US20130029755A1 - Methods, apparatuses, and systems for on-premises wagering from mobile devices - Google Patents

Abstract

Wagering systems includes a secure wireless network operating within a wagering premises and including one or more network access points for transmitting and receiving network data for devices authorized to participate on the secure wireless network. A server system communicates with the secure wireless network and includes a server with a communication interface for conveying wager requests and wager acknowledgements on the secure wireless network and between the server and mobile devices, which send the wager requests and receive the wager acknowledgements. The mobile devices present a wager interface to enable a user to develop a wager identification including a wagering event, a wager type, and a wager amount. Responsive to the wager identification, a participant interface is presented on the mobile device for enabling the user to develop a participant identification including one or more participants for achieving one or more participant goals identified responsive to the wager type.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD
• Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to the field of pari-mutuel wagering and, more particularly, to placing pari-mutuel wagers at a wagering premises.
BACKGROUND
• Wagering on pari-mutuel horse racing can be a difficult and time consuming activity. The wagering may involve many different types of wagers that may be placed on many different horses.
• At a track, a person may elect to go to a betting window to place a wager, or to take advantage of a self-service terminal or a kiosk to place a wager. Win, Place and Show wagers are commonly referred to as straight bets and are easy to understand as they relate respectively to a first, second or third place finish.
• With greater knowledge of the horses in a particular race, a player can attempt to predict in which order various horses will place. Additionally, players may attempt to predict not only the order of finishers in a single race, but the finishers over the span of multiple races. These wagers are known as “exotic” wagers. In an exotic wager, the player is increasing the odds for success by placing wagers on multiple horses. In addition to exotic wagers in a single race, players may also place wagers on finishers in multiple races.
• The need to go to a teller or kiosk may reduce the number of players wagering on any given race, due to the inconvenience. In addition, a novice player may be intimidated by the various types of wagers and pressure to place wagers quickly when visiting a teller or placing a wager at a self-service terminal or kiosk.
• The inventors have appreciated that there is a need for apparatuses and methods that use mobile devices to enable convenient ways for patrons to place wagers at a wagering facility without having to go to a teller or kiosk.
BRIEF SUMMARY
• Embodiments of the present disclosure include apparatuses, methods, and computer-readable media that use mobile devices to enable convenient ways for patrons to place wagers at a wagering facility without having to go to a teller or kiosk.
• In some embodiments, a method of placing a wager includes presenting a wager interface on a mobile device to enable a user to develop a wager identification including a wagering event, a wager type, and a wager amount. A participant interface is presented on the mobile device responsive to the wager identification, the participant interface is for enabling the user to develop a participant identification including one or more participants for achieving one or more participant goals identified responsive to the wager type. A wager request including the wager identification and the participant identification is sent from the mobile device to a server via a secure wireless network configured for operation within a wagering premises and a wager acknowledgement from the server is received on the mobile device via the secure wireless network indicating acceptance of the wager request.
• In some embodiments, computer-readable media include device executable instructions, which when executed by a mobile device cause the mobile device to present a wager interface on the mobile device for enabling a user to develop a wager identification including a wagering event, a wager type, and a wager amount. Responsive to the wager identification, the device executable instructions also cause the mobile device to present a participant interface on the mobile device for enabling the user to develop a participant identification including one or more participants for achieving one or more participant goals identified responsive to the wager type. The device executable instructions also cause the mobile device to send a wager request including the wager identification and the participant identification to a server via a secure wireless network configured for operation within a wagering premises and to receive from the server, via the secure wireless network, a wager acknowledgement indicating acceptance of the wager request.
• In some embodiments a mobile device includes device executable instructions, which when executed by the mobile device cause the mobile device to present a wager interface on the mobile device to enable a user to develop a wager identification including a wagering event, a wager type, and a wager amount. Responsive to the wager identification, a participant interface is presented on the mobile device for enabling the user to develop a participant identification including one or more participants for achieving one or more participant goals identified responsive to the wager type. Via a secure wireless network configured for operation within a wagering premises, the mobile device sends a wager request including the wager identification and the participant identification to a server and receives a wager acknowledgement from the server indicating acceptance of the wager request.
• In some embodiments, a wagering system includes a secure wireless network configured for operation within a wagering premises and including one or more network access points for transmitting and receiving network data for devices authorized to participate on the secure wireless network. The wagering system also includes a server system with one or more servers, wherein a first server is configured for communicating with the secure wireless network. The first server includes a communication interface configured for conveying wager requests and wager acknowledgements on the secure wireless network and between the first server and one or more mobile devices configured for sending the wager requests and receiving the wager acknowledgements. A memory on the first server is configured for storing server executable instructions and one or more processors are configured for executing the server executable instructions to send authorization to the one or more mobile devices to participate on the secure wireless network, receive the wager requests from the one or more mobile devices communicating over the secure wireless network, and send the wager acknowledgements to the one or more mobile devices communicating over the secure wireless network.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• FIGS. 1A-1C are simplified block diagrams of wagering systems using a secure wireless network at a wagering premises to enable wagers to be placed from mobile devices;
• FIG. 2 is a simplified flow diagram of processes performed and interfaces displayed for various activities that can be performed on a mobile device and are associated with wagering and reviewing events at a wagering premises in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;
• FIGS. 3A and 3B are screen shots of a login interface for the mobile device that may be used in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;
• FIG. 4 is a screen shot of a home interface for the mobile device that may be used in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;
