and accessible via a network 908. For example, a series of servers corresponding to a web server, an application server, and a database server may be used. These servers are all represented by server 900 in figure 9. The server 900 is accessed by a client device 910, such as a telephone, a computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an iphone™, etc, via any type of network 408, such as the Internet, the Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN), a cellular network, or others known to those skilled in the art.

[0060] The server 900 comprises, amongst other things, a plurality of applications 906a ... 906n running on a processor 904, the processor being coupled to a memory 902. It should be understood that while the applications 906a ... 906n presented herein are illustrated and described as separate entities, they may be combined or separated in a variety of ways. [0061 ] One or more databases (not shown) may be integrated directly into memory 902 or may be provided separately therefrom and remotely from the server 900. In the case of a remote access to the databases, access may occur via any type of network 908, as indicated above. The various databases described herein may be provided as collections of data or information organized for rapid search and retrieval by a computer. They are structured to facilitate storage, retrieval, modification, and deletion of data in conjunction with various data-processing operations. They may consist of a file or sets of files that can be broken down into records, each of which consists of one or more fields. Database information may be retrieved through queries using keywords and sorting commands, in order to rapidly search, rearrange, group, and select the field. The databases may be any organization of data on a data storage medium, such as one or more servers.

[0062] In one embodiment, the databases are secure web servers and Hypertext Transport Protocol Secure (HTTPS) capable of supporting Transport Layer Security (TLS), which is a protocol used for access to the data. Communications to and from the secure web servers may be secured using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). An SSL session may be started by sending a request to the Web server with an HTTPS prefix in the URL, which causes port number "443" to be placed into the packets. Port "432 is the number assigned to the SSL application on the server. Identity verification of a user may be performed using usernames and passwords for all users. Various levels of access rights may be provided to multiple levels of users.

[0063] Alternatively, any known communication protocols that enable devices within a computer network to exchange information may be used. Examples of protocols are as follows: I P (Internet Protocol), UDP (User Datagram Protocol), TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol), FTP (File Transfer Protocol), Telnet (Telnet Remote Protocol), SSH (Secure Shell Remote Protocol), POP3 (Post Office Protocol 3), SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol), SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol), PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol), RFB (Remote Frame buffer) Protocol.

[0064] The memory 902 accessible by the processor 904 receives and stores data. The memory 902 may be a main memory, such as a high speed Random Access Memory (RAM), or an auxiliary storage unit, such as a hard disk, a floppy disk, or a magnetic tape drive. The memory may be any other type of memory, such as a Read-Only Memory (ROM), or optical storage media such as a videodisc and a compact disc.

[0065] The processor 904 may access the memory 902 to retrieve data. The processor 904 may be any device that can perform operations on data. Examples are a central processing unit (CPU), a front-end processor, a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU/VPU), a physics processing unit (PPU), a digital signal processor, and a network processor. The applications 906a ... 906n are coupled to the processor 904 and configured to perform various tasks as explained below in more detail. An output may be transmitted to a client device 910.

[0066] Figure 10 illustrates an exemplary application 906a running on the processor 904. It will be appreciated that while the application 906a illustrated in figure 10 is shown to run on the processor 904 of the server 900, it may also be provided in part or in whole directly on the client device 910. When provided on the server 900, the application 906a may be accessed online via the client device 910. Alternatively, the application 906a may be run at least in part locally on the client device 910 while communicating with the server 900 via the network 908.

[0067] The application 906a comprises at least a betting management module 1002 and a leaderboard/awards module 1004. These two modules interact together in order to provide the virtual betting game that is executable by the processor 904 over the network 908. The betting management module 1002 may be implemented in accordance with any known virtual betting systems or platforms.

[0068] A transaction module 1008 is involved in the real world transactional aspects of the game. Real world transactions are involved when players purchase virtual currencies and when players redeem virtual currencies for real world currencies. Real world transactions may also be used whenever a player purchases a bet slip to place a wager. Therefore, the transaction module 1008 interacts with the betting management module 1002. The virtual betting game can conduct transactions from government sanctioned gaming authorities, the winnings being convertible to real world currency or provided directly in real world currency.

[0069] The transaction module 1008 also interacts with a player account manager 1006. The player account manager 1006 is responsible for managing player account functions, such as creating a player account, validating an existing player's login and password or a new player's eligibility to play the game, suspending a player's account, activating a player account, creating a player profile, viewing a player profile, viewing a current balance of a player's real money in a player account, and updating a current balance of a player's real money account.

