On-line lottery with player exclusion based on citizenship and residency

• US 9,799,169 B1
• Filed: 12/20/2013
• Issued: 10/24/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Johnathan Gibson Bintliff
• Original Assignee: Johnathan Gibson Bintliff
• Inventors: Bintliff, Jonathan Gibson
• Primary Examiner(s): Yoo, Jasson
• Application Number:
  US14/137,938
• Time in Patent Office: 1,404 Days
• 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 17/3237 about the players, e.g. profiling, responsible gaming, strategy/behavior of players, location of players
• 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 17/329 Regular and instant lottery, e.g. electronic scratch cards

Abstract

An on-line lottery is operated from a jurisdiction, with only players who are not citizens or residents of the jurisdiction being eligible to participate. The eligibility of a prospective player is checked at sign-up and/or when selected to win a prize. If a prospective player is determined to be a citizen or resident of the jurisdiction, their participation in the lottery is nullified, meaning the prospective player was not entered in the lottery, and thus was never eligible to win a prize.

Claims

1. A method, implemented on a lottery computer system comprising at least one processor, of operating a lottery, from a jurisdiction, for registered players that are not residents or citizens of the jurisdiction, the method comprising performing on the lottery computer system the steps of:

receiving, by the lottery computer system, from a prospective player a request to obtain an entry to the lottery;

determining, by the lottery computer system, whether the prospective player is a citizen or a resident of the jurisdiction according to an Internet Protocol (IP) address of a computing device of the prospective player used to access the lottery computer system, wherein an IP address within the jurisdiction indicates that the prospective player is a citizen or a resident of the jurisdiction;

enabling, by the lottery computer system, the prospective player to obtain at least one entry to the lottery only if it is determined that the prospective player is not a citizen or a resident of the jurisdiction, thereby making the prospective player one of the registered players;

receiving, by the lottery computer system, a plurality of entries into the lottery, each entry corresponding to at least one registered player;

selecting, by the lottery computer system, a winning entry from among the plurality of entries, the winning entry corresponding to a registered player; and

awarding, by the lottery computer system, a prize to the registered player corresponding to the winning entry.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein awarding a prize to the registered player corresponding to the winning entry further comprises:

determining whether the registered player is a citizen or a resident of the jurisdiction by comparing a proportion of IP addresses used by the computing device to access the lottery computer system that are within the jurisdiction to a threshold proportion, wherein the proportion of IP addresses within the jurisdiction being less than a threshold proportion indicate that the registered player is not a citizen or resident of the jurisdiction; and

awarding, by the lottery computer system, the prize to the registered player only if it determined that the registered player is not a citizen or a resident of the jurisdiction.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein awarding a prize to the registered player corresponding to the winning entry further comprises:

receiving, from a Global Positioning System receiver in the computing device of the registered player, Global Position System (GPS) data indicating geographic locations at which the computing device of the registered player has been present within a predetermined time period prior to the winning entry being selected;

determining a proportion of the geographic locations that are within the jurisdiction; and

awarding, by the lottery computer system, the prize to the registered player only if the determined proportion is less than a threshold proportion.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein awarding a prize to the registered player corresponding to the winning entry further comprises:

determining by the lottery computer system a plurality of first geographic locations of a computing device of the registered player used to access the lottery computer system according to one or more of the IP addresses used by the computing device within a predetermined time period prior to the winning entry being selected;

receiving, from a Global Positioning System receiver in the computing device of the registered player, Global Position System (GPS) data indicating a plurality of second geographic locations at which the computing device of the registered player has been present within the predetermined time period prior to the winning entry being selected;

determining a total proportion of the first and second geographic locations that are within the jurisdiction; and

awarding, by the lottery computer system, the prize to the registered player only if the determined total proportion is less than a threshold proportion.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein creating, by the lottery computer system, the user profile comprises:

providing, by the lottery computer system, a terms of service for display to the prospective player, the terms of service including notification that citizens or residents of the jurisdiction are not eligible for participation in the lottery, and that registered players determined to be citizens or residents of the jurisdiction shall be retroactively excluded from participation in the lottery; and

registering, by the lottery computer system, the prospective player as a registered player responsive to receiving an indication of acceptance of the terms of service.

6. A computer system comprising:

an electronic data store configured to store user profiles of users;

an eligibility module executable by the computer system to automatically determine from an Internet Protocol (IP) address of a computing device of the user used to access the computer system and a telephone number assigned to the computing device, whether the user is a citizen or a resident of the jurisdiction based on whether the IP address and telephone number correspond to geographic locations within the jurisdiction, and only in response to automatically determining that the user is not a resident or citizen of the jurisdiction, enable the user to register with the computer system as a player in a lottery executed by a lottery module of the computer system, purchase lottery tickets from a pay-in module of the computer system, and collect a prize from a pay-out module of the computer system;

the pay-in module executable by the computer system to identify a number of entries into the lottery for each player, the number of entries for a player based on lottery ticket purchases or financial behavior of the player;

the lottery module executable by the computer system to select a winning entry; and

the pay-out module executable by the computer system to award a prize to the player corresponding to the winning entry only if the eligibility module determines that the player corresponding to the winning entry is not a resident or citizen of the jurisdiction.

