System and method for offering intraday wagering in a financial market environment

• US 7,937,318 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2010
• Issued: 05/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cantor Index LLC
• Original Assignee: Cantor Index LLC
• Inventors: Riches, Guy Iain Oliver, Davie, Christopher John
• Primary Examiner(s): Kalinowski; Alexander
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ebersman; Bruce I
• Application Number:
  US12/726,954
• Publication Number:
  US 20100173698A1
• Time in Patent Office: 411 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/34 Betting or bookmaking, e.g. Internet betting
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3288 Betting, e.g. on live events, bookmaking

Abstract

A method for providing a wager in a financial market environment is provided that includes presenting an opportunity to make a wager that is based on a moving market line associated with a financial market. An end user is given an opportunity to bet on whether a financial market value will be above or below the moving market line at a designated time. The wager may be accepted from the end user. The wager may be monitored in order to determine whether the financial market value was above or below the moving market line at the designated time.

Claims

1. A method for providing wagering opportunities in a financial market environment, comprising:

receiving, by at least one processor of at least one computer, a value of a financial market at a first time, in which the value of the financial market is received within one of a plurality of intraday wagering sessions in which users make wagers concerning a future value of the financial market at a future time;

determining information about a moving market line representing the value of the financial market at the first time, in which the moving market line changes over time based on determined changes in the value of the financial market;

determining by the at least one processor a first spread value and a second spread value based on the value of the financial market at the first time, wherein the first spread value is above the value of the moving market line at the first time and the second spread value is below the value of the moving market line at the first time, and wherein the first and second spread values have a first difference between them at the first time, in which the first spread value and the second spread value change over time based on changes in the value of the financial market over time;

causing by the at least one processor an interface screen to be displayed at a user computer, the interface screen simultaneously displaying at least the following;

a moving market line representing a current value of the financial market, in which the moving market line changes over time as the value of the financial market changes over time, and in which the moving market line at the first time represents the value of the financial market at the first time;

the first and second spread values;

a plurality of indicia representing corresponding opportunities to make a corresponding plurality of wagers, comprising;

a first element selectable for a user to make a first wager that a future value of the financial market at a second time in the one of the plurality of intraday wagering sessions will be above a current value of the moving market line, in which the second time is after a current time corresponding to the current value of the moving market line;

a second element selectable for a user to make a second wager that the future value of the financial market at the second time will be below the current value of the moving market line;

a third element selectable for a user to make a third wager that the future value of the financial market at the second time will be above the current value of the first spread value; and

a fourth element selectable for a user to make a fourth wager that the future value of the financial market at the second time will be below the current value of the second spread value,

wherein the interface screen further displays odds associated with each of the first element, the second element, and third element, and the fourth element presented therein,

wherein odds associated with each of the elements are determined based on, at least, a volatility factor, a time factor, and the moving market line, and

wherein the odds associated with the third and fourth wagers are associated with a lower probability of winning and a higher payout than the odds associated with the first and second wagers;

receiving by the at least one processor a value representing the moving market line associated with the financial market at a third time later than the first time and earlier than the second time in the one of a plurality of intraday wagering sessions;

determining by the at least one processor the first spread value and the second spread value at the later time based on the value representing the moving market line at the third time, wherein the first spread value is above the value of the moving market line at the later time and the second spread value is below the value of the moving market line at the third time, and wherein the first and second spread values have a second difference between them at the third time that is smaller than the first difference;

updating by the at least one processor the interface screen at the user computer to reflect changes to the moving market line and the first and second spread values at the third time, wherein the odds associated with each of the first element, second element, third element, and fourth element therein remain static for the one of the plurality of intraday wagering sessions;

accepting by the at least one processor at least one of the plurality of wagers from one or more end users;

monitoring by the at least one processor the at least one wager, in which the act of monitoring comprises determining the value of the moving market line at the second time; and

settling by the at least one processor the at least one wager after the second time in order to resolve whether one or more of the end users are entitled to a credit or a debit.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

presenting by the at least one processor an opportunity to make a fifth and a sixth wager that are each based on a low line that has a value at the first time that is a predetermined amount lower than the moving market line at the first time, wherein the fifth wager is associated with a decline in the financial market value such that the moving market line at the second time in the one of the plurality of intraday wagering sessions will be below the low line, the sixth wager being associated with the financial market value such that the moving market line at the second time in the one of the plurality of intraday wagering sessions will be above the low line.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

presenting an opportunity to make a seventh and an eighth wager that are each based on a high line that has a value at the first time that is a predetermined amount higher than the value of the moving market line at the first time, wherein the seventh wager is associated with a rise in the financial market value such that the moving market line at the second time in the one of the plurality of intraday wagering sessions will be above the high line, the eighth wager being associated with the financial market value such that the moving market line at the second time in the one of the plurality of intraday wagering sessions is below the high line.

4. The method of claim 3, in which odds displayed at the interface screen for the sixth wager are equal to odds displayed at the interface screen for the seventh wager, and in which odds displayed at the interface screen for the fifth wager are equal to odds displayed at the interface screen for the eighth wager.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

determining by the at least one processor a value associated with the low line at the later time and a value associated with the high line at the later time based on the value representing the moving market line at the later time,

in which (a) a difference between the value associated with the high line at the later time and the value associated with the low line at the later time is less than (b) a difference between the value associated with the high line at the first time and the value associated with the low line at the first time.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the second time expires thirty seconds from securing a selected wager associated with the selected designated time interval.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein odds associated with the first and second wagers are less than 1 and odds associated with the third and fourth wagers are at least 1.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein:

odds for the first and second wagers are equal;

odds for the third and second wagers are equal; and

odds for the third and fourth wagers are equal.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein odds for the third and fourth wagers are even odds.

