System, methods and apparatuses for lottery pool management

• US 7,374,483 B2
• Filed: 03/09/2001
• Issued: 05/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Jean-Philippe Langlois, Johnny A. Ortiz, Mark E. Aldridge, Richard A. Wiltshire
• Original Assignee: Jean-Philippe Langlois, Johnny A. Ortiz, Mark E. Aldridge, Richard A. Wiltshire
• Inventors: Wiltshire, Richard A., Aldridge, Mark E., Langlois, Jean-Philippe, Ortiz, Johnny A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Laneau; Ronald
• Assistant Examiner(s): BANTA, TRAVIS R
• Application Number:
  US09/803,339
• Publication Number:
  US 20010031661A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,629 Days
• Field of Search: 463 40- 42, 463 16- 20, 463 25- 27
• US Class Current: 463/17
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3227 Configuring a gaming machine, e.g. downloading personal settings, selecting working parameters

Abstract

The present invention provides for a lottery pooling management system. The lottery pooling management system may include a participant interface, lottery interface, and notification interface. The participant interface may be in communication with a participant computer and configured to allow pool participants to participate in one or more lottery pools with each lottery pool having one or more sets of lottery numbers. The lottery interface may be in communication with one or more lotteries and the participant interface, and configured to ascertain drawing results and jackpot amounts for the lotteries and compare the drawing results with the sets of lottery numbers in the lottery pools. The notification interface may be in communication with the participant interface and the lottery interface, and configured to alert pool participants about activity in the lotteries, the status of the lottery pools, and the compared drawing results.

Claims

1. A lottery pool management system implemented on a management server computer system for lottery pool management over a communications network connected to said management server computer system, said lottery pool management system comprising:

a participant interface resident on said management server computer system and configured to be in communication with plural participant computers, said participant interface also being configured to enable each of a plurality of pool participants to participate together in one or more lottery pools, each lottery pool being associated with a lottery and having a plurality of sets of numbers entered in its associated lottery, said participant interface enabling said pool participants to exchange information regarding each of said lotteries prior to the drawing thereof;

said participant interface being further configured to enable each of said pool participants to be informed by way of said participant computers, respectively, of all of said sets of lottery numbers that are entered by respective pool participants in each of said lotteries prior to the drawing thereof;

a lottery interface resident on said management server computer system and in communication with each of said lotteries and said participant interface, said lottery interface being configured to ascertain drawing results and jackpot amounts for each of said lotteries, to compare the drawing results with the said sets of lottery numbers entered in the one or more lottery pools, and to recognize that a winning event has occurred when a given one of said sets of lottery numbers is drawn as a winning set for its corresponding lottery; and

a notification interface resident on said management server computer system and in communication with said participant interface and said lottery interface, said notification interface being configured to alert said pool participants by way of said participant computers, respectively, about activity in each of said lotteries, about the compared drawing results, and, when one of said winning events occurs, to notify each of said pool participants that they are each entitled to share in all amounts that are to be paid out as the result of said given set of lottery numbers being drawn as a winning set.

2. The lottery pool management system of claim 1 wherein said participant interface includes a lottery pool creation module to allow pool participants to respectively create new lottery pools by way of one or more participant computers.

3. The lottery pool management system of claim 1 wherein said participant interface includes a ticket entry module to allow pool participants to enter tickets numbers into the lottery pools associated with said pool participants, and to change ticket numbers that were entered previously.

4. The lottery pool management system of claim 1 wherein said pool participants are each members of a club disposed to participate in a number of successive lotteries, and wherein said participant interface includes a participant history module to allow pool participants to track the history of numbers chosen and played by said pool participants in one or more previous lotteries;

and

said notification interface is configured to notify each of said club members when a lottery reaches a specified jackpot level.

5. The lottery pool management system of claim 1 wherein the participant interface includes a second chance module to allow pool participants to replay numbers.

6. The lottery pool management system of claim 1 wherein the lottery interface is further configured to retrieve rules and regulations associated with the one or more lotteries.

7. The lottery pool management system of claim 1 wherein the lottery interface includes a ticket purchasing module to allow the system to purchase tickets for the one or more lotteries at the request of pool participants.

8. The lottery pool management system of claim 1 wherein the activity in the one or more lotteries is a completed drawing.