7. The computer system of claim 6, wherein the eligibility module is further executable to automatically determine whether a user is a citizen or a resident of the jurisdiction as part of a user profile creation process.

8. The computer system of claim 6, wherein the eligibility module is further executable to automatically determine whether the winning player is a citizen or a resident of the jurisdiction after the selection of the winning entry by the lottery module by determining whether one or more IP addresses used by the computing device of the winning player within a predetermined time period prior to the winning entry are within the jurisdiction.

9. The computer system of claim 6, wherein the eligibility module is further configured to determine whether the prospective player is a citizen or a resident of the jurisdiction by:

determining that the prospective player is a resident of the jurisdiction responsive to the user profile data including a phone number issued in the jurisdiction.

10. A method implemented on computer system, the method comprising:

receiving by the computer system a plurality of entries into the lottery, each entry associated with a corresponding user, the lottery operated by the computer system within a jurisdiction;

selecting by the computer system a winning entry from among the plurality of entries, the winning entry associated with a winning user;

automatically determining by the computer system a plurality Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of the computing device of the winning user used to access the computer system within a specified time period prior to the selection of the winning user; and

awarding by the computer system a prize to the user only if less than a threshold proportion of the automatically determined IP addresses of the computing device of the winning user are within the jurisdiction.

11. A method implemented on a gaming computer system, comprising:

receiving at the gaming computer system from a computing device of a prospective player a request to participate as a registered player in a gaming event operated by the gaming computer system, the gaming event occurring within a first country, the request including a telephone number of the user;

determining from the telephone number a country code for the telephone number;

determining a second country associated with the country code;

determining an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computing device from which the request of the prospective user was received;

determining a geographic location for the IP address;

determining whether or not the first country is the second country;

determining whether or not the geographic location is within the first country;

determining that the prospective user is authorized to participate in the gaming event only in response to the determining that the first country is not the second country and the determining that the geographic location is not within the first country; and

creating an entry in a gaming event database indicating the prospective user as a registered player in the gaming event.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

providing to the registered player a number of entries into the gaming event based at least in part on a number of entries in the gaming event by a first group of users invited to participate in the gaming event by the registered player who then become registered players, and based on a number of a second group of users who become registered players in the gaming event after being invited to participate in the gaming event by one or more registered players from the first group.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein creating an entry in a gaming event database indicating the prospective user as a registered player in the gaming event further comprises:

providing, by the gaming computer system, a terms of service for display on the computing device of the prospective user, the terms of service including notification that citizens or residents of the first country are not eligible for participation in the gaming event, and that registered players subsequently determined to be citizens or residents of the first country shall be retroactively excluded from participation in the gaming event; and

registering, by the gaming computer system, the prospective user as a registered player responsive to receiving an indication from the computing device of the prospective user of acceptance of the terms of service.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving from a computing device of a registered player of the gaming computer system a request for an additional entry in a gaming event operated by the gaming computer system, the event occurring within a first country, the request including a telephone number of the user;

determining that the registered player is eligible for additional entries in the gaming event only in response to the gaming computer system determining that the registered player has not exceeded the respective maximum allowable entries in the gaming event for a given time period; and

creating the additional entries in a gaming event database for the registered player.

15. A method implemented on a gaming computer system operating a gaming event, comprising:

selecting by the gaming computer system from a plurality of registered players in the gaming event operated by the gaming computer system, a registered player to receive a winning outcome of the gaming event, wherein the gaming event occurs within a jurisdiction, and wherein the registered player accesses the gaming computer system from a computing device;

determining a plurality of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of the computing device used by the registered player to access the gaming computer system within a specified time period prior to the selection of the registered player;

determining a proportion of the IP addresses of the computing device used by the registered player that are within the jurisdiction;

responsive to the proportion of IP addresses of the computing device used by the registered player that are within the jurisdiction being less than a threshold proportion, determining that the registered player is not a citizen or a resident of the jurisdiction, and updating an entry in a gaming event database indicating the registered player is confirmed to receive the award associated with the winning outcome; and

responsive to the proportion of IP addresses of the computing device used by the registered player that are within the jurisdiction being greater than a threshold proportion, determining that the registered player is a citizen or a resident of the jurisdiction and, updating an entry in the gaming event database indicating the registered player is not confirmed to receive the award associated with the winning outcome.

16. A method implemented on a gaming computer system, comprising:

receiving from a computing device of a prospective user of the gaming computer system a request to participate as a registered player in a gaming event operated by the gaming computer system, the gaming event occurring within a jurisdiction;

receiving from a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver in the computing device GPS data indicating a current geographic location of the computing device of the prospective user; and

responsive to determining that the current geographic location of the computing device of the prospective user is not within the jurisdiction, determining that the prospective user is not a citizen or a resident of the jurisdiction, and creating an entry in a gaming event database indicating the prospective user is a registered player in the gaming event.

