Gaming system and method
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A gaming system comprising:
- a plurality of independent sub-systems, each of said sub-systems includinga different type of ticket-based lottery game;
a first jackpot game;
a plurality of game tickets each having indicia for use in the play of at least one of the different types of ticket-based lottery games and each also having a respective machine readable ticket code unique to that ticket in said sub-system, the machine readable ticket code for use in the play of the first jackpot game;
a plurality of distributed terminals for dispensing the game tickets,at least one central computer in communication with said terminals,each of said terminals having at least one code reader for reading said machine readable ticket code from each of said game tickets when the ticket is dispensed,data storage means for storing a prize code,comparison means for comparing said prize code with said machine readable ticket code read from each of said game tickets, and for indicating a match between said machine readable ticket code and said prize code; and
a supervisory computer means connected for communication with the at least one central computer of each of said independent sub-systems, said supervisory computer means being programmed to receive ticket sales data from each of said sub-systems, determine the amount of a jackpot prize based on said ticket sales data, and communicate information to each of said sub-systems as to the amount of said jackpot prize and the occurrence of a match between a prize code and a ticket code.
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Abstract
The gaming system operates a lottery system for a single state, or includes multiple state systems, each having many different instant-winner ticket games and distributed ticket dispensers. A supervisory computer system is provided. A jackpot is provided which increases with the sale of each ticket in the system. The dispensers have code readers which are used to detect the sale of each ticket. The game is won when the code number detected by one of the code readers matches the code for a jackpot winner.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A gaming system comprising:
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a plurality of independent sub-systems, each of said sub-systems including a different type of ticket-based lottery game; a first jackpot game; a plurality of game tickets each having indicia for use in the play of at least one of the different types of ticket-based lottery games and each also having a respective machine readable ticket code unique to that ticket in said sub-system, the machine readable ticket code for use in the play of the first jackpot game; a plurality of distributed terminals for dispensing the game tickets, at least one central computer in communication with said terminals, each of said terminals having at least one code reader for reading said machine readable ticket code from each of said game tickets when the ticket is dispensed, data storage means for storing a prize code, comparison means for comparing said prize code with said machine readable ticket code read from each of said game tickets, and for indicating a match between said machine readable ticket code and said prize code; and a supervisory computer means connected for communication with the at least one central computer of each of said independent sub-systems, said supervisory computer means being programmed to receive ticket sales data from each of said sub-systems, determine the amount of a jackpot prize based on said ticket sales data, and communicate information to each of said sub-systems as to the amount of said jackpot prize and the occurrence of a match between a prize code and a ticket code. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A method for facilitating the play of a shared jackpot game which can be won by tickets from any of a plurality of different types of instant ticket-based lottery games, comprising:
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storing a plurality of gaming tickets for the plurality of instant ticket-based lottery games of different types in each of a plurality of gaming ticket dispensers, each of said tickets bearing indicia for use in the play of one of the instant ticket-based lottery games and each of said tickets also having a respective machine readable ticket code unique to that ticket; dispensing a ticket for one of the plurality of instant ticket-based lottery games from one of the plurality of gaming ticket dispensers; reading the machine readable ticket code on the ticket; based on the machine readable ticket code read from the ticket, determining if the ticket is a winner in the shared jackpot game; and responsive to determining that the ticket is a winner in the shared jackpot game, informing the recipient of said ticket that the ticket is a winner in the share jackpot game. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for facilitating the play of a shared jackpot game which can be won by tickets from any of a plurality of instant ticket-based lottery games, comprising:
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providing a plurality of ticket dispensing machines; dispensing instant-winner lottery tickets from said machines, each instant-winner lottery ticket having information identifying one of a plurality of different instant ticket-based games in which the ticket is issued, and having a removable cover over human-readable gaming information, each of said tickets also bearing machine-readable unique identification information; providing a shared jackpot prize pool which tickets from the plurality of said different instant ticket-based games are eligible to win; providing a code reader in each of said dispensing machines, the code reader configured to said machine-readable identification information and to produce corresponding signals; and detecting said signals to identify a winner of said jackpot prize, responsive to the dispensing of each ticket from said dispensing machines, adding to said jackpot prize pool a predetermined amount; stopping the adding to said prize pool when said winner has been detected; and starting a new prize pool at an amount lower than that in said jackpot prize pool, after said winner has been detected. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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10. A system for facilitating the play of a jackpot game together with a separate ticket-based lottery game, comprising:
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a game ticket having indicia for use in the play of the separate ticket-based lottery game and a machine readable ticket identifier for use in the play of the jackpot game, where the jackpot game is separate from the separate ticket-based lottery game; and a prize for winning the separate ticket-based lottery game; a lottery ticket dispensing machine, including a code reader to read the machine readable ticket identifier from the game ticket when the game ticket is dispensed by the lottery ticket dispensing machine, and an output device to indicate the game ticket is a winning ticket for the jackpot game; wherein the game ticket is a future draw lottery ticket having indicia which are matched against a future drawing event to determine if the lottery ticket is a winner of the separate ticket-based lottery game.
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11. A system for facilitating the play of a jackpot game together with a separate ticket-based lottery game, comprising:
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a game ticket having indicia for use in the play of the separate ticket-based lottery game and a machine readable ticket identifier for use in the play of the jackpot game; and a lottery ticket dispensing machine, including a code reader to read the machine readable ticket identifier from the game ticket when the game ticket is dispensed by the lottery ticket dispensing machine, and an output device to indicate the game ticket is a winning ticket for the jackpot game, wherein whether the game ticket wins the jackpot game is determined randomly at the time the game ticket is dispensed.
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12. A gaming system, comprising:
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a plurality of different types scratch-off instant ticket games; a plurality of scratch-off instant game tickets, each ticket being associated with at least one of the plurality of types of scratch-off instant ticket games, each ticket having indicia for use in the play of the associated scratch-off instant ticket game, and each ticket having a respective machine readable ticket code unique to that ticket in said system; a shared jackpot game which tickets from the plurality of scratch-off instant ticket games of different types are eligible to win; a central computer storing a prize code indicating a ticket which is a winner of the jackpot game; and a plurality of distributed terminals configured to dispense the game tickets, the terminals being in communication with the central computer, each of said terminals having at least one code reader configured to read said machine readable ticket code from each of said game tickets when the ticket is dispensed, the terminals configured to indicate a dispensed ticket is a winner of the jackpot game based on a comparison of the machine readable ticket code from the dispensed ticket and the prize code. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification