Method and apparatus for operating lotteries and for generating and processing lottery entries
First Claim
1. A method of operating a lottery, comprising the steps of:
- (a) receiving a result of a lottery drawing;
(b) comparing said result to a plurality of stored lottery entries;
(c) if said result corresponds to one of said plurality of stored lottery entries, identifying said one entry as a winning lottery entry;
(d) identifying at least one non-winning lottery entry from said plurality of stored lottery entries;
(e) repeating said steps (a), (b), (c) and (d) for at least one subsequent lottery drawing until said at least one non-winning lottery entry is identified as a winning lottery entry.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and process for generating, distributing, and processing lottery tickets guaranteed to win a drawing-based prize. Tickets are appropriately priced, and are validated at point of sale by a central server in which the ticket information is stored. Subsequent to each lottery drawing, the winning lottery numbers are compared to the entries in a never-lose ticket database to determine if any of the entries match the winning number. Winning entries are appropriately identified and tagged as inactive, while entries that have not yet won a drawing-based prize remain active for future drawings.
Ticket pricing methodology is provided for appropriately pricing never-lose tickets. A method and apparatus are further provided whereby a ticket holder may query the status of a never-lose ticket directly from the server.
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Citations
73 Claims
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1. A method of operating a lottery, comprising the steps of:
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(a) receiving a result of a lottery drawing;
(b) comparing said result to a plurality of stored lottery entries;
(c) if said result corresponds to one of said plurality of stored lottery entries, identifying said one entry as a winning lottery entry;
(d) identifying at least one non-winning lottery entry from said plurality of stored lottery entries;
(e) repeating said steps (a), (b), (c) and (d) for at least one subsequent lottery drawing until said at least one non-winning lottery entry is identified as a winning lottery entry. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. Apparatus for operating a lottery, comprising:
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a processor;
a memory connected to said processor, said memory storing a result of a lottery drawing, and a plurality of stored lottery entries;
said processor operative to (a) identify, if said result corresponds to one of said plurality of stored lottery entries, said one of said plurality of stored lottery entries as a winning lottery entry, (b) identify at least one non-winning lottery entry from said plurality of stored lottery entries, and (c) repeat operations (a) and (b) for at least one result of a subsequent lottery drawing until said at least one non-winning lottery entry is identified as a winning lottery entry. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. Apparatus for operating a lottery, comprising:
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first means for receiving a result of a lottery drawing;
second means for comparing said result to a plurality of stored lottery entries;
third means, if said result matches one of said plurality of stored lottery entries, for identifying said one of said plurality of stored lottery entries as a winning lottery entry; and
fourth means for identifying at least one non-winning lottery entry from said plurality of stored lottery entries;
said first, second, third and fourth means continuing to operate for at least one subsequent lottery drawing until said at least one non-winning lottery entry is identified as a winning lottery entry.
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14. A computer program product, comprising:
a computer useable medium having program code thereon for operating a lottery, said program code comprising;
first program code for receiving a result of a lottery drawing;
second program code for comparing said result to a plurality of stored lottery entries;
third program code, if said result matches one of said plurality of stored lottery entries, for identifying said one of said plurality of stored lottery entries as a winning lottery entry; and
fourth program code for identifying at least one non-winning lottery entry from said plurality of stored lottery entries;
said first, second, third and fourth program code continuing to operate for at least one subsequent lottery drawing until said at least one non-winning lottery entry is identified as a winning lottery entry.
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15. A method for processing lottery entries usable in a plurality of lottery drawings, comprising the steps of:
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receiving a request to purchase a lottery entry;
receiving with said request an indicator that said lottery entry is to be entered into a plurality of lottery drawings until a lottery drawing identifies said lottery entry as a winner; and
storing said lottery entry. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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18. Apparatus for processing lottery entries usable in a plurality of lottery drawings, comprising:
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a processor;
a memory connected to said processor;
said processor operative to receive a lottery entry, and receive with said lottery entry an indicator that said lottery entry is to be entered into a plurality of lottery drawings until a lottery drawing identifies said lottery entry as a winner, and store said lottery entry in said memory. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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21. Apparatus for processing lottery entries usable in a plurality of lottery drawings, comprising:
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means for receiving a request to purchase a lottery entry;
means for receiving with said request an indicator that said lottery entry is to be entered into a plurality of lottery drawings until a lottery drawing identifies said lottery entry as a winner; and
means for storing said lottery entry.
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22. A computer program product, comprising:
a computer useable medium having program code thereon for processing lottery entries, said program code comprising;
program code for receiving a request to purchase a lottery entry;
program code for receiving with said request an indicator that said lottery entry is to be entered into a plurality of lottery drawings until a lottery drawing identifies said lottery entry as a winner; and
program code for storing said lottery entry.
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23. A method for processing lottery entries usable in a plurality of lottery drawings, comprising the steps of:
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receiving a request to purchase a lottery entry;
receiving with said request an indicator that said lottery entry is to be entered into a plurality of lottery drawings until a lottery drawing identifies said lottery entry as a winner; and
transmitting said request with said indicator to a remote lottery authority. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. Apparatus for processing lottery entries usable in a plurality of lottery drawings, comprising:
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a processor;
a memory connected to said processor and storing a request to purchase a lottery entry, an indicator, with said request, that said lottery entry is to be entered into a plurality of lottery drawings until a lottery drawing identifies said lottery entry as a winner; and
said processor operative to transmit said request with said indicator to a remote lottery authority. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. Apparatus for processing lottery entries usable in a plurality of lottery drawings, comprising:
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means for receiving a request to purchase a lottery entry;
means for receiving with said request an indicator that said lottery entry is to be entered into a plurality of lottery drawings until a lottery drawing identifies said lottery entry as a winner; and
means for transmitting said request with said indicator to a remote lottery authority.