17. A method implemented on a gaming computer system operating a gaming event, comprising:

selecting by the gaming computer system, from a plurality of registered players in the gaming event a registered player to receive a winning outcome of the gaming event, wherein the gaming event occurs within a jurisdiction, and wherein the registered player accesses the gaming computer system from a computing device;

receiving from a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver in the computing device of the registered player GPS data corresponding to a plurality of geographic locations at which the computing device of the selected registered player was present in the jurisdiction within a specified time period prior to the selection of the registered player;

determining from the GPS data a proportion of the geographic locations at which the computing device of the selected registered player was present that are within the jurisdiction;

responsive to the proportion of geographical locations at which the computing device of the selected registered player was present that are within the jurisdiction being less than a threshold proportion, determining that the selected registered player is not a citizen or a resident of the jurisdiction, and updating an entry in a gaming event database indicating the selected registered player is confirmed to receive an award associated with the winning outcome; and

responsive to the proportion of geographic locations at which the computing device of the selected registered player was present that are within the jurisdiction being greater than a threshold proportion, determining that the selected registered player is a citizen or a resident of the jurisdiction, and updating an entry in the gaming event database indicating the selected registered player is not confirmed to receive the award associated with the winning outcome.

18. A method implemented on a lottery computer system of operating a lottery in a jurisdiction for registered players that are not residents or citizens of the jurisdiction, the method comprising:

receiving, by the lottery computer system from a computing device of a prospective player, a request to obtain at least one entry to the lottery, the lottery operated by the computer system, the lottery occurring in the jurisdiction;

automatically determining by the lottery computer system an Internet Protocol (IP) address of a computing device of the prospective player used to access the lottery computer system;

responsive to automatically determining, by the lottery computer system, that the prospective player is not a citizen or a resident of the jurisdiction based at least in part upon the automatically determined IP address not being within the jurisdiction, providing by the lottery computer system at least one entry to the lottery for the prospective player, making the prospective player one of the registered players.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

responsive to automatically determining that the prospective player is a citizen or a resident of the jurisdiction based at least in part upon the automatically determined IP address being within the jurisdiction, providing by the lottery computer system a message to the computing device of the prospective player that the player is not eligible to obtain an entry to the lottery.

20. A method implemented on a lottery computer system of operating a lottery, the method comprising:

receiving, by the lottery computer system from a computing device of a prospective player, a request to obtain at least one entry to the lottery, the lottery operated by the computer system, the lottery occurring in the jurisdiction;

automatically determining by the lottery computer system whether the prospective player is a citizen or a resident of the jurisdiction based upon whether an Internet Protocol (IP) address of a computing device of the prospective player used to access the lottery computer system is within the jurisdiction;

providing, by the lottery computer system, at least one entry to the lottery to the prospective player only if it is automatically determined that the prospective player is not a citizen or a resident of the jurisdiction, thereby making the prospective player one of the registered players;

receiving, by the lottery computer system, a plurality of entries into the lottery, each entry corresponding to a registered player;

selecting, by the lottery computer system, a winning entry from among the plurality of entries, the winning entry corresponding to a registered player; and

awarding, by the lottery computer system, a prize to the registered player corresponding to the winning entry.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein awarding, by the lottery computer system, a prize to the registered player corresponding to the winning entry, further comprises:

automatically determining by the lottery computer system one or more the IP addresses used by the computing device after the at least one entry to the lottery was provided to the registered player;

determining a proportion of the IP addresses that are within the jurisdiction; and

awarding, by the lottery computer system, the prize to the registered player only if the determined proportion is less than a threshold proportion.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein awarding, by the lottery computer system, a prize to the registered player corresponding to the winning entry, further comprises:

automatically determining by the lottery computer system IP addresses used by the computing device after the at least one entry to the lottery was provided to the registered player;

automatically determining, by the lottery computer system, that the registered player is not a citizen or a resident of the jurisdiction based at least in part upon a plurality of the determined IP addresses of the computing device not being within the jurisdiction; and

awarding, by the lottery computer system, the prize to the registered player only if it is automatically determined that the registered player is not a citizen or a resident of the jurisdiction.

23. A method implemented on a lottery computer system of operating a lottery within a jurisdiction, the method comprising:

selecting, by the lottery computer system, a winning entry from among the plurality of entries, the winning entry corresponding to a registered player, wherein the lottery is operated by the computer system, the lottery occurring in the jurisdiction;

automatically determining, by the lottery computer system after the winning entry is selected, at least one Internet Protocol (IP) Address used by a computing device of registered player used to access the lottery computer system;

responsive to automatically determining, by the lottery computer system, that the at least one IP address is not within the jurisdiction, determining that the prospective user is not a citizen or a resident of the jurisdiction and awarding by the lottery computer system the prize to the registered player corresponding to the winning entry; and

responsive to automatically determining, by the lottery computer system, that the at least one IP address is within the jurisdiction, determining that the prospective user is a citizen or a resident of the jurisdiction and not awarding, by the lottery computer system, the prize to the registered player corresponding to the winning entry.