System and method of providing an integrated wagering and interactive media platform

• US 9,552,696 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2015
• Issued: 01/24/2017
• 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., Tung, Douglas W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Kevin Y
• Application Number:
  US14/673,355
• Publication Number:
  US 20150206389A1
• Time in Patent Office: 666 Days
• 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 providing an integrated wagering and interactive media platform. The system may allow various types of third party interactive media providers such as video game publishers (including smartphone and tablet game publishers, console game publishers, etc.), video and other multimedia download or streaming services, and others to access outcomes of real-world wagers associated with users so that the outcomes may be revealed in association with interactive media. Other types of systems may also access the reveal mechanisms to reveal outcomes of real-world wagers such as, for example, retail systems, kiosks, vending machines, and/or other user touch points that can identify a user, obtain wager outcomes from the system, and provide the wager outcomes to the user. Furthermore, in-house developed games and other interactive media may use the reveal mechanisms described herein to reveal outcomes of real-world wagers associated with the user.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of providing an interactive media platform, 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:

obtaining, by the computer system, an indication of a unit of value to which a user is entitled;

determining, by the computer system, at least a portion of the unit of value to be potentially revealed to the user;

generating, by the computer system, a reveal specification comprising one or more reveal parameters that specify at least the portion of the unit of value to be revealed to the user through an interactive media application based on a user interaction by the user with the interactive media application to give the appearance that the user is entitled to the portion of the unit of value based on the user interaction;

causing, by the computer system, the reveal specification to be transmitted to the interactive media application;

generating, by the computer system, a user interface that includes information that indicates the portion of the unit of value and information related to the unit of value to which the user is entitled, wherein the user interface is different from the interactive media application; and

causing, by the computer system, the user interface to be provided to a user device associated with the user responsive to a user request to view the information related to the unit of value to which the user is entitled.

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

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

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

3. The method of claim 2, wherein updating the user account balance based on the information received back from the interactive media application comprises:

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

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the portion of the unit of value is revealed to the user in response to a user input with a physical input associated with a user interaction with the interactive media application to give the appearance that the user won the revealed portion based on the user interaction.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the unit of value corresponds to an amount of real currency, an amount of virtual currency, an amount of digital currency, one or more reward points, one or more tournament points, one or more experience points in a game, and/or a time value.

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

updating, by the computer system, a user account balance based on the indication of the unit of value to which the user is entitled.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein updating the user account balance based on the indication of the unit of value to which the user is entitled comprises:

incrementing, by the computer system, the user account balanced based on the unit of value.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more reveal parameters further comprise an indication of a timing of when to provide a reveal, an identification of an interactive media application to make a reveal, a limit on the amount that may be revealed, a number of reveals to make, a geo-location associated with a reveal, and/or a promotion associated with a reveal.

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

identifying, by the computer system, the interactive media application to reveal the portion of the unit of value based on the one or more reveal parameters, wherein the reveal specification is transmitted to the identified interactive media application.

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

receiving, by the computer system, from the interactive media application, a request for the reveal specification via an application programming interface (API), wherein the reveal specification is transmitted responsive to the request.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the reveal specification is cached at the user device and causes the portion of the user account balance to be revealed by the user device whether or not the user device is offline.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the interactive media application comprises an alternate reality game.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the interactive media application comprises a virtual reality game.

14. A system of providing an interactive media platform, 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, cause the computer system to;

obtain an indication of a unit of value to which a user is entitled;

determine at least a portion of the unit of value to be potentially revealed to the user;

generate a reveal specification comprising one or more reveal parameters that specify at least the portion of the unit of value to be revealed to the user through an interactive media application based on a user interaction by the user with the interactive media application to give the appearance that the user is entitled to the portion of the unit of value based on the user interaction;

cause the reveal specification to be transmitted to the interactive media application;

generate a user interface that includes information that indicates the portion of the unit of value and information related to the unit of value to which the user is entitled, wherein

cause the user interface to be provided to a user device associated with the user responsive to a user request to view the information related to the unit of value to which the user is entitled.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the computer system is further programmed to:

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

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

16. The system of claim 15, wherein to update the user account balance based on the information received back from the interactive media application, the computer system is further programmed to:

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

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the portion of the unit of value is revealed to the user in response to a user input with a physical input associated with a user interaction with the interactive media application to give the appearance that the user won the revealed portion based on the user interaction.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the unit of value corresponds to an amount of real currency, an amount of virtual currency, an amount of digital currency, one or more reward points, one or more tournament points, one or more experience points in a game, and/or a time value.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the computer system is further programmed to:

update a user account balance based on the indication of the unit of value to which the user is entitled.

20. The system of claim 19, 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.

21. The system of claim 14, wherein the one or more reveal parameters further comprise an indication of a timing of when to provide a reveal, an identification of an interactive media application to make a reveal, a limit on the amount that may be revealed, a number of reveals to make, a geo-location associated with a reveal, and/or a promotion associated with a reveal.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the computer system is further programmed to:

identify the interactive media application to reveal the portion of the unit of value based on the one or more reveal parameters, wherein the reveal specification is transmitted to the identified interactive media application.

23. The system of claim 14, wherein the computer system is further programmed to:

receive, from the interactive media application, a request for the reveal specification via an application programming interface (API), wherein the reveal specification is transmitted responsive to the request.

24. The system of claim 14, wherein the reveal specification is cached at the user device and causes the portion of the user account balance to be revealed by the user device whether or not the user device is offline.

25. The system of claim 14, wherein the interactive media application comprises an alternate reality game.

26. The system of claim 14, wherein the interactive media application comprises a virtual reality game.