10. An apparatus for providing wagering opportunities in a financial market environment, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory that stores instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, direct the at least one processor to perform the following method;

receiving a value of a financial market at a first time, in which the value of the financial market is received within one of a plurality of intraday wagering sessions in which users make wagers concerning a future value of the financial market at a future time;

determining information about a moving market line representing the value of the financial market at the first time, in which the moving market line changes over time based on determined changes in the value of the financial market;

determining a first spread value and a second spread value based on the value of the financial market at the first time, wherein the first spread value is above the value of the moving market line at the first time and the second spread value is below the value of the moving market line at the first time, and wherein the first and second spread values have a first difference between them at the first time, in which the first spread value and the second spread value change over time based on changes in the value of the financial market over time;

causing an interface screen to be displayed at a user computer, the interface screen simultaneously displaying at least the following;

a moving market line representing a current value of the financial market, in which the moving market line changes over time as the value of the financial market changes over time, and in which the moving market line at the first time represents the value of the financial market at the first time;

the first and second spread values;

a plurality of indicia representing corresponding opportunities to make a corresponding plurality of wagers, comprising;

a first element selectable for a user to make a first wager that a future value of the financial market at a second time in the one of the plurality of intraday wagering sessions will be above a current value of the moving market line, in which the second time is after a current time corresponding to the current value of the moving market line;

a second element selectable for a user to make a second wager that the future value of the financial market at the second time will be below the current value of the moving market line;

a third element selectable for a user to make a third wager that the future value of the financial market at the second time will be above the current value of the first spread value; and

a fourth element selectable for a user to make a fourth wager that the future value of the financial market at the second time will be below the current value of the second spread value,

wherein the interface screen further displays odds associated with each of the first element, the second element, and third element, and the fourth element presented therein,

wherein odds associated with each of the elements are determined based on, at least, a volatility factor, a time factor, and the moving market line, and

wherein the odds associated with the third and fourth wagers are associated with a lower probability of winning and a higher payout than the odds associated with the first and second wagers;

receiving a value representing the moving market line associated with the financial market at a third time later than the first time and earlier than the second time in the one of a plurality of intraday wagering sessions;

determining the first spread value and the second spread value at the later time based on the value representing the moving market line at the third time, wherein the first spread value is above the value of the moving market line at the later time and the second spread value is below the value of the moving market line at the third time, and wherein the first and second spread values have a second difference between them at the third time that is smaller than the first difference;

updating the interface screen at the user computer to reflect changes to the moving market line and the first and second spread values at the third time, wherein the odds associated with each of the first element, second element, third element, and fourth element therein remain static for the one of the plurality of intraday wagering sessions;

accepting by the at least one processor at least one of the plurality of wagers from one or more end users;

monitoring by the at least one processor the at least one wager, in which the act of monitoring comprises determining the value of the moving market line at the second time; and

settling by the at least one processor the at least one wager after the second time in order to resolve whether one or more of the end users are entitled to a credit or a debit.

11. The system of claim 10, the method further comprising:

presenting by the at least one processor an opportunity to make a fifth and a sixth wager that are each based on a low line that has a value at the first time that is a predetermined amount lower than the moving market line at the first time, wherein the fifth wager is associated with a decline in the financial market value such that the moving market line at the second time in the one of the plurality of intraday wagering sessions will be below the low line, the sixth wager being associated with the financial market value such that the moving market line at the second time in the one of the plurality of intraday wagering sessions will be above the low line.

12. The system of claim 11, the method further comprising:

presenting an opportunity to make a seventh and an eighth wager that are each based on a high line that has a value at the first time that is a predetermined amount higher than the value of the moving market line at the first time, wherein the seventh wager is associated with a rise in the financial market value such that the moving market line at the second time in the one of the plurality of intraday wagering sessions will be above the high line, the eighth wager being associated with the financial market value such that the moving market line at the second time in the one of the plurality of intraday wagering sessions is below the high line.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the second time expires thirty seconds from securing a selected wager associated with the selected designated time interval.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein odds associated with the first and second wagers are less than 1 and odds associated with the third and fourth wagers are at least 1.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein:

odds for the first and second wagers are equal;

odds for the third and second wagers are equal; and

odds for the third and fourth wagers are equal.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein odds for the third and fourth wagers are even odds.

17. The system of claim 11, in which odds displayed at the interface screen for the sixth wager are equal to odds displayed at the interface screen for the seventh wager, and in which odds displayed at the interface screen for the fifth wager are equal to odds displayed at the interface screen for the eighth wager.

18. The system of claim 11, the method further comprising:

determining a value associated with the low line at the later time and a value associated with the high line at the later time based on the value representing the moving market line at the later time,

in which (a) a difference between the value associated with the high line at the later time and the value associated with the low line at the later time is less than (b) a difference between the value associated with the high line at the first time and the value associated with the low line at the first time.