• FIG. 5A is a simplified flow diagram of processes performed for various activities involved with reviewing events, assembling wagers, and placing wagers, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;
• FIG. 5B is a screen shot of a wager interface for the mobile device that may be used for some of the processes ofFIGS. 2 and.5A;
• FIGS. 6A-6C are screen shots of a participant interface for the mobile device that may be used for some of the processes illustrated inFIGS. 2 and.5A;
• FIG. 7 is a screen shot of a wager accepted interface for the mobile device that may be used for some of the processes illustrated inFIGS. 2 and.5A;
• FIGS. 8A and 8B are screen shots of a history interface for the mobile device that may be used for some of the processes illustrated inFIG. 2;
• FIGS. 9A and 9B are screen shots of an odds interface for the mobile device that may be used in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; and
• FIG. 10 is a screen shot of a results interface for the mobile device that may be used in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
• In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which is shown, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. The embodiments are intended to describe aspects of the disclosure in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Other embodiments may be utilized and changes may be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims.
• Furthermore, specific implementations shown and described are only examples and should not be construed as the only way to implement the present disclosure unless specified otherwise herein. It will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the various embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced by numerous other partitioning solutions.
• In the following description, elements, circuits, and functions may be shown in block diagram form in order not to obscure the present disclosure in unnecessary detail. Conversely, specific implementations shown and described are exemplary only and should not be construed as the only way to implement the present disclosure unless specified otherwise herein. Additionally, block definitions and partitioning of logic between various blocks is exemplary of a specific implementation. It will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present disclosure may be practiced by numerous other partitioning solutions. For the most part, details concerning timing considerations and the like have been omitted where such details are not necessary to obtain a complete understanding of the present disclosure and are within the abilities of persons of ordinary skill in the relevant art.
• Those of ordinary skill in the art would understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof. Some drawings may illustrate signals as a single signal for clarity of presentation and description. It will be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art that the signal may represent a bus of signals, wherein the bus may have a variety of bit widths and the present disclosure may be implemented on any number of data signals including a single data signal.
• The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.
• Also, it is noted that embodiments may be described in terms of a process that is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe operational acts as a sequential process, many of these acts can be performed in another sequence, in parallel, or substantially concurrently. In addition, the order of the acts may be re-arranged. A process may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. Furthermore, the methods disclosed herein may be implemented in hardware, software, or both. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on computer readable media. Computer readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another.
• Elements described herein may include multiple instances of the same element. These elements may be generically indicated by a numerical designator (e.g.110) and specifically indicated by the numerical indicator followed by an alphabetic designator (e.g.,110A) or a numeric indicator preceded by a “dash” (e.g.,110-1). For ease of following the description, for the most part element number indicators begin with the number of the drawing on which the elements are introduced or most fully discussed. Thus, for example, element identifiers on aFIG. 1 will be mostly in the numerical format1xx and elements on aFIG. 4 will be mostly in the numerical format4xx.
• It should be understood that any reference to an element herein using a designation such as “first,” “second,” and so forth does not limit the quantity or order of those elements, unless such limitation is explicitly stated. Rather, these designations may be used herein as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, a reference to first and second elements does not mean that only two elements may be employed there or that the first element must precede the second element in some manner. In addition, unless stated otherwise, a set of elements may comprise one or more elements.
• The term “bus” may be used to refer to a plurality of signals or conductors, which may be used to transfer one or more various types of information, such as data, addresses, control, or status. Additionally, a bus or a collection of signals may be referred to in the singular as a signal. Some drawings may illustrate signals as a single signal for clarity of presentation and description. It will be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art that the signal may represent a bus of signals, wherein the bus may have a variety of bit widths and the present disclosure may be implemented on any number of data signals including a single data signal.
• Embodiments of the present disclosure include apparatuses, methods, and computer readable that use mobile devices to enable convenient ways for patrons to place wagers at a wagering facility without having to visit a teller or kiosk.
• For consistency and ease of description, horse races and horse race tracks are primarily discussed herein. However, embodiments of the present disclosure may be used for other wagering events at other wagering premises, where the wagers may be on other participants such as, for example, dogs, Jai Alai players, and cyclists.
• FIGS. 1A-1C are simplified block diagrams ofwagering systems100 using asecure wireless network125 at awagering premises102 to enable wagers to be placed frommobile devices200A and200B. Thewagering systems100A,100B, and100C differ in communication of wagering information betweenvarious servers150,160 and170 in a server system190. Therefore, the common elements are discussed first, and then differences betweenwagering systems100A,100B, and100C are discussed.
• Thesecure wireless network125 enablesusers110A and110B for example, to wirelessly communicate (115A and115B) with nearbynetwork access points120A and120B using wireless communication capabilities inmobile devices200A and200B. The access points120 are coupled to form thesecure wireless network125 for communication with anymobile device200 that is authorized to be on thesecure wireless network125. Thesecure wireless network125 may be configured to cover most, if not all, of thewagering premises102 such that theusers110 can place wagers from anywhere on thewagering premises102 where they are in communication range of a network access point120. Moreover, thesecure wireless network125 may be configured such that the wireless range does not extend significantly beyond thewagering premises102.
• Themobile devices200 may be any suitable device that may be carried by auser110 and is capable of communicating on thesecure wireless network125. As non-limiting examples, themobile devices200 may be notebook computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, smart-phones, and similar mobile devices. Themobile devices200 may utilize a number of operating systems, such as, for example only, Microsoft Windows, Windows mobile and other laptop operating systems, Android operating systems, Apple operating systems, and Blackberry operating systems.
• Thesecure wireless network125 may be any suitable wireless communication network capable of handling secure communications such as Bluetooth wireless, 802.11a/b/g/n type wireless communication, Zigbee, near filed communication and other wireless local area networks and personal area networks.
• Themobile devices200 are configured to perform device executable instructions to carry out the embodiments discussed herein. As non-limiting examples, these device executable instructions may be downloaded over thesecure wireless network125 or may be downloaded over any suitable network through the Internet.
• Within the server system190, afirst server150 communicates with thesecure wireless network125 through afirewall140. Thefirewall140 may be any suitable router or other network device conveying communications on thesecure wireless network125 in a secure fashion.
• Each of theservers150,160, and170 respectively include acommunication interface158,168,178,memory154,164,174, and one ormore processors152,162,168. Theservers150,160,170 may be any suitable computer for carrying out operations discussed herein by performing computing instructions and may operate on a variety of operating systems.
• In other words, the one ormore processors152,162, and172 may be configured for executing computing instructions for a wide variety of operating systems and applications including the computing instructions for carrying out embodiments discussed herein.
• Thememories154,164,174 may be used to hold computing instructions, data, and other information for performing a wide variety of tasks including performing embodiments of the present disclosure. By way of example, and not limitation, the memories may include Synchronous Random Access Memory (SRAM), Dynamic RAM (DRAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), Flash memory, and the like.
• The communication interfaces158,168,178 may be configured for communicating with other devices or communication networks. By way of example, and not limitation, the communication interfaces158,168,178 may include elements for communicating on wired and wireless communication media, such as for example, serial ports, parallel ports, Ethernet connections, universal serial bus (USB) connections IEEE 1394 (“firewire”) connections, bluetooth wireless connections, 802.1 a/b/g/n type wireless connections, and other suitable communication interfaces and protocols.
• In the embodiments ofFIGS. 1A-1C, theservers150,160, and170 may be configured to perform various processes associated with embodiments of the present disclosure and identified as mobile processes, tote processes, and link processes. Among other functions, mobile processes may be associated with communications with themobile devices200 and supplying the information used for carrying out embodiments of the present disclosure.
• Among other functions, tote processes may be associated with approving wagers, collecting information about various wagering events, event participants (e.g., horses, dogs, and Jai Alai players), and wager amounts in order to determine wagering odds for the various event participants in each wagering event. As part of embodiments of the present disclosure, the wagering odds may be communicated to link processes.
• Among other functions, link processes may be associated with communicating information used by embodiments of the present disclosure, between the mobile processes and the tote processes. Link processes may also be associated with receiving and forwarding wagers and wager approvals for the various wagering events.
• Depending on the configuration, the wireless processes, the link processes, and the tote processes may be performed by different servers or a single server. In the embodiment ofFIG. 1A, a mobile/link server150 (may also be referred to herein as a first server150) may be configured to perform the mobile processes and the link processes while a tote server160 (may also be referred to herein as a second server160) may be configured to perform the tote processes. The mobile/link server150 communicates through thefirewall140 with themobile devices200 through thesecure wireless network125. An on-premises network185 may be used for communication between the mobile/link server150 and thetote server160. In the embodiment ofFIG. 1A, the mobile/link server150, thetote server160, and the on-premises network185 are located at thewagering premises102. In addition, the server system190 may include asingle server150, wherein the mobile processes and the tote processes are carried out thereon. In such a server system190, link processes may not be necessary, but could still be included. Moreover, thesingle server150 may be located on or off the wagering premises.
• The embodiment ofFIG. 1B includes a mobile/link server150 and atote server160 as discussed inFIG. 1A. The mobile/link server150 may communicate with themobile devices200 through thesecure wireless network125, through thefirewall140, and through aremote network145. As non-limiting examples, theremote network145 may be a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN) or other suitable broad network such as the Internet. Network protocols or structures such as MultiProtocol Label Switching (MPLS) or Virtual Private Networks may be used to create secure connections between the mobile/link server150 and thesecure wireless network125.
• Aremote tote network195 may be used to couple thetote server160 with the mobile/link server150. In the embodiment ofFIG. 1B, the mobile/link server150, thetote server160, and theremote tote network195 are located remotely from thewagering premises102. In addition, thetote server160 may be in a different location than the mobile/link server150.
• In the embodiment ofFIG. 1C, the mobile processes and the link processes may be performed by different servers. In the example shown inFIG. 1C, amobile server150A is located on thewagering premises102 and may communicate with themobile devices200 through thefirewall140. Themobile server150A may communicate with a link server170 (may also be referred to herein as a third server170) through aremote network145 such as that discussed above in connection withFIG. 1B. Theremote tote network195 may be used to couple thetote server160 with thelink server170.
• FIG. 2 is a simplified flow diagram of processes performed and interfaces displayed for various activities that can be performed on themobile device200 and are associated with wagering and reviewing events at thewagering premises102 in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. Oval processes generally indicate interfaces that may be presented to theuser110 in the form of a Graphical User Interface (GUI) suitable for viewing by theuser110 and interaction by theuser110 to make certain selections associated with conveying information about a user's account, wagering events, and placing wagers. Square processes generally indicate conditions that may need to be satisfied before theuser110 can access other processes. Each of the interfaces is first introduced while describingFIG. 2 then most interfaces will be discussed in more detail while discussing subsequent figures.
• Alogin interface300 may be displayed when theuser110 first enters the site associated with embodiment of the present disclosure.Condition240 indicates that theuser110 has successfully entered a user account identifier and a password before many features of embodiments of the present disclosure may available. As a non-limiting example,condition220 indicates that theuser110 should be logged in before theuser110 can be issued a ticket through a wager acceptedinterface700. As another non-limiting example, condition230 indicates that theuser110 should be logged in and other configuration conditions met before theuser110 can access interfaces such as awager interface500, aresults interface1000, anodds interface900, and ahistory interface800. As non-limiting examples, configuration conditions may be conditions such as having information downloaded to themobile device200 related to thewagering premises102, the wagering events, the event participants, odds associated with the event participants, and information associated with the user's account.
