System and method of timing wagers in an integrated wagering and interactive media platform

• US 9,305,428 B2
• Filed: 02/23/2015
• Issued: 04/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Game Play Network, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Game Play Network, Inc.
• Inventors: Fine, Russell M., Marshall, David M., Tung, Douglas W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Laneau, Ronald
• Application Number:
  US14/629,213
• Publication Number:
  US 20150170470A1
• Time in Patent Office: 407 Days
• Field of Search: 463 16- 25
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/00 Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions gaming systems which provide a financial reward G07F17/32
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3209 Input means, e.g. buttons, touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3211 Display means
• 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 17/3227 Configuring a gaming machine, e.g. downloading personal settings, selecting working parameters
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3241 Security aspects of a gaming system, e.g. detecting cheating, device integrity, surveillance computer security G06F21/00
• 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 17/3288 Betting, e.g. on live events, bookmaking

Abstract

The invention relates to systems and methods of selecting and placing real-world wagers responsive to one or more wager triggers, obtaining outcomes of the real-world wagers, facilitating user interactions with various interactive media, and revealing the outcomes of the real-world wagers through the interactive media to give an appearance that the outcomes of the real-world wagers resulted from the user interactions even though the outcomes resulted from the real-world wagers and were determined before the user interactions. A real-world wager may be initiated by one or more wager triggers that cause the real-world wager to be placed. The one or more wager triggers may include, without limitation, acquisition of a token, user selection or initiation of interactive media (e.g., selection of a game to play), an occurrence of an event in the interactive media (e.g., based on a user controlled or other in-game action), and/or other events.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of triggering real-world wagers through interactive media executed on a user device having at least one physical input, the method being implemented in a computer system having one or more physical processors programmed with computer program instructions that, when executed by the one or more physical processors, cause the computer system to perform the method, the method comprising:

receiving, by the computer system, a wager trigger that causes one or more real-world wagers to be placed on behalf of a user without an explicit request by a user for the one or more real-world wagers;

causing, by the computer system, a real-world wager to be placed on behalf of the user based on the wager trigger;

obtaining, by the computer system, an outcome of the real-world wager; and

causing, by the computer system, information to be transmitted to the interactive media that indicates at least a portion of the outcome to be revealed to the user through the interactive media, wherein the portion of the outcome is revealed to the user in response to a user input with the physical input associated with a user interaction with the interactive media to give the appearance that the user won the revealed portion based on the user interaction.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the wager trigger comprises a second user interaction by the user with the interactive media.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the wager trigger comprises a second user interaction by the user with second interactive media.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the interactive media comprises a first game played by the user, and wherein the wager trigger comprises an in-game action of the user in the first game and/or an in-game action of the user in a second game played by the user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the interactive media comprises a first game played by the user, and wherein the real-world wager is placed on behalf of the user before gameplay of the first game is initiated for the user.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the interactive media comprises a first game played by the user, and wherein the real-world wager is placed on behalf of the user while the first game is played by the user.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the interactive media comprises a first game played by the user, and wherein the real-world wager is placed on behalf of the user before a given session in which the first game is played by the user.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

initiating, by the computer system, the interactive media based on timing information associated with availability of the outcome.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the timing information indicates whether the outcome has been determined.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining, by the computer system, based on the timing information, an estimated time at which the outcome will become available, wherein the interactive media is initiated based on the estimated time.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the interactive media comprises a first game played by the user, the method further comprising:

providing, by the computer system, a reveal opportunity in the first game, wherein the amount revealed to the user is based on the user input satisfying one or more conditions associated with the reveal opportunity.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein causing the real-world wager to be placed on behalf of the user comprises:

causing, by the computer system, the real-world wager to be placed on behalf of the user through a third party wagering system.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the real-world wager is associated with a plurality of potential events, at least one of which corresponds to a winning outcome of the real-world wager, wherein causing the real-world wager to be placed comprises selecting a first one of the plurality of potential events.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

updating, by the computer system, a user account balance based on the outcome;

receiving, by the computer system, back from the interactive media, information relating to an amount revealed to the user, in response to the user input, through the interactive media; and

updating, by the computer system, the user account balance based on the information received back from the interactive media.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein updating the user account balance based on the outcome comprises:

incrementing, by the computer system, the user account balanced based on a payout of the outcome.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein updating the user account balance based on the information received back from the interactive media comprises:

decrementing, by the computer system, the user account balance based on the amount revealed to the user.

17. A system of triggering real-world wagers through interactive media executed on a user device having at least one physical input, the system comprising:

a computer system comprising one or more physical processors programmed with computer program instructions that, when executed by the one or more physical processors, program the computer system to;

receive a wager trigger that causes one or more real-world wagers to be placed on behalf of a user without an explicit request by a user for the one or more real-world wagers;

cause a real-world wager to be placed on behalf of the user based on the wager trigger;

obtain an outcome of the real-world wager; and

cause information to be transmitted to the interactive media that indicates at least a portion of the outcome to be revealed to the user through the interactive media, wherein the portion of the outcome is revealed to the user in response to a user input with the physical input associated with a user interaction with the interactive media to give the appearance that the user won the revealed portion based on the user interaction.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the wager trigger comprises a second user interaction by the user with the interactive media.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the wager trigger comprises a second user interaction by the user with second interactive media.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the interactive media comprises a first game played by the user, and wherein the wager trigger comprises an in-game action of the user in the first game and/or an in-game action of the user in a second game played by the user.

21. The system of claim 17, wherein the interactive media comprises a first game played by the user, and wherein the real-world wager is placed on behalf of the user before gameplay of the first game is initiated for the user.

22. The system of claim 17, wherein the interactive media comprises a first game played by the user, and wherein the real-world wager is placed on behalf of the user while the first game is played by the user.

23. The system of claim 17, wherein the interactive media comprises a first game played by the user, and wherein the real-world wager is placed on behalf of the user before a given session in which the first game is played by the user.

24. The system of claim 17, wherein the computer system is further programmed to:

initiate the interactive media based on timing information associated with availability of the outcome.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the timing information indicates whether the outcome has been determined.

26. The system of claim 24, wherein the computer system is further programmed to:

determine, based on the timing information, an estimated time at which the outcome will become available, wherein the interactive media is initiated based on the estimated time.

27. The system of claim 17, wherein the interactive media comprises a first game played by the user, and wherein the computer system is further programmed to:

provide a reveal opportunity in the first game, wherein the amount revealed to the user is based on the user input satisfying one or more conditions associated with the reveal opportunity.

28. The system of claim 17, wherein to cause the real-world wager to be placed on behalf of the user, the computer system is further programmed to:

cause the real-world wager to be placed on behalf of the user through a third party wagering system.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the real-world wager is associated with a plurality of potential events, at least one of which corresponds to a winning outcome of the real-world wager, wherein causing the real-world wager to be placed comprises selecting a first one of the plurality of potential events.

30. The system of claim 17, wherein the computer system is further programmed to:

update a user account balance based on the outcome;

receive back from the interactive media information relating to an amount revealed to the user, in response to the user input, through the interactive media; and

update the user account balance based on the information received back from the interactive media.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein to update the user account balance based on the outcome, the computer system is further programmed to:

increment the user account balanced based on a payout of the outcome.

32. The system of claim 30, wherein to update the user account balance based on the information received back from the interactive media, the computer system is further programmed to:

decrement the user account balance based on the amount revealed to the user.