[0070] The leaderboard/awards module 1004 is used to manage the awards and leaderboards as described above. The leaderboard/awards module 1004 may provide various options to the player, such as allowing customized leaderboards to be created and allowing customized awards to be created. It may also be responsible for interfacing with an external social network to integrate the awards and leaderboard features in the social network.

[0071 ] Figure 1 1 is a simplified exemplary embodiment of the leaderboard/awards module 1004. A results tracker 1 102 is used to obtain from the betting management module 1002 the results of the bet slips for each player. A points calculation module 1 104 will apply the algorithm selected by the game operator to determine point allocation as a function of the obtained results. The points calculation module 1 104 will then use the points to allocate individual awards to players via an awards module 1 106, and to update the rankings of the various leaderboards via a rankings module 1 108. The awards module 1 106 also receives the results from the results tracker 1 102 in order to allocate awards based on achievements other than earned points, as described above. The leaderboard/awards module 1004 interacts with the player account manager 1006 to provide updated data to each player account.

[0072] Figure 12 illustrates in more detail the player account manager 1006 of figure 10. An accounts creator 1202 handles the creation of the account, acquisition of personal information of the player, acquisition of financial information of the player, and the general creation of a player profile. The player accounts/profiles are maintained in a database 1206 and updated by a profile manager 1204. The profile manager 1204 will update the player accounts 1206 whenever new information is available for a player. The new information may have to do with winnings or purchases, updated personal information, updated financial information, etc.

[0073] The following is an exemplary description of the interaction of the various modules of figures 9 to 12 in accordance with game play. When a player launches application 906a on his client device 910, the player account manager 1006 will either set up a new account for a new player or access an existing account for an existing player. In the case of a new player, various required information is obtained from the player and recorded in the player accounts database 1206.

[0074] To open an account, the player may purchase virtual currency or provide real currency in an account. The transaction module 1008 will perform a financial transaction and issue the requested currency. The player account database 1206 is updated with this new information once the currency has been provided for the player. [0075] As the player selects bets or purchases virtual bet slips, the betting management module 1004 generates the bet slips and provides them to the player in accordance with the selections made by the player. This information may be provided to the player account manager 1006 for the player's profile.

[0076] As an event unfolds, the betting management module 1002 keeps track of occurrences that take place and pushes the data to each player as either a winning bet or a losing bet. Alternatively, the betting management module 1002 may store the information and provide it on a per-request basis. In a push-type setting, the bets are automatically tagged winning bets or losing bets. In the case of automatic tagging, a win notification may be provided to the player when a bet is a winning bet, or when a bet slip is a winning bet slip. The betting management module 1002 interacts with the transaction module 1008 to allocate winnings to player accounts 1206.

[0077] The transaction module 1008 will be involved in the transactional aspects of purchasing and redeeming credits and the player account manager 1006 is updated with any new information to the player's account. If purchases are made with real money from a player's account, the transaction module will be involved in all transactions for bet slips and allocations of winnings.

[0078] In one embodiment, the application 1 106a is also designed to allow multiple game operators to cooperate and share player/betting information such that players and group members can belong to more than one jurisdiction, winnings can be shared across jurisdictions, and sales and commissions can be paid across different jurisdictions. A single transaction module 1008 may be provided to manage transactions across multiple jurisdictions, or multiple transaction modules 1008 may be provided and adapted to interact together when players or winnings cross jurisdiction. Similarly, a single betting management module 1002 may be provided to manage games from multiple game operators, or multiple betting management modules 1002 may de provided and adapted to interact together when players or winnings cross jurisdictions. Also alternatively, some modules may be duplicated while others are not. Services or features that may be operated independently of a game operator and/or a jurisdiction may be provided within a single unit, while services or features that are operator and/or jurisdiction dependent may be duplicated for each operator and/or jurisdiction. For example, there may be multiple results trackers 1 102 all being managed by a single leaderboard/awards module 1002, or there may be multiple player account managers 1006 but only one transaction module 1008 that interacts with the different player account managers 1006.

[0079] While illustrated in the block diagrams as groups of discrete components communicating with each other via distinct data signal connections, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present embodiments are provided by a combination of hardware and software components, with some components being implemented by a given function or operation of a hardware or software system, and many of the data paths illustrated being implemented by data communication within a computer application or operating system. The structure illustrated is thus provided for efficiency of teaching the present embodiment.