• Ahome interface400 may be displayed after theuser110 successfully interacts with thelogin interface300. From thehome interface400, theuser110 may select other interfaces, such as, for example, thewager interface500, theresults interface1000, the odds interface900, and thehistory interface800.
• From thehistory interface800 theuser110 may obtain information about the user's account such as history details810 and adaily summary860 as is discussed in more detail below in connection withFIGS. 8A and 8B.
• From thewager interface500 theuser110 may setwager parameters520. Withwager parameters520 set, themobile device200 may dynamically assemble information about a leg (i.e., a wager event). With the information assembled, theuser110 may use aparticipant interface600 to select parameters related to the event participants (e.g., runners). After theuser110 successfully selects the necessary parameters for the event participants, the wager accepted interface700 (e.g., an issue ticket indication) may be displayed to indicate that the wager has been accepted by one or more of the various processes andservers150,160,170 discussed above in connection withFIGS. 1A-1C.
• FIGS. 3A and 3B are screen shots of thelogin interface300 for themobile device200 that may be used in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. Thelogin interface300 enables theuser110 access to the rest of the processes in response to theuser110 providing an account identifier310 (e.g., an account number) and an account password320 (e.g., a Personal Identification Number (PIN)). Thelogin interface300 may authenticate theuser110, generate individual user sessions, and allows theuser110 to review the account details associated with theuser110.
• The user's account may be funded through conventional monetary requirements of an Advanced Deposit Wagering (ADW) interface to a pari-mutuel wagering system or other funding system, by visiting a teller or kiosk capable of handling financial transactions for funding the user's account, or other suitable account funding mechanisms. As non-limiting examples, accounts may be funded via methods and apparatuses disclosed in; U.S. Pat. No. 7,749,078, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ACCESSING, MANIPULATING AND USING FUNDS”, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/731,701, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ACCESSING, MANIPULATING AND USING FUNDS,” the contents of each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
• FIG. 3B also illustrates a menu button350 (may also be referred to herein as a menu icon350). Activating themenu button350 may present a drop downmenu list355 of other interfaces that may be selected. While only discussed in connection withFIG. 3B, themenu button350 andmenu list355 may be available on many of the various interfaces as will be apparent from themenu button350 being shown on many of the illustrations of the various interfaces illustrated herein. Themenu list355 enables a convenient way for theuser110 to navigate through features of the embodiments of the present disclosure without having to navigate through thehome interface400.
• FIG. 4 is a screen shot of thehome interface400 for themobile device200 that may be used in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. Thehome interface400 may include awager button501 for accessing thewager interface500, anodds button901 for accessing the odds interface900, aresults button1001 for accessing theresults interface1000, and ahistory button801 for accessing thehistory interface800.
• A logout button260 may be included for logging out of a current session of connection to the secure wireless network125 (FIGS. 1A-1C). Alanguage button280 may be included for selecting what language should be used for the various user interfaces discussed herein. An information button270 may be included for presenting information about the system, such as, for example, what kind of browser is being used, what kind of operating system is being used, what kind ofmobile device200 is being used, and what software version is being used. Ahelp button290 may be included for presenting information, such as, for example, how to use the system and information about what various types of wagers mean.
• FIG. 5A is a simplified flow diagram of processes performed for various activities involved with reviewing event, assembling wagers, and placing wagers, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.FIG. 5B is a screen shot of thewager interface500 for themobile device200 that may be used for some of the processes illustrated inFIGS. 2 and.5A.FIGS. 6A-6C are screen shots of theparticipant interface600 for themobile device200 that may be used for some of the processes illustrated inFIGS. 2 and.5A.FIG. 7 is a screen shot of the wager acceptedinterface700 for themobile device200 that may be used for some of the processes illustrated inFIGS. 2 and.5A.
• FIG. 5A is described in connection with thewager interface500 ofFIG. 5B, theparticipant interface600 ofFIGS. 6A-6C and the wager acceptedinterface700 ofFIG. 7.
• However, it may be worthwhile to present some terms commonly used in pari-mutuel wagering and some common types of wagers that may be placed before discussing further details.
• Betting Interests (also referred to herein as Participants and Runners) may be associated with a number that may be selected during the wagering process that corresponds to an object being contested (Typically a Horse, Greyhound, Jai Alai player, Cyclist, etc).
• An Event may be defined as a collection of races, pools and wagering rules for a current run.
• A Race Card may be defined as a collection of wagering pools, betting interests and odds for one or more races of an event.
• A Pool may be defined as a matrix of money and betting interests, which contains how much money is wagered against each available betting interest in a race.
• A Leg may be defined as a position in a bet of which one or more betting interests may be selected. The number of legs will vary by how many race finish positions are being contested in a wager. In multi-leg pools, the legs may represent different positions in the same race, or positions in multiple races.
• Types of wagers that may be placed in horse races and other pari-mutuel wagering events can be quite numerous and sometimes complex. The discussion herein is not meant to be an extensive list of wagers that can be placed using embodiments of the present disclosure. Moreover, embodiments of the present disclosure may be adapted to new types of wagers that may be defined in the future as wager popularity, user's tastes, and marketing promotions for wagering premises may change.
• Straight bets may be simple wagers such as, Win (choosing a betting interest to come in first), Place (choosing a betting interest to come in first, or second) and Show (choosing a betting interest to come in first, second, or third). More complex wagers are often called exotic bets and include some of the following types of bets.
• Combine Pools (WPS, WET, WP, PS, WS)—A combination of wagering pools that are wagered at the same time. For example, when wagering a WPS the patron wagers a Win, Place and Show wager at the same time. Wagering a WET allows the patron to wager a Win, Exacta and Trifecta at the same time.
• Exacta (Perfecta, Exactor)—A wager involving choosing the betting interests to finish first and second in exact order in one race.
• Quinella—A wager involving choosing the betting interests to finish first and second in either order in one race.
• Trifecta (Triactor)—A wager involving choosing the betting interests to finish first, second, and third in exact order in one race.
• Superfecta—A wager involving choosing the betting interests to finish first, second, third, and fourth in exact order in one race.
• PentaFecta—A wager involving choosing the betting interests to finish first, second, third, fourth and fifth in exact order in one race.
• Hexafecta—A wager involving choosing the betting interests to finish first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth in exact order in one race.
• Double (Daily Double)—A wager involving choosing the betting interests to finish first in each of two designated races included in the Daily Double.
• Triple (Pick 3)—A wager involving choosing the betting interests to finish first in each of three designated races included in the Triple.
• Pick N (Pick 4,Pick 5,Pick 6, etc)—A wager involving choosing “N” number of races and choosing the betting interests to finish first in each of the designated races included in the Pick N.
• Grand Slam—A wager involving four races. The patron chooses the betting interests to finish first in three races and the betting interest that comes in first, second or third in the fourth race.
• Quinella Double—A wager involving two Quinella wagers, each placed on an independent race.
• Triella—A wager like a Quinella, except instead of choosing the winning betting interests for two positions, the patron chooses three positions.
• Over/Under—A proposition style wager in which a value is determined by the quantity of runners in the race and the patron must wager that the sum of the runner numbers to finish the race in the First, Second, Third and Fourth positions will be over, under or on the predetermined value.
• Exchange Wagering—An exchange wagers is a bet wherein a percentage of the first bet (usually 50%) is placed in a pool to be applied to the second bet. Upon winning the first leg, a bettor must take his ticket to a window and cash his winning ticket and then place, (with no additional cost) at a value equal to his original bet, the wager for the next leg in the race. The bettor must hit each half of the wager to hit the jackpot. In embodiments of the present disclosure, there would be no need for theuser110 to go to a ticket window.
• Twin-Trifecta—A wager involving an exchange wager with two trifectas.
• Tri-Super—An exchange wager with two parts. The first part of the Tri Super is a trifecta (exact order of 1st-2nd-3rd). The second part of the Tri-Super is a Superfecta (pick first 4 finishers exact order of 1st-2nd-3rd-4th)
• Big Quinella—A wager involving choosing the runners to finish first and second in either order for two designated races with an exchange to the second race.
• Beyond these various wagers, a wager may involve qualifying the bet with combinations other than a straight bet, such as, for example, Box and Wheel combinations. These combination are discussed below in connection withFIG. 6B.
• Returning toFIGS. 5A and 5B, auser110 may begin placing a wager by interacting with thewager interface500. Processes inFIG. 5A illustrated as dashed lines are entries theuser110 performs to formulate a wager. Processes illustrated with a solid line are processes performed by device executable instructions or server executable instructions on themobile device200 or one of theservers150,160,170, respectively. Processes illustrated with a dotted line are entries theuser110 may conditionally perform as a result of other entries.
• In the user interfaces discussed herein, reference will generally be made to dropdown lists that may be presented when a button or icon on an interface is selected. However, embodiments of the present disclosure may also use popup windows, jump to other windows, or use other graphical elements to present selectable options or entry boxes to theuser110.
• In thewager interface500, theuser110 selects an event from theevent button502, which may present a dropdown list of possible events to choose from. Theuser110 selects a race from therace button504, which may present a dropdown list of possible races to choose from, which may be based on the event selected. A combination of the selected event and the selected race may be referred to herein as a wager identification.
• Theuser110 selects a pool from thepool button506, which may present a dropdown list of possible types of wagers that may be placed, such as, for example, win, place, show, trifecta, etc. The elements in the dropdown list for thepool button506 may be based on the event selected and the race selected. The selected pool may also be referred to herein as a wager type.
• Theuser110 may define a base wager by selecting anamount button508, which may present a list of possible base wager amounts. In some embodiments a customamount entry box512 may be included, in which case an entry in the customamount entry box512 would override the amount selected by theamount button508. In other embodiments, the amount button may include “custom” as an option to select in the dropdown list. If “custom” is selected, thendecision block510 indicates that the customamount entry box512 may be displayed for enabling theuser110 to enter a custom amount that is different from the list of amounts that can be selected from the dropdown list.
• When a valid wager identification, wager type, and wager amount have been defined by having valid entries selected for all ofbuttons502,504,506, and eitherbutton508 orentry box512, theuser110 may select anext button518. When thenext button518 is selected,operation block520 indicates that a leg is dynamically created based on the entries on thewager interface500, and options and information related to the dynamically created leg are shown on theparticipant interface600 as illustrated inFIGS. 6A-6C and portions ofFIG. 5A encompassed by the brace labeled600.
• In theparticipant interface600, anamount button614A and614C (may also be referred to herein as a wager indicator614) shows the base wager amount and in some embodiments may be selectable to present a dropdown list or other form for modifying the base wager amount. It should be noted thatFIG. 6C illustrates a somewhat different interface from a different browser implementation to illustrate that embodiments of the present disclosure may show various elements in a slightly different fashion.
• Auser indicator660 may be presented on theparticipant interface600, as well as many other user interfaces. Theuser indicator660 may present information such as, for example, the user's name and a current balance in the user's account.
• Identifier675 indicates the wager type. InFIGS. 6A and 6B, the wager type is a superfecta abbreviated as “SPR.”Combination button670 may be selected by theuser110 to present adropdown list672 to modify the type of wager. The wager combination may default to a straight bet. However, theuser110 may modify the straight bet to other combinations, such as, for example, a box or a wheel combination.
• As an example with a trifecta type wager, a trifecta “box” with a selection of horses 1-4-7 would pay off if the first three finishers in the race were 1, 4, and 7 in any order. As an example of the trifecta “wheel” type wager, auser110 selects one or more key horses in various positions relative to other combinations of horses. For example, a trifecta wheel might keyhorse 2 to win withhorses 3, 5, and 7 to finish second andhorses 1, 4, and 6 to finish third. This wager would pay off ifhorse 2 won, any ofhorses 3, 5, and 7 finished second, and any ofhorses 1, 4, and 6 finished third.
• An event participant column on the right of theparticipant interface600 indicates the race number and lists the participants in the race. As a non-limiting example, the event participant column may include information such as the participant's number, name, and odds of winning the event.
