Methods and apparatus for facilitating the provision of a benefit to a player of a gaming Web site
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method comprising:
- identifying a player on a gaming Web site;
determining the occurrence of an event on the gaming Web site that triggers the presentation, to the player, of at least one offer of a plurality of available offers to the player, wherein each offer of the plurality of offers defines a benefit that confers an advantage on the player in playing a game of the gaming Web site, and an activity that, when performed by the player, results in a value being realized by a subsidizing entity that is funding the provision of the benefit to the player;
selecting which offer of the plurality of offers to present to the player by determining which offer corresponds to a description of the occurrence of the event in a database;
presenting the offer to the player by causing a remote player device being operated by the player to display the offer to the player;
receiving a response to the offer from the player;
providing the benefit to the player if the response indicates an acceptance;
storing an indication of the player'"'"'s acceptance of the offer in memory;
determining whether the player has performed the activity defined by the offer;
receiving a subsidy from the subsidizing entity based on at least one of the presentation of the offer to the player, and the performance of the activity by the player; and
causing a penalty to be assessed to the player if the player has not performed the activity defined by the offer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods are disclosed wherein, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention, a player of a gaming Web site may be presented with an offer. Such an offer describes a benefit to be provided to the player (e.g., a more favorable outcome in a game of the gaming Web site or a waiver of an entry fee to play on the gaming Web site) in exchange for the player'"'"'s commitment to an activity. The activity typically benefits a subsidizing entity, that provides a subsidy in exchange for an offer defining the activity being presented to a player and/or being accepted by a player.
444 Citations
41 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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identifying a player on a gaming Web site;
determining the occurrence of an event on the gaming Web site that triggers the presentation, to the player, of at least one offer of a plurality of available offers to the player, wherein each offer of the plurality of offers defines a benefit that confers an advantage on the player in playing a game of the gaming Web site, and an activity that, when performed by the player, results in a value being realized by a subsidizing entity that is funding the provision of the benefit to the player;
selecting which offer of the plurality of offers to present to the player by determining which offer corresponds to a description of the occurrence of the event in a database;
presenting the offer to the player by causing a remote player device being operated by the player to display the offer to the player;
receiving a response to the offer from the player;
providing the benefit to the player if the response indicates an acceptance;
storing an indication of the player'"'"'s acceptance of the offer in memory;
determining whether the player has performed the activity defined by the offer;
receiving a subsidy from the subsidizing entity based on at least one of the presentation of the offer to the player, and the performance of the activity by the player; and
causing a penalty to be assessed to the player if the player has not performed the activity defined by the offer.
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2. A method comprising:
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determining that an event that triggers the presentation of an offer to a player of a gaming Web site has occurred on the gaming Web site;
determining the offer to present to the player, wherein the offer defines a benefit; and
an activity that the player must commit to in order to be provided with the benefit;
presenting the offer to the player determining that the player has accepted the offer;
providing the benefit to the player;
determining that the player has performed the activity; and
receiving a subsidy from a party subsidizing the benefit based on at least one of the presentation of the offer to the player, the player'"'"'s acceptance of the offer, and the player'"'"'s performance of the activity. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25)
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22. A computer readable medium storing data in a computer readable format, the data representing:
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at least one event that triggers the presentation of an offer to a player of a gaming Web site, at least one benefit to be provided to a player of a gaming Web site;
at least one activity to be performed by a player of the gaming Web site; and
at least one rule for use in creating the offer by pairing at least one activity with at least one benefit. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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26. A method, comprising:
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receiving, from a subsidizing entity, an indication of a subsidy and an indication of a corresponding activity, wherein the activity comprises an activity that, if performed by a player of a gaming Web site, results in a value being realized by the subsidizing entity;
selecting at least one benefit;
creating an offer for presentation to the player of the gaming Web site by pairing the activity with the at least one benefit, wherein the at least one benefit is to be provided to the player if the player commits to the corresponding activity; and
wherein the benefit is selected such that a cost associated with providing the benefit to the player does not exceed a value associated with the subsidy. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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Specification