[0080] It should be noted that the present invention can be carried out as a method and/or can be embodied in a system and/or a computer readable medium. The embodiments of the invention described above are intended to be exemplary only. The scope of the invention is therefore intended to be limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1 . A virtual betting game system comprising:

a processor in a computer system;

a memory accessible by the processor; and

at least one application stored in the memory and having program code executable by the processor for:

receiving at least one virtual bet slip for placing wagers on at least one event, each virtual bet slip having at least one selected bet thereon and being associated with at least one player profile;

tracking the at least one event in real time to monitor an outcome thereof; tagging each selected bet on the at least one virtual bet slip as one of winning and losing in accordance with the outcome of the event;

allocating points to the player profile as a function of a performance during the event using a performance metric related to an ability to select a winning bet independent of an amount of winnings for the at least one virtual bet slip; and

ranking the player profile compared to other player profiles using the points allocated based on the performance metric.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one application is configured to allocate the points to the player profile by allocating a predetermined number of points for each winning bet on the at least one virtual bet slip.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one application is configured to allocate the points to the player profile by allocating a predetermined number of points for each winning bet and dividing the predetermined number of points by a total number of bets placed on the at least one event.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one application is configured to allocate the points to the player profile by allocating a predetermined number of points for each winning bet and dividing the predetermined number of points by a total number of bets on a corresponding virtual bet slip.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one application is configured to allocate the points to the player profile by allocating a predetermined number of points for each winning bet and applying a multiplier to take into account a total number of bets in a betting history of the player profile.

6. The system of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the at least one application is configured to allocate the points to the player profile by deducing points from a points total for each losing bet.

7. The system of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the at least one application is configured to allocate the points to the player profile by only allocating points to virtual bet slips having only winning bets thereon.

8. The system of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the at least one application is configured to provide player profile rankings in accordance with a player- configured setting.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the player-configured setting comprises a selected event category, a selected event, and at least one other parameter.

10. The system of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the at least one application is configured to reward player achievements based on at least one of a progression in the virtual betting game and a ranking of the player profile.

1 1 . The system of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the at least one application is configured to receiving betting challenge data comprising at least two player profiles participating in a betting challenge and a set of predetermined conditions dictating stakes for the betting challenge.

12. The system of claim 1 1 , wherein the at least one application is configured to allocate points to the at least two player profiles as a function of an outcome of the betting challenge.

13. The system of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein at least one of the virtual bet slips received corresponds to a gifted bet slip at least partially gifted from a gifter to a giftee, and wherein the at least one application is configured to associate the gifted bet slip to a gifter player account and a giftee player account, and wherein points are allocated for a winning gifted bet slip in accordance with a set of predetermined conditions for sharing the gifted bet slip.

14. A computer-implemented method for providing a virtual betting game, the method comprising:

15. The method of claim 14, wherein allocating the points to the player profile comprises allocating a predetermined number of points for each winning bet on the at least one virtual bet slip.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein allocating the points to the player profile comprises allocating a predetermined number of points for each winning bet and dividing the predetermined number of points by a total number of bets placed on the at least one event.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein allocating the points to the player profile comprises allocating a predetermined number of points for each winning bet and dividing the predetermined number of points by a total number of bets on a corresponding virtual bet slip.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein allocating the points to the player profile comprises allocating a predetermined number of points for each winning bet and applying a multiplier to take into account a total number of bets in a betting history of the player profile.

19. The method of any one of claims 14 to 18, wherein allocating the points to the player profile comprises deducing points from a points total for each losing bet.

20. The method of any one of claims 14 to 19, wherein allocating the points to the player profile comprises only allocating points to virtual bet slips having only winning bets thereon.

21 . The method of any one of claims 14 to 20, wherein ranking the player profile comprises providing player profile rankings in accordance with a player- configured setting.

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the player-configured setting comprises a selected event category, a selected event, and at least one other parameter.

23. The method of any one of claims 14 to 22, further comprising rewarding player achievements based on at least one of a progression in the virtual betting game and a ranking of the player profile.

24. The method of any one of claims 14 to 23, further comprising receiving betting challenge data comprising at least two player profiles participating in a betting challenge and a set of predetermined conditions dictating stakes for the betting challenge.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein allocating the points to the player profile comprises allocating points to the at least two player profiles as a function of an outcome of the betting challenge.

26. The method of any one of claims 14 to 25, wherein at least one of the virtual bet slips received corresponds to a gifted bet slip at least partially gifted from a gifter to a giftee, wherein the gifted bet slip is associated to a gifter player account and a giftee player account, and wherein points are allocated for a winning gifted bet slip in accordance with a set of predetermined conditions for sharing the gifted bet slip.

27. A computer readable medium having stored thereon program code executable by a processor for providing a virtual betting game by: