System and method of revealing the outcomes of wagers through physiological condition-based reveals

• US 9,619,967 B2
• Filed: 04/18/2016
• Issued: 04/11/2017
• 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., Selby, Jamison
• Primary Examiner(s): Laneau, Ronald
• Application Number:
  US15/131,630
• Publication Number:
  US 20160232746A1
• Time in Patent Office: 358 Days
• Field of Search: 463 16- 25
• 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 updating a user account balance based on one or more outcomes of wagers placed on behalf of a user and causing the reveal of at least a portion of the user account balance to the user through an interactive media application based on the satisfaction of a physiological condition-based objective associated with the interactive media application, 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, a user account balance associated with one or more user accounts of the user to be stored, wherein the user account balance includes one or more payouts from one or more wagers placed on behalf of the user;

determining, by the computer system, at least a portion of the user account balance to be potentially revealed to the user subject to satisfaction of a physiological condition-based objective in an interactive media application;

causing, by the computer system, information that specifies the portion of the user account balance to be transmitted to the interactive media application via a network;

receiving, by the computer system, back from the interactive media application, information relating to a reveal that is based on whether the physiological condition-based objective has been satisfied; and

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

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

causing, by the computer system, a wager to be placed on behalf of the user through a real currency wagering system;

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

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

3. The method of claim 2, 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.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the physiological condition relates to a heartbeat of the user, a level of perspiration of the user, and/or a blood glucose level of the user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the information related to the reveal comprises information relating to an amount revealed to the user based on physiological condition information satisfying the physiological condition-based objective, wherein the physiological condition information indicates a physiological condition of the user.

6. The method of claim 5, 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.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the information relating to the reveal comprises physiological condition information that indicates a physiological condition of the user, the method further comprising:

determining, by the computer system, that the physiological condition satisfies the physiological condition-based objective; and

responsive to the determination that the physiological condition satisfies the physiological condition-based objective, causing, by the computer system, at least the portion of the user account balance to be revealed to the user via the interactive media application.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the physiological condition information is obtained from a wearable device.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein determining that the physiological condition satisfies the physiological condition-based objective comprises:

obtaining, by the computer system, a threshold value associated with the physiological condition-based objective; and

determining, by the computer system, that a value related to the physiological condition exceeds the threshold value, wherein at least the portion of the user account balance is caused to be revealed to the user based on the determination that the value related to the physiological condition exceeds the threshold value.

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

obtaining, by the computer system, location information from a user device associated with the user, wherein the wager is caused to be placed on behalf of the user based on the location information.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the information that specifies the portion of the user account balance further comprises information related to the physiological condition-based objective.

11. A system of updating a user account balance based on one or more outcomes of wagers placed on behalf of a user and causing the reveal of at least a portion of the user account balance to the user through an interactive media application based on the satisfaction of a physiological condition-based objective associated with the interactive media application, 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;

cause a user account balance associated with one or more user accounts of the user to be stored, wherein the user account balance includes one or more payouts from one or more wagers placed on behalf of the user;

determine at least a portion of the user account balance to be potentially revealed to the user subject to satisfaction of a physiological condition-based objective in an interactive media application;

cause information that specifies the portion of the user account balance to be transmitted to the interactive media application via a network;

receive back from the interactive media application information relating to a reveal that is based on whether the physiological condition-based objective has been satisfied; and

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

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the computer system is further programmed to:

cause a wager to be placed on behalf of the user through a real currency wagering system;

obtain an outcome of the wager; and

update the user account balance based on the outcome.

13. The system of claim 12, 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.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the physiological condition relates to a heartbeat of the user, a level of perspiration of the user, and/or a blood glucose level of the user.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the information related to the reveal comprises information relating to an amount revealed to the user based on physiological condition information satisfying the physiological condition-based objective, wherein the physiological condition information indicates a physiological condition of the user.

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 11, wherein the information relating to the reveal comprises physiological condition information that indicates a physiological condition of the user, wherein the computer system is further programmed to:

determine that the physiological condition satisfies the physiological condition-based objective; and

responsive to the determination that the physiological condition satisfies the physiological condition-based objective, cause at least the portion of the user account balance to be revealed to the user via the interactive media application.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the physiological condition information is obtained from a wearable device.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein to determine that the physiological condition satisfies the physiological condition-based objective, the computer system is further programmed to:

obtain a threshold value associated with the physiological condition-based objective; and

determine that a value related to the physiological condition exceeds the threshold value, wherein at least the portion of the user account balance is caused to be revealed to the user based on the determination that the value related to the physiological condition exceeds the threshold value.

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

obtain location information from a user device associated with the user, wherein the wager is caused to be placed on behalf of the user based on the location information.

22. The system of claim 11, wherein the information that specifies the portion of the user account balance further comprises information related to the physiological condition-based objective.

23. A device that reveals wager outcomes, through an interactive media application, conditioned upon satisfaction of a physiological condition-based objective, the device comprising:

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

receive, from a computer system remote from the device, a reveal specification that specifies a portion of a user account balance to be potentially revealed to a user;

obtain physiological condition information that indicates a physiological condition of the user;

determine that the physiological condition satisfies the physiological condition-based objective;

responsive to the determination that the physiological condition satisfies the physiological condition-based objective, cause at least the portion of the user account balance to be revealed to the user via the interactive media application; and

cause information that indicates the portion of the user account balance revealed to the user to be communicated to the computer system via a network.

24. The device of claim 23, wherein the physiological condition-based objective is specified by the interactive media application.

25. The device of claim 23, wherein the physiological condition-based objective is specified by the computer system, and wherein the device is further programmed to:

receive, from the computer system, information that specifies the physiological condition-based objective, wherein the determination that the physiological condition satisfies the physiological condition-based objective is based on the information received from the computer system.

26. A device that provides physiological condition information to a computer system so that the computer system can determine whether to provide a wager outcome reveal based on the physiological condition information, the device comprising:

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

obtain physiological condition information that indicates a physiological condition of the user;

cause the physiological condition information to be communicated to the computer system via a network;

receive, from the computer system, a reveal specification that specifies a portion of a user account balance to be revealed to the user, responsive to the physiological condition information communicated to the computer system, wherein the user account balance reflects an outcome of at least one wager placed on behalf of the user;

cause at least the portion of the user account balance to be revealed to the user via an interactive media application executing on the device based on the reveal specification; and

cause information that indicates the portion of the user account balance revealed to the user to be communicated to the computer system via the network.