Online fantasy sports game system and method

• US 9,202,332 B2
• Filed: 01/14/2013
• Issued: 12/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: VHRD LLC
• Original Assignee: Hotbox Sports LLC
• Inventors: Bahou, Tarek
• Primary Examiner(s): GALKA, LAWRENCE STEFAN
• Application Number:
  US13/741,245
• Publication Number:
  US 20140200070A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,051 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/33 using wide area network [WAN] connections
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/44 involving timing of operations, e.g. performing an action within a time slot
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/65 automatically by game devices or servers from real world data, e.g. measurement in live racing competition
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/828 Managing virtual sport teams
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3225 Data transfer within a gaming system, e.g. data sent between gaming machines and users
• 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 17/326 Game play aspects of gaming systems
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3262 Player actions which determine the course of the game, e.g. selecting a prize to be won, outcome to be achieved, game to be played
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/329 Regular and instant lottery, e.g. electronic scratch cards

Abstract

A method of enabling a user to play an online fantasy sports game that provides an opportunity to play the game when the user visits a lottery site, provides a plurality of fantasy sports selections in a time window, the plurality of fantasy sports selections corresponds to an option to select a plurality of related actual sports games specified in the time window for that fantasy sport selection, receives the one or more fantasy sports selections that completes a lottery submission before the time window begins, determines a fantasy performance score for each of the plurality of corresponding actual sports games, determines which users have won the game based on each user'"'"'s selections and each of the determined corresponding fantasy performance scores, and transmits an electronic message indicating one or more winners of corresponding lottery submissions when certain users are identified to have won the game.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method enabling a user to play an online fantasy sports game, the method comprising:

providing, to the user, an opportunity to play the online fantasy sports game when the user lands on a lottery site;

in response to a user selection to play a fantasy sports game on the lottery site, directing the user to the online fantasy sports game;

in response to the selection, providing, to the user, a plurality of fantasy sports selection options for playing the game, the plurality of fantasy sports selections options corresponds to the option to select from a plurality of related actual sports games specified in a time window, where the time window is less than a full season;

receiving, from the user, a set of fantasy sports selections, wherein each selection in the set of fantasy selections comprises an identity of a real life player and a predicted actual sport game in the time window where the corresponding real life player will have the highest fantasy performance score, that completes a lottery submission before the time window begins;

determining, on a computer system and from a data feed of game activity, a fantasy performance score for each of the plurality of corresponding actual sports games using a fantasy scoring formulation;

determining on the computer system for a plurality of real life players a best game in the time window by identifying the real life game in which the plurality of players had their highest fantasy performance score;

determining, on the computer system, which users have won the online fantasy sports game based on the number of each user'"'"'s selections which correctly predicted the actual sport game in the time window where the corresponding real life player had the highest fantasy performance score; and

transmitting electronic message indicating one more winners of corresponding lottery submissions when certain users are identified by the computer system to have won the fantasy sports game.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the fantasy sports selections relate to a real life player.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising determining a player fantasy performance score for a real life player.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the user submits at least five fantasy sports selections.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

determining real life players best game based on the player fantasy performance score in the time window involving five games;

comparing the user'"'"'s at least five selections and the determined real life players best game; and

determining that the user'"'"'s at least five selections and each corresponding one of the real life players best game are the same.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprises that the user is a winner of the online fantasy sports game when each of the user'"'"'s five selections are the same as each of the player'"'"'s best game.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more related actual sports games are either professional sports teams or college sports teams.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprises providing a multiplier selection that when selected and the user is a winner, awarding the user with a more valuable award.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the online fantasy sports game is a mobile application.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the lottery site is a mobile application.