9. The lottery pool management system of claim 1 wherein the activity in the one or more lotteries is an updated jackpot amount.

10. The lottery pool management system of claim 1 further including one or more databases.

11. The lottery pool management system of claim 10 wherein the one or more databases contain information concerning the one or more sets of lottery numbers.

12. The lottery pool management system of claim 10 wherein the one or more databases contain information concerning the one or more lottery pools.

13. The lottery pool management system of claim 10 wherein the one or more databases contain information concerning the pool participants.

14. The lottery pool management system of claim 10 wherein the one or more databases contain information concerning the one or more lotteries.

15. A system for lottery pool management over a global communications network comprising:

one or more participant computers;

one or more lottery pool management servers, the one or more lottery pool management servers being in communication with the one or more participant computers through the global communications network; and

a lottery pool management system resident on the one or more lottery pool management servers, wherein the lottery pool management system includes;

a participant interface, the participant interface being in communication with a participant computer, the participant interface being configured to enable each of a plurality of pool participants to participate as members of a group having a common interest in one or more different lottery pools, wherein each lottery pool is associated with a different lottery and each lottery pool has a plurality of sets of lottery numbers respectively provided by one or more of said pool participants;

a lottery interface, the lottery interface being in communication with one or more lotteries and the participant interface, the lottery interface being configured to ascertain drawing results and jackpot amounts for the one or more lotteries, to compare the drawing results with the sets of lottery numbers in the one or more lottery pools, and to recognize that a winning event has occurred when a given one of said sets of lottery numbers is drawn as a winning set for its corresponding lottery; and

a notification interface, the notification interface being in communication with the participant interface and the lottery interface, the notification interface being configured to alert said plurality of pool participants about activity in the one or more lotteries, about the compared drawing results, and, when one of said winning events occurs, to notify each of said plurality of pool participants that they are each entitled to share in all amounts that are to be paid out as the result of said given set of lottery numbers being drawn as a winning set.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the participant interface includes a lottery pool creation module to allow pool participants to respectively create new lottery pools.

17. A lottery pooling management system configured for operation on an electronic communications network, said system comprising:

a participant interface, the participant interface being in communication with a participant computer, the participant interface being configured to increase the chances for each of a plurality of pool participants to win a lottery by enabling each of said plurality of pool participants to participate as members of a group having a common interest in one or more lottery pools, wherein each lottery is limited to a single elective participation event, at least one lottery pool comprising different sets of lottery numbers respectively provided by one participant or by different participants, selectively;

a lottery interface, the lottery interface being in communication with one or more lotteries and the participant interface, the lottery interface being configured to ascertain drawing results and jackpot amounts for the one or more lotteries to compare the drawing results with the one or more sets of lottery numbers in the one or more lottery pools, and to recognize that a winning event has occurred when a given one of said sets of lottery numbers is drawn as a winning set for the single elective participation event of its corresponding lottery;

a notification interface, the notification interface being in communication with the participant interface and the lottery interface, the notification interface being configured to alert said plurality of pool participants about activity in the one or more lotteries, about the compared drawing results, and, when one of said winning events occurs, to notify each of said plurality of pool participants that they are each entitled to share a jackpot amount resulting from said given set of lottery numbers being a winning set; and

said interfaces being resident on a lottery pool management computer connected to one or more participant computers by way of said network.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the participant interface includes a lottery pool creation module to allow pool participants to respectively create new lottery pools.

19. The system of claim 17 wherein the participant interface includes a ticket entry module to allow pool participants to enter tickets numbers into the lottery pools associated with the pool participants and to edit the ticket entries.

20. The system of claim 17 wherein the participant interface includes a participant history module to allow pool participants to track the history of numbers chosen and played by the pool participants.

21. The system of claim 17 wherein said lottery interface includes a comparison module operable to compare the drawing results for first time winners and for second chance winners among said participants.

22. The system of claim 17 wherein said lottery interface includes a ticket purchase module operable to enable said lottery interface to purchase tickets through said communications network for said pool participants by way of one of direct purchase by said pool participants and purchases coordinated by said lottery interface.

23. The system of claim 17 including a module for displaying on a participant computer a report showing at least one of the number of entries of sets of numbers by participants and the number of matches of winning numbers entered by respective participants.