ELECTRONIC WAGERING SYSTEM EMPLOYING MACHINE-READABLE OPTICAL CODES

• US 20170345256A1
• Filed: 05/27/2016
• Published: 11/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Cohen, Charles Philip, Bugno, Christian Mario
• Granted Patent: US 10,706,679 B2
• Time in Patent Office: 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 17/3241 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

Abstract

An electronic wagering system may include a wager selection station, a server, and a software application executed by a mobile communication device. At least one processor of the wager selection station may accept user input specifying parameters of an event on which to place a wager, generate a unique reference from which the specified event parameters are derivable, encode the unique reference in a machine-readable optical code, and display the generated optical code. The software application may operate the user'"'"'s mobile communication device to scan the displayed optical code, retrieve the unique reference by decoding the scanned optical code, transmit the unique reference to the server for deriving the specified event parameters from the unique reference at the server, receive user input to place a wager on the event with the specified parameters, and transmit a request to the server to place the wager on behalf of the user.

Claims

1. An electronic wagering system comprising:

a wager selection station having at least one output display and at least one user input mechanism, the wager selection station being operatively coupled to at least one processor with least one storage medium storing processor-executable instructions that cause the at least one processor of the wager selection station to;

accept, via the at least one user input mechanism, user input specifying one or more parameters of an event on which to place a wager;

generate a unique reference from which the specified event parameters are derivable;

encode the unique reference in a machine-readable optical code; and

display the generated machine-readable optical code on the at least one output display;

a server comprising at least one processor and at least one storage medium storing processor-executable instructions that cause the at least one processor of the server to derive the user-specified event parameters from the unique reference; and

a software application comprising a set of software instructions that, when executed by a mobile communication device of the user, operate the user'"'"'s mobile communication device to;

scan the displayed machine-readable optical code from the at least one output display of the wager selection station via an imaging device of the mobile communication device;

retrieve the unique reference by decoding the scanned machine-readable optical code;

transmit the decoded unique reference to the server via a network communication interface of the mobile communication device, for deriving the specified event parameters from the unique reference at the server;

receive user input at the mobile communication device to place a wager on the event with the specified parameters derived from the unique reference at the server; and

transmit a request to the server to place the wager on behalf of the user.

2. The electronic wagering system of claim 1, wherein the mobile communication device is owned by the user.

3. The electronic wagering system of claim 1, wherein the event on which the wager is placed is a sports event.

4. The electronic wagering system of claim 1, wherein the wager selection station comprises a touchscreen providing the at least one output display and the at least one user input mechanism.

5. The electronic wagering system of claim 1, wherein the software application further operates the user'"'"'s mobile communication device to require user authentication before transmitting the request to the server to place the wager on behalf of the user.

6. A wagering server system comprising:

at least one network communication interface;

at least one processor; and

at least one storage medium storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, perform a method comprising;

receiving, from a wager selection station via the at least one network communication interface, parameters of an event on which to place a wager, specified by user input entered via the wager selection station;

generating a unique reference from which the specified event parameters are derivable at the server, the unique reference being suitable for encoding in a machine-readable optical code;

transmitting the generated unique reference to the wager selection station for encoding and display to the user as the machine-readable optical code at the wager selection station;

receiving, from a mobile communication device of the user via the at least one network communication interface, the unique reference having been decoded from the machine-readable optical code scanned by the user'"'"'s mobile communication device from the wager selection station;

deriving the user-specified event parameters from the unique reference received from the mobile communication device; and

placing a wager on behalf of the user on the event with the specified parameters derived from the unique reference.

7. The wagering server system of claim 6, wherein the mobile communication device is owned by the user.

8. The wagering server system of claim 6, wherein the event on which the wager is placed is a sports event.

9. The wagering server system of claim 8, wherein the parameters of the sports event on which to place the wager comprise at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of:

one or more specified sports matches in which the event is to occur, one or more specified sports teams to be involved in the event, one or more specified sports players to be involved in the event, one or more predicted winners of one or more specified sports matches, one or more specified plays to be performed in the event, one or more specified scores to be achieved in the event, one or more specified score differences to be achieved in the event, and one or more specified time periods in which the event is to occur.

10. The wagering server system of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises transmitting the event parameters derived from the unique reference to the mobile communication device for display to the user at the mobile communication device.

11. The wagering server system of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises receiving from the mobile communication device a request to place the wager on behalf of the user, wherein the wager is placed in response to receiving the request.

12. The wagering server system of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises receiving from the mobile communication device an indication of a monetary amount of the wager to be placed, specified by user input via the mobile communication device.

13. The wagering server system of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises receiving from the wager selection station an indication of a monetary amount of the wager to be placed, specified by user input entered via the wager selection station, wherein generating the unique reference comprises generating a unique reference from which the monetary amount of the wager and the specified event parameters are derivable.

14. At least one non-transitory processor-readable storage medium storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a mobile communication device, perform a wagering method comprising:

scanning a machine-readable optical code via an imaging device of the mobile communication device;

retrieving a unique reference by decoding the machine-readable optical code;

transmitting the unique reference, via a network communication interface of the mobile communication device, to a server for deriving from the unique reference, at the server, one or more specified parameters of an event on which to place a wager;

receiving from the server, via the network communication interface, the specified event parameters derived from the unique reference at the server;

receiving user input at the mobile communication device to place a wager on the event with the specified parameters; and

transmitting a request to the server to place the wager on behalf of the user.

15. The at least one non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein scanning the machine-readable optical code comprises scanning the machine-readable optical code displayed on an electronic display screen.

16. The at least one non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein scanning the machine-readable optical code comprises scanning the machine-readable optical code printed on a physical medium.

17. The at least one non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the event on which the wager is placed is a sports event.

18. The at least one non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the parameters of the sports event on which to place the wager comprise at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of:

one or more specified sports matches in which the event is to occur, one or more specified sports teams to be involved in the event, one or more specified sports players to be involved in the event, one or more predicted winners of one or more specified sports matches, one or more specified plays to be performed in the event, one or more specified scores to be achieved in the event, one or more specified score differences to be achieved in the event, and one or more specified time periods in which the event is to occur.

19. The at least one non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the user input to place the wager comprises user input specifying a monetary amount of the wager.

20. The at least one non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises receiving from the server an indication of a monetary amount of the wager to be placed, derived from the unique reference at the server.

21. The at least one non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises requiring user authentication before transmitting the request to the server to place the wager on behalf of the user.

22. The at least one non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises sharing the scanned machine-readable optical code and/or the unique reference with another user by transmitting the scanned machine-readable optical code and/or unique reference from the mobile communication device to a device of the other user.