• A participant selector column on the left of theparticipant interface600 includes buttons (e.g.,650A,650B,652A,652B, and610C) for theuser110 to select to identify the participant that he wants to finish in that position. The indication of which participants are selected for which participant button may be referred to herein as a participant goal. The number of buttons that are presented in the participant selector column will depend on the wager type. For example, inFIG. 6C the wager type is to win so only a single participant needs to be selected.Button610C indicates thatparticipant number 7 has been selected andparticipant 7 may be highlighted in the participant information column. As another example, inFIG. 6A the wager type is a superfecta, so four participant selection buttons will be shown.Buttons650A and650B indicate thatparticipant numbers 1 and 3 have been respectively selected for those positions.Buttons652A and652B may show an identifier, such as, for example, “select runner” to indicate that participants for those positions have not yet been selected. Of course other indicators may be used. As non-limiting examples,buttons650A,650B, and610C may show the participant number, the participant name, the participant odds, or combinations thereof.Buttons652A and652B may be shown in a different color or have other text identifying that a participant needs to be selected for that button.
• The participant selector column forFIG. 6B also illustrates that the wager is set as a “box” wager and the first participant selection buttons indicates “1-4” as the participants selected for that position. However, theuser110 has selected thecombination button670, which presents thedropdown list672 and theuser110 has changed the wager type to “wheel.” When the dropdown list is closed, the participant selector column may change to indicate a wheel type wager. In addition, if appropriate, the number of participant buttons may change and any previous participant selections made by theuser110 may reset if they are no longer meaningful for the new wager type. A combination of selected participants may be referred to herein as a participant identification and the selected finish positions related to the wager type may be referred to herein as participant goals.
• When all the participants have been properly selected, theuser110 may select a “bet” button690 to make a wager request to process the bet. In addition, at any time theuser110 may press a back button to return to thewager interface500 to change other parameters of the wager that may not be available on theparticipant interface600.
• Returning toFIG. 5A in combination withFIGS. 6A-6C, the participant selection process may begin withoperation block602 to present theparticipant interface600.Operation block604 indicates that theuser110 may then select a runner as described above.Decision block606 indicates that the process may loop back to operation block604 to allow theuser110 to select more runners if they have not all been selected, modify selections for runners that have already been selected, modify the base wager amount, or modify the wager type.
• When all the runners have been selected for the current wager type,operation block608 indicates that theuser110 may select the bet button690 to submit the bet for processing.
• Operations withinbracket700 inFIG. 5A and the wager acceptedinterface700 inFIG. 7 illustrate a process for accepting the wager and notifying theuser110 of the acceptance.
• Referring toFIGS. 1A-1C,5A and7,operation block702 indicates that themobile device200 sends the wager to theserver150.Operation block704 indicates that themobile device200 waits for a wager acknowledgment to return from one of the servers in the server system190, via theserver150.Operation block706 indicates that a ticket is issued, which may be a “virtual” ticket in that it is presented on the user interface of themobile device200 and not printed out as a physical ticket. The presentation of the virtual ticket is illustrated in the wager acceptedinterface700.
• In the wager acceptedinterface700,region710 may display the wager identification information, such as, for example, base wager amount, wagering premises, event (e.g., race), and wager type.Region720 may illustrate the participant goals, which identify the participant and its goal finish position(s) depending on the wager type.Region730 may give a wager acknowledgement in the form of an acknowledgement indicator comprising text, icon, audio, or other type of indication to indicate that the wager has been accepted.
• Decision block708 andrepeat button740 indicate that the wager may be placed again simply by selecting the repeat button and the overall wager acceptance process is repeated.
• FIGS. 8A and 8B are screen shots of thehistory interface800 for themobile device200 that may be used for some of the processes illustrated inFIG. 2.FIG. 8A illustrates that the history tab810 (may also be referred to herein as a wager history interface810) has been selected to display the history of transactions for the user's account for a predetermined number of transactions, such as, for example, the past 20 transactions. As non-limiting examples, thehistory tab810 may display the past 20 wagers placed and the status of those wagers such as whether the wagers have been issued or canceled. In addition, different colors, or other indicators, may be used to indicate different status, such as, for example, green may be used to indicate a winning ticket, red may be used to indicate a cancelled ticket, and yellow may be used to indicate a pending ticket. In some embodiments, theuser110 may be able to select and cancel pending tickets. As non-limiting examples, thehistory tab810 may present information such as race, wager type, amount won, etc.
• FIG. 8B illustrates that the summary tab860 (may also be referred to herein as an account summary interface860) has been selected to display a summary of the user's account for a predetermined time period, such as, for example, a daily summary. As non-limiting examples, thesummary tab860 may display information such as deposits, withdrawals, wagers, winnings, etc. associated with the user's account.
• FIGS. 9A and 9B are screen shots of the odds interface900 for themobile device200 that may be used in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. Theuser110 may be able to select an event to retrieve the current odds for all the races in the event.Region910 indicates that the participant's number may be displayed for each participant in the event. Region902 indicates that the participant's names may be displayed.Region930 indicates that the jockey riding the participant may be displayed. Region904 indicates that the odds for each participant are displayed. Other information, such as, for example, a participant's past history or a jockey's past history may also be displayed within the odds interface900 or upon selection of a participant.
• FIG. 9B illustrates that a “details” button950 (also referred to herein as an event details icon950) has been selected by theuser110, which causesadditional event information955 to be presented. While discussed with reference toFIG. 9B, theevent details icon950 may be presented and operational on many other user interfaces for embodiments of the present disclosure.
• FIG. 10 is a screen shot of the results interface1000 for themobile device200 that may be used in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. The results interface1000 may enable theuser110 to select a wagering premises and a completed event to show information about how the participants finished in the event, as well as other information such as related pool totals, finishers, and scratches. Participants shown on the results interface1000 may be referred to herein as result participants.
• While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and implementation in alternative forrms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of examples in the drawings and have been described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the following appended claims and their legal equivalents.