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36. A computer program product, comprising:
a computer useable medium having program code thereon for processing lottery entries, said program code comprising;
program code for receiving a request to purchase a lottery entry;
program code for receiving with said request an indicator that said lottery entry is to be entered into a plurality of lottery drawings until a lottery drawing identifies said lottery entry as a winner; and
program code for transmitting said request with said indicator to a remote lottery authority.
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37. A method for generating lottery entries usable in a plurality of lottery drawings, comprising the steps of:
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receiving a request to purchase a lottery entry;
receiving with said request an indicator that said lottery entry is to be entered into a plurality of lottery drawings until a lottery drawing identifies said lottery entry as a winner;
generating a ticket number for said lottery entry to validate said lottery entry and said indicator; and
transmitting said ticket number to a remote terminal. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. Apparatus for generating lottery entries usable in a plurality of lottery drawings, comprising:
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a processor;
a memory connected to said processor and storing a request to purchase a lottery entry, and an indicator that said lottery entry is to be entered into a plurality of lottery drawings until a lottery drawing identifies said lottery entry as a winner;
said processor operative to generate a ticket number for said lottery entry to validate said lottery entry and said indicator; and
transmit said ticket number to a remote terminal. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47)
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48. Apparatus for generating lottery entries usable in a plurality of lottery drawings, comprising:
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means for receiving a request to purchase a lottery entry;
means for receiving with said request an indicator that said lottery entry is to be entered into a plurality of lottery drawings until a lottery drawing identifies said lottery entry as a winner;
means for generating a ticket number for said lottery entry to validate said lottery entry and said indicator; and
means for transmitting said ticket number to a remote terminal.
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49. A computer program product, comprising:
a computer useable medium having program code thereon for generating lottery entries, said program code comprising;
program code for receiving a request to purchase a lottery entry;
program code for receiving with said request an indicator that said lottery entry is to be entered into a plurality of lottery drawings until a lottery drawing identifies said lottery entry as a winner;
program code for generating a ticket number for said lottery entry to validate said lottery entry and said indicator; and
program code for transmitting said ticket number to a remote terminal.
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50. A method of pricing a lottery entry, comprising the steps of:
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receiving a request to purchase a lottery entry, said request including an indicator that said lottery entry is to be entered into a plurality of lottery drawings until a lottery drawing identifies said lottery entry as a winner;
calculating a price for said lottery entry, said price based at least in part on the inclusion of said indicator. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 72, 73)
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54. Apparatus for pricing a lottery entry, comprising:
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a processor;
a memory connected to said processor and storing a request to purchase a lottery entry, said request including an indicator that said lottery entry is to be entered into a plurality of lottery drawings until a lottery drawing identifies said lottery entry as a winner;
said processor operative to calculate a price for said lottery entry, said price based at least in part on the inclusion of said indicator, and store said price in said memory. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 57)
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58. Apparatus for pricing a lottery entry, comprising:
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means for receiving a request to purchase a lottery entry, said request including an indicator that said lottery entry is to be entered into a plurality of lottery drawings until a lottery drawing identifies said lottery entry as a winner;
means for calculating a price for said lottery entry, said price based at least in part on the inclusion of said indicator.
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59. A computer program product, comprising:
a computer useable medium having program code thereon for pricing lottery entries, said program code comprising;
program code for receiving a request to purchase a lottery entry, said request including an indicator that said lottery entry is to be entered into a plurality of lottery drawings until a lottery drawing identifies said lottery entry as a winner;
program code for calculating a price for said lottery entry, said price based at least in part on the inclusion of said indicator.
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60. A method of reporting the status of a lottery entry, comprising the steps of:
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receiving a request for a status of a lottery entry, said lottery entry of a type to be entered into a plurality of lottery drawings until a lottery drawing identifies said lottery entry as a winner; and
outputting said status of said lottery entry. - View Dependent Claims (61, 62, 63, 64)
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65. Apparatus for reporting the status of a lottery entry, comprising:
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a processor;
a memory connected to said processor and storing a lottery entry of a type to be entered into a plurality of lottery drawings until a lottery drawing identifies said lottery entry as a winner;
said processor operative to receive a request for a status of said lottery entry, and outputting said status of said lottery entry. - View Dependent Claims (66, 67, 68, 69)
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70. Apparatus for reporting the status of a lottery entry, comprising:
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means for receiving a request for a status of a lottery entry, said lottery entry of a type to be entered into a plurality of lottery drawings until a lottery drawing identifies said lottery entry as a winner; and
means for outputting said status of said lottery entry.
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71. A computer program product, comprising:
a computer useable medium having program code thereon for reporting a status of lottery entries, said program code comprising;
program code for receiving a request for a status of a lottery entry, said lottery entry of a type to be entered into a plurality of lottery drawings until a lottery drawing identifies said lottery entry as a winner; and
program code for outputting said status of said lottery entry.
Specification