Drawing for winners over the internet using receipts and zipcodes

• US 6,942,569 B2
• Filed: 06/11/2002
• Issued: 09/13/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Anthony Petracca
• Original Assignee: Anthony Petracca
• Inventors: Petracca, Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): ONEILL, MICHAEL W
• Application Number:
  US10/360,792
• Publication Number:
  US 20040106453A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,190 Days
• Field of Search: 463 16- 31, 463 40- 42, 273/138.1, 273/138, 273/139, 273/224, 273/269, 705/14, 700 91- 93, 235375-386
• US Class Current: 463/17
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3255 Incentive, loyalty and/or promotion schemes, e.g. comps, gaming associated with a purchase, gaming funded by advertisements

Abstract

In this Automatic Electronic Entry allows entry for the award drawing using electonic receipts. Users with receipts from electronic ATMs, debit card, EZ Pass and Internet merchants and other fee and receipt collectors would have the option to be automatically entered into the drawings through means other than registering and entering into the games manually via the web site. All receipts will be entered into all daily, weekly, monthly and year end games. Receipts will continued to have the information such as data and time. Individuals will have the option at the time of purchase or ATM transaction to participate in the drawing.

Claims

1. A method of conducting a drawing sweepstake at a retail fee collector over the Internet in which:

(a) a plurality of players obtain an electronic receipt, each of the receipts displaying at least a time and a date;

(b) at the player'"'"'s request or with the player'"'"'s consent, the retail store fee collector logs on to the Internet and communicates with a server drawing web site;

(c) the drawing web site displays a web page having a place indicating that it is to be filled in with a time and a date and the player'"'"'s electronic receipt from the retail fee collector is then scanned or manually processed to enter the time and date from the receipt;

(d) the drawing web site displaying said page also having a place that is filled in with a zip code from the receipt and when there is no zip code on the receipt, a zip code is automatically randomly assigned by the web site and said place is automatically filled in with said randomly assigned zip code, and

(e) the drawing web site randomly selects a time, a date and also selects a portion or all of a zip code and awards a prize to a player whose data most closely matches said randomly selected data.

3. A method as in claim 1 or 2 wherein said retail fee collector'"'"'s receipt is in the form of an electronic data receipt selected from the group consisting of:

(a) retail store purchase receipts;

(b) restaurant receipts;

(c) credit card purphase receipts;

(d) gasoline purchase receipts;

(e) ATM receipts;

(F) parking receipts;

(g) theater ticket receipts; and

(h) fee collector receipts.

4. A method as in claim 1 or 2 wherein said retail collector'"'"'s receipt is a document selected from the group consisting of:

(A) retail store purchase receipts;

(b) restaurant receipts;

(c) credit card purchase receipts;

(d) gasoline purchase receipts;

(e) ATM slips;

(f) parking tickets;

(g) theater ticket stubs;

(h) fee collector receipts; and

(i) paper slips.

2. A method of conducting a drawing sweepstake at a retail fee collector over the Internet in which:

(a) a plurality of players obtain an electronic receipt, each of the receipts displaying at least a date;

(b) the retail store fee collector logs on to the Internet and communicates with a server drawing web site;

(c) the drawing web site displays a web page having a place indicating that it is to be filled in with a date and the player'"'"'s electronic receipt from the retail fee collector is then scanned or manually processed to enter the date from the receipt;

(d) the drawing web site displaying said page also having a place that is filled in by the time on the receipt and when there is no time on the receipt, the log on time is automatically used;

(e) the drawing web site displays said page also having a place that is filled in with a zip code from the receipt and when there is no zip code on the receipt, a zip code is automatically randomly assigned and filled in by the web site, and

(f) the drawing web site randomly selects a date, time and portion or all of a zip code and awards a prize to a player whose data most closely matches said randomly selected data.

5. A method of conducting a drawing sweepstake over the Internet using data from electronic receipts from provider merchants or fee collectors in which:

(a) a plurality of players obtain an electronic receipt from providers, each said receipt displaying at least a time and a date;

(b) the provider automatically logs on to the Internet and communicates with a server drawing web site;

(c) the drawing web site displays a web page having a place where it is automatically filled in with a time and a date by the provider;

(d) the drawing web site displaying said page also having a place that is automatically filled in with a zip code from the electronic receipt and when there is no zip code on the electronic receipt, the merchant or fee collector may fill in its own zip code;

when no zip code is filled in, zip code is automatically randomly assigned by the web site and said place is automatically filled in, and

(e) the drawing web site randomly selects a time, a data and a portion or all of a zip code and awards a prize to a player whose time, date and zip code most closely matches the selected time, date and zip code.

6. A method of automatically conducting a drawing sweepstake over the Internet using data from electronic receipts from a provider merchant or fee collector is which:

(a) a plurality of players obtain a receipt, each of the receipts displaying at least a date;

(b) the provider automatically logs on to the Internet and communicates with a server drawing web site;

(c) the drawing web site displays a web page having a place where it automatically is filled in with said date;

(d) the drawing web site displaying said page also having a place that is automatically filled in by the time on the receipts and when there is no time on the receipt, the log on time is automatically used;

(e) the drawing web site displaying said page also having a place that is automatically filled in with a zip code from the electronic receipt and when there is no zip code on the receipt, a zip code is automatically randomly assigned by the web site, and

(f) the drawing web site randomly selects a date, time and portion or all of a zip code and awards a prize to a player whose date and time and zip code most closely matches the selected date and time and zip code.

7. A method of conducting a drawing sweepstake over a network using date from electronic receipts from a fee collector including:

(a) logging on to a network and communicating with a server drawing web site;

(b) the drawing web site displaying a web page having a place which the fee collector fills in with a time and a date from the receipt displaying at least a time and a date;

(c) the drawing web site displaying said page also having a place to be filled in with a zip code from the receipt, when there is no zip code on the receipt, a zip code is automatically randomly assigned by the web site and said palace is automatically filled in, and

(d) the drawing web site randomly selects a time, a date and a portion or all of a zip code and awards a prize for the receipts whose time, date and zip code most closely matches the selected time, date and zip code.

8. A method of conducting a drawing sweepstake over a network using data from electronic receipts from a fee collector including:

(a) logging onto a network and communicating with a server drawing web site;

(b) the drawing web site displaying a web page having a place which the fee collector fills in with a date from the receipt displaying at least a date;

(c) the drawing web site displays a web page having a place to be filled in by the time on the receipt by the fee collector and when there is no time on the receipt the log on time is automatically used;

(d) the drawing web site displaying said web page also having a place where a zip code is filled in from the receipt and when there is no zip code on the receipt, a zip code is automatically randomly assigned by the web site and said place is automatically filled in, and

(e) the drawing web site randomly selects a time, a date and a portion or all of a zip code and awards a prize for the receipt whose time, date and zip code most closely matches the selected time, date and zip code.