11. A method enabling a user to play an online fantasy sports game, the method comprising:

displaying in a game submission window a set of real life players and a plurality of corresponding real life games in a time window, wherein the time window is less than a full season and the time window includes at least two or more real life games;

enabling a user to make a selection of a fantasy lineup, the fantasy lineup including a subset of the set of real life players, wherein in the subset includes at least two or more real life players;

enabling the user to make a game selection of one of the plurality of corresponding real life games for each of the real life players in the fantasy lineup, wherein the user is allowed to make a single game selection for each real life player;

receiving, by a computer system, the game selections from the user for the fantasy lineup and recording the selections in a database associated with the computer system;

submitting each game selection as a game submission for the user for the time window;

preventing the user from revising any game selections after the time window has started;

generating on the computer system using data feeds of game activity a fantasy performance score for each real life player corresponding to the plurality of corresponding real life games in the time window using a fantasy scoring formulation;

determining on the computer system for each real life player a best game in the time window by identifying the real life game in which that player had his highest fantasy performance score;

determining, on the computer system, that the user selected each player'"'"'s best game correctly in the time window;

determining, on the computer system, an award amount for each game submission and time window; and

transmitting an electronic message awarding the user the award amount upon determining that the selected each real life player correctly in the game submission.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality of corresponding real life games are professional sports teams or college sports teams.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the fantasy lineup includes at least five real life players and game submission includes at least five game selections corresponding to the at least five real life players.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprises determining that the user'"'"'s at least five selections and the game corresponding to the player'"'"'s best game are the same.

15. The method of claim 11 further comprises providing a multiplier selection that when selected and the user is a winner, increasing the award amount.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the online fantasy sports game is a mobile application.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable media comprising a plurality of instructions that, when executed, cause an electronic device to:

provide, to a user, an opportunity to play the online fantasy sports game when the user lands on a lottery site;

in response to a user selection to play a fantasy sports game on the lottery site, direct the user to the online fantasy sports game;

in response to the selection, provide, to the user, a plurality of fantasy sports selection options for playing the game, the plurality of fantasy sports selections options corresponds to the option to select from a plurality of related actual sports games specified in a time window, where the time window is less than a full season;

receive, from the user, a set of fantasy sports selections that completes a lottery submission before the time window begins, wherein each selection in the set of fantasy selections comprises an identity of a real life player and a predicted actual sport game in the time window where the corresponding real life player will have the highest fantasy performance score;

determine, on a computer system and from a data feed of game activity, a fantasy performance score for each of the plurality of corresponding actual sports games using a fantasy scoring formulation;

determine on a computer system for a plurality of real life players a best game in the time window by identifying the real life game in which the plurality of players had their highest fantasy performance score;

determine, on a computer system, which users have won the online fantasy sports game based on the number of each user'"'"'s selections which correctly predicted the actual sport game in the time window where the corresponding real life player had the highest fantasy performance score; and

transmit electronic message indicating one more winners of corresponding lottery submissions when certain users are identified by the computer system to have won the fantasy sports game.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable media comprising a plurality of instructions that, when executed, cause an electronic device to:

display in a game submission window a set of real life players and a plurality of corresponding real life games in a time window, wherein the time window is less than a full season and the time window includes at least two or more real life games;

enable a user to make a selection of a fantasy lineup, the fantasy lineup including a subset of the set of real life players, wherein in the subset includes at least two or more real life players;

enable the user to make a game selection of one of the plurality of corresponding real life games for each of the real life players in the fantasy lineup, wherein the user is allowed to make a single game selection for each real life player;

receive, by a computer system, the game selections from the user for the fantasy lineup and recording the selections in a database associated with the computer system;

submit each game selection as a game submission for the user for the time window;

prevent the user from revising any game selections after the time window has started;

generate on the computer system using data feeds of game activity a fantasy performance score for each real life player corresponding to the plurality of corresponding real life games in the time window using a fantasy scoring formulation;

determine on the computer system for each real life player a best game in the time window by identifying the real life game in which that player had his highest fantasy performance score;

determine, on the computer system, that the user selected each player'"'"'s best game correctly in the time window;

determine, on the computer system, an award amount for each game submission and time window; and

transmit an electronic message awarding the user the award amount upon determining that the selected each real life player correctly in the game submission.