Claims (32)

1. A method of placing a wager while present at a wagering premises, comprising:

a user activating one or more user interfaces on a mobile device for enabling the user to develop:

a wager identification including a wagering event, a wager type, and a wager amount; and

a participant identification including one or more participants for achieving one or more participant goals identified responsive to the wager type;

while authorized to communicate over a secure wireless network configured for operation at the wagering premises, the user:

sending a wager request including the wager identification and the participant identification from the mobile device to a server via a via the secure wireless network; and

receiving from the server a wager acknowledgement on the mobile device via the secure wireless network indicating acceptance of the wager request.

2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein presenting the one or more user interfaces on the mobile device further comprises:

presenting a wager interface on the mobile device for enabling the user to develop the wager identification; and

presenting a participant interface on the mobile device responsive to the wager identification, the participant interface for enabling the user to develop the participant identification.

3. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising receiving, via the secure wireless network, information for presentation in the wager interface including one or more wagering events at the wagering premises.

4. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising receiving, via the secure wireless network, information for presentation in the participant interface including the one or more participants and wagering odds associated with each of the one or more participants.

5. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising presenting a wager accepted interface on the mobile device indicating the wager identification, the participant identification, and an acknowledgement indicator in response to receiving the wager acknowledgement.

6. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising:

presenting a login interface on the mobile device for enabling the user to enter an account identifier and an account password;

communicating the account identifier and the account password to the server via the secure wireless network; and

receiving an authorization from the server via the secure wireless network to enable the mobile device to:

present the one or more user interfaces on the mobile device; and

communicate the wager request and the wager acknowledgement.

7. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising presenting an odds interface on the mobile device including the one or more participants and odds associated with each of the one or more participants.

8. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising presenting a results interface on the mobile device indicating one or more result participants that achieved an associated participant goal and one or more combination results, each combination result indicating a combination of the one or more result participants that achieved a combination goal.

9. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising presenting a wager history interface indicating a predetermined number of wagering transactions performed for a user account associated with an account identifier and an account password entered by the user in response to presentation of a login interface.

10. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising presenting an account summary interface on the mobile device indicating wagering transactions performed over a predetermined time period for a user account associated with an account identifier and an account password entered by the user in response to presentation of a login interface.

11. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising presenting an event details icon on the participant interface, which when activated by the user presents additional event information for the wagering event presently selected by the user.

12. The method ofclaim 11, further comprising presenting the event details icon on an odds interface, a results interface, or a combination thereof.

13. The mobile device ofclaim 1, wherein of the one or more user interfaces comprise more than one user interface and further comprising presenting a menu icon on at least two of the one or more user interfaces enabling the user to select moving to a different interface, the different interface including two or more of the wager interface, the participant interface, a login interface, an odds interface, a results interface and a history interface.

14. Non-transitory computer-readable media including device executable instructions, which when executed by a mobile device present at a wagering premises cause the mobile device to:

present a wager interface on the mobile device for enabling a user to develop a wager identification including a wagering event, a wager type, and a wager amount;

responsive to the wager identification, present a participant interface on the mobile device for enabling the user to develop a participant identification including one or more participants for achieving one or more participant goals identified responsive to the wager type;

while authorized to communicate over a secure wireless network configured for operation at the wagering premises:

send a wager request including the wager identification and the participant identification to a server via the secure wireless network; and

receive from the server a wager acknowledgement indicating acceptance of the wager request via the secure wireless network.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable media ofclaim 14, including device executable instructions, which when executed by the mobile device further cause the mobile device to receive, via the secure wireless network, information for presentation in the wager interface including one or more wagering events at the wagering premises.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable media ofclaim 14, including device executable instructions, which when executed by the mobile device further cause the mobile device to receive, via the secure wireless network, information for presentation in the participant interface including the one or more participants and wagering odds associated with each of the one or more participants.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable media ofclaim 14, including device executable instructions, which when executed by the mobile device further cause the mobile device to present a wager accepted interface on the mobile device indicating the wager identification, the participant identification, and an acknowledgement indicator in response to receiving the wager acknowledgement.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable media ofclaim 14, including device executable instructions, which when executed by the mobile device further cause the mobile device to present an odds interface on the mobile device including the one or more participants and odds associated with each of the one or more participants.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable media ofclaim 14, including device executable instructions, which when executed by the mobile device further cause the mobile device to present an event details icon on the participant interface, which when activated by the user presents additional event information for the wagering event presently selected by the user.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable media ofclaim 19, including device executable instructions, which when executed by the mobile device further cause the mobile device to present the event details icon on an odds interface, a results interface, or a combination thereof.

21. A mobile device including device executable instructions, which when executed by the mobile device at a wagering premises cause the mobile device to:

present one or more user interfaces on the mobile device for enabling a user to develop:

a wager identification including a wagering event, a wager type, and a wager amount; and

a participant identification including one or more participants for achieving one or more participant goals identified responsive to the wager type; and

while authorized to communicate over via a secure wireless network configured for operation at a wagering premises:

send a wager request including the wager identification and the participant identification to a server via the secure wireless network; and

receive a wager acknowledgement from the server indicating acceptance of the wager request via the secure wireless network.

22. The mobile device ofclaim 21, wherein the device executable instructions further cause the mobile device to present the one or more user interfaces as at least:

a wager interface for enabling the user to develop the wager identification; and

a participant interface responsive to the wager identification, the participant interface for enabling the user to develop the participant identification.

23. The mobile device ofclaim 22, wherein the device executable instructions further cause the mobile device to receive information for presentation in the wager interface including one or more wagering events at the wagering premises.

24. The mobile device ofclaim 22, wherein the device executable instructions further cause the mobile device to receive information for presentation in the participant interface including the one or more participants and wagering odds associated with each of the one or more participants.

25. The mobile device ofclaim 21, wherein the device executable instructions further cause the mobile device to present a wager accepted interface to the user indicating the wager identification, the participant identification, and an acknowledgement indicator in response to receiving the wager acknowledgement.

26. The mobile device ofclaim 21, wherein the device executable instructions further cause the mobile device to:

present a login interface for enabling the user to enter an account identifier and an account password;

communicate the account identifier and the account password to the server; and

receive an authorization from the server to enable the mobile device to:

present the wager interface and the participant interface; and

communicate the wager request and the wager acknowledgement.

27. The mobile device ofclaim 21, wherein the device executable instructions further cause the mobile device to present an odds interface to the user including the one or more participants and odds associated with each of the one or more participants.

28. The mobile device ofclaim 21, wherein the device executable instructions further cause the mobile device to present a results interface indicating to the user one or more result participants that achieved an associated participant goal and one or more combination results, each combination result indicating a combination of the one or more result participants that achieved a combination goal.

29. The mobile device ofclaim 21, wherein the device executable instructions further cause the mobile device to present a history interface to the user, the history interface including one or more of:

a wager history interface indicating a predetermined number of wagering transactions performed for a user account associated with an account identifier and an account password entered by the user in response to presentation of a login interface; and

an account summary interface indicating wagering transactions performed over a predetermined time period for the user account.

30. The mobile device ofclaim 21, wherein the device executable instructions further cause the mobile device to present an event details icon on the participant interface, which when activated by the user presents additional event information for the wagering event presently selected by the user.

31. The mobile device ofclaim 30, wherein the device executable instructions further cause the mobile device to present the event details icon on an odds interface, a results interface, or a combination thereof.

32-38. (canceled)

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