System and method of managing user accounts to track outcomes of real world wagers revealed to users

• US 9,317,999 B2
• Filed: 03/02/2015
• Issued: 04/19/2016
• 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., Selby, Jamison
• Primary Examiner(s): Laneau, Ronald
• Application Number:
  US14/636,128
• Publication Number:
  US 20150199875A1
• Time in Patent Office: 414 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 maintaining revealed and unrevealed balances that both belong to a user, but the user is aware only of the revealed balance. In this manner, the system can give the user an impression that a value (e.g., a cash amount or other value) has been gained or lost by transferring the value between the revealed and unrevealed balances of the user, even though no gain or loss actually occurred. The unrevealed balance may include a payout from a real-world wager. Thus, payout may be revealed to the user in a manner that the user believes that the payout was won by the user through a game or other interactive media, even though the payout belongs to the user based on the payout. Other changes in value to the unrevealed and revealed balances may occur as well.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of maintaining a revealed balance and an unrevealed balance associated with real-world wager payouts of a user, 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:

causing, by the computer system, an unrevealed balance associated with one or more user accounts of the user to be stored, wherein the unrevealed balance is associated with one or more payouts, from one or more real-world wagers placed on behalf of the user, that have not been communicated to the user by the computer system;

causing, by the computer system, a revealed balance associated with the one or more user accounts of the user to be stored, wherein the revealed balance is associated with amounts that have been communicated to the user by the computer system;

receiving, by the computer system, an indication that at least a portion of the unrevealed balance has been revealed to the user based on at least one physical user input associated with a user interaction with interactive media;

updating, by the computer system, the revealed balance based on the revealed portion; and

updating, by the computer system, the unrevealed balance based on the revealed portion.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein updating the revealed balance based on the revealed portion comprises:

incrementing, by the computer system, the revealed balance by a value of the revealed portion.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein updating the unrevealed balance based on the revealed portion comprises:

decrementing, by the computer system, the unrevealed balance by a value of the revealed portion.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the interactive media comprises a game and wherein the portion of the unrevealed balance is revealed responsive to an accomplishment of a game objective such that the portion appears to have been revealed responsive to the accomplishment of the game objective rather than the one or more payouts from one or more real-world wagers placed on behalf of the user.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the accomplishment of the game objective comprises a skill-based accomplishment and/or a randomly generated accomplishment.

6. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

providing, by the computer system, a reveal opportunity to the user, wherein the reveal opportunity provides the user with an opportunity to appear to win an amount that includes the portion of the unrevealed balance that is revealed to the user.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the reveal opportunity is associated with a game objective and wherein the portion of the unrevealed balance is revealed responsive to accomplishment of the game objective.

8. The method of claim 7, the method further comprising:

providing, by the computer system, an indication to the user that the user has won the amount based on the accomplishment of the game objective even though the portion of the unrevealed balance already belongs to the user but has not yet been revealed to the user.

9. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

identifying, by the computer system, the portion to be revealed to the user, wherein the portion is part of the unrevealed balance.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the portion of the unrevealed balance to be revealed is identified based on the at least one physical user input associated with the user interaction with interactive media.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein updating the revealed balance comprises updating the revealed balance by a value of the revealed portion, and wherein updating the unrevealed balance comprises updating the unrevealed balance by an inverse of the value of the revealed portion.

12. A computer system of maintaining a revealed balance and an unrevealed balance associated with real-world wager payouts of a user, the 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:

cause an unrevealed balance associated with one or more user accounts of the user to be stored, wherein the unrevealed balance is associated with one or more payouts, from one or more real-world wagers placed on behalf of the user, that have not been communicated to the user by the computer system;

cause a revealed balance associated with the one or more user accounts of the user to be stored, wherein the revealed balance is associated with amounts that have been communicated to the user by the computer system;

receive an indication that at least a portion of the unrevealed balance has been revealed to the user based on at least one physical user input associated with a user interaction with interactive media;

update the revealed balance based on the revealed portion; and

update the unrevealed balance based on the revealed portion.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein to update the revealed balance based on the revealed portion, the computer system is further programmed to:

increment the revealed balance by a value of the revealed portion.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein to update the unrevealed balance based on the revealed portion, the computer system is further programmed to:

decrement the unrevealed balance by a value of the revealed portion.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the interactive media comprises a game and wherein the portion of the unrevealed balance is revealed responsive to an accomplishment of a game objective such that the portion appears to have been revealed responsive to the accomplishment of the game objective rather than the one or more payouts from one or more real-world wagers placed on behalf of the user.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the accomplishment of the game objective comprises a skill-based accomplishment and/or a randomly generated accomplishment.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the computer system is further programmed to:

provide a reveal opportunity to the user, wherein the reveal opportunity provides the user with an opportunity to appear to win an amount that includes the portion of the unrevealed balance that is revealed to the user.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the reveal opportunity is associated with a game objective and wherein the portion of the unrevealed balance is revealed responsive to accomplishment of the game objective.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the computer system is further programmed to:

provide an indication to the user that the user has won the amount based on the accomplishment of the game objective even though the portion of the unrevealed balance already belongs to the user but has not yet been revealed to the user.

20. The system of claim 12, wherein the computer system is further programmed to:

identify the portion to be revealed to the user, wherein the portion is part of the unrevealed balance.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the portion of the unrevealed balance to be revealed is identified based on the at least one physical user input associated with the user interaction with interactive media.

22. The system of claim 12, wherein updating the revealed balance comprises updating the revealed balance by a value of the revealed portion, and wherein updating the unrevealed balance comprises updating the unrevealed balance by an inverse of the value of the revealed portion.