Computer graphics processing and display of selectable items

• US 8,342,946 B2
• Filed: 07/04/2009
• Issued: 01/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CG Technology Development, LLC (Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P.)
• Original Assignee: BGC Partners Incorporated (BGC Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Amaitis, Lee, Garrood, Andrew, Colbert, Mike, Parks, Heather, Storm, Anthony, Barton, Foster, Bradshaw, Thomas D.
• Primary Examiner(s): McClellan, James S
• Application Number:
  US12/497,668
• Publication Number:
  US 20100160012A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,277 Days
• Field of Search: 463/21, 463/25, 463/29, 463/42, 463/30, 463/31
• US Class Current: 463/25
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/40 Data acquisition and logging for input to computer G06F3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/34 Betting or bookmaking, e.g. Internet betting
• 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 17/3288 Betting, e.g. on live events, bookmaking

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for wagering during an event. In some embodiments, the system creates real-time markets for betting on outcomes during a live sporting event. The system determines odds for outcomes based on determined probabilities of those outcomes. A betting market is opened. A touch-sensitive display device displays a video of the game including a live image of a first location of a playing area. A bet is received from a first user based on touching the first location. After the betting market is closed, the bet outcome is resolved, and a payout is automatically paid to a winning bettor.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving by at least one processor state information of a live event in real time, in which the live event comprises a sporting event played by human players according to predetermined rules that are used to determine at least one winner of the sporting event, in which at least a portion of the sporting event is played at a playing area;

determining by the at least one processor an initial state and a plurality of possible future states of a performance parameter of the live event based on the state information;

creating by the at least one processor a first betting market for betting on at least one of the plurality of possible future states, in which the plurality of users comprises a first user, and in which the act of creating a first betting market comprises;

determining by the processor probabilities for the plurality of possible future states, in which a first one of the possible future states is defined by a first location of the playing area; and

based at least in part on the probabilities, determining by the processor odds for betting on at least one of the plurality of possible future states, the odds comprising at least first odds for betting on the first possible future state;

after creating the first betting market, causing, by the at least one processor, a video of the game to be displayed to the first user at a touch-sensitive display device, the live video comprising at least one image of the playing area comprising a live image of the first location;

receiving by the at least one processor from a first of a plurality of users a first bet, in which the act of receiving the first bet comprises receiving indicia of a touching of the live image of the first location of the playing area corresponding to the first one of the plurality of possible future states defined by the first location;

after receiving the first bet, closing by the processor the first betting market prior to an end time of the initial state;

sending from the at least one processor an instruction signal to close the first betting market;

determining by the at least one processor an actual future state of the performance parameter;

determining by the at least one processor that the possible future state selected by the first user is the actual future state; and

automatically paying a payout to the first user based on the first bet and the act of determining that the first possible future state selected by the first user is the actual future state.

2. The method of claim 1, the plurality of users comprises a second user and a third user, further comprising:

receiving from the second user a request to make a bet mutually exclusive to a bet of a third user, the request comprising a proposed bet amount;

based on the request to bet against the third user, transmitting to the third user a request to make a bet mutually exclusive to a bet of the second user;

receiving from the third user an acceptance of the request to make a bet mutually exclusive to a bet of the second user, in which the acceptance comprises a selection by the third user of a possible future state that is contrary to a possible future state selected by the second user;

determining that the possible future state selected by the second user is the actual future state; and

paying a payout to the second user based on the proposed bet amount, in which the payout to the second user comprises an amount substantially equal to the proposed first bet amount.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising prompting the second user to place a bet only if another user places an equal and opposite bet to the second user'"'"'s bet.

4. The method of claim 1, in which the plurality of users comprises a second user and a third user, further comprising:

receiving from the second user a request to make a bet mutually exclusive to a bet of the third user, the request comprising a proposed first bet amount;

responsive to the request to make a bet mutually exclusive to a bet of the third user, transmitting to the third user a request to make a bet mutually exclusive to a bet of the second user;

receiving from the third user an acceptance of the request to make a bet mutually exclusive to a bet of the second user, in which the acceptance comprises a selection by the third user of a possible future state that is contrary to a possible future state selected by the second user and the acceptance comprises a proposed second bet amount different from the proposed first bet amount.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

transmitting to the second user the proposed second bet amount;

receiving from the second user an acceptance of the proposed second bet amount;

determining that the possible future state selected by the second user is the actual future state;

paying a payout to the second user based on the proposed second bet amount.

6. The method of claim 1, in which the first bet is received from a first user gaming device, further comprising:

causing the first user gaming device to output first user bet information to other users.

7. The method of claim 6, in which the act of causing the first user gaming device to output first use bet information to other users comprises causing the first user gaming device to output first user bet information as at least one of light and sound at the first user gaming device,

in which the first user bet information is output as light of a particular color, in which the particular color corresponds to a type of the first user'"'"'s bet.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving from the first user a request for a statistic relating to the performance parameter;

transmitting the requested statistic to the first user.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a probability of occurrence for at least one of the plurality of possible future states;

determining odds for the at least one possible future state, in which the payout is paid in an amount determined based on the odds, in which the odds are determined according to pari mutuel betting rules.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a plurality of bets on the plurality of possible future states; and

determining odds for at least one of the plurality of possible future events based on at least one of the number and amount of bets for and counter to the at least one of the plurality of possible future states.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

determining a percentage of users who bet on a specific possible future state; and

displaying information about the percentage of users who bet on a specific possible future state.

12. The method of claim 1, in which the sporting event occurs during an event time duration such that the sporting event begins at the beginning of the event time duration and ends at the end of the event time duration, the sporting event comprising a plurality of portions of the event occurring during sequential portions of the event time duration, in which a plurality of possible future states comprises a possible future state occurring at the end of one of the sequential time periods, and in which at least one betting market is created for each of the sequential time periods.

13. The method of claim 1, in which the act of determining the probability of occurrence comprises:

determining a probability of occurrence based on a player'"'"'s performance prior to the live event in at least one of the following performance categories;

batting average, points scored, yards run, number of carries, runs batted in (RBIs), bases stolen, home runs, pass completion percentage, on base percentage, total bases per at bat, number of errors, number of aces, double fault percentage, free throw percentage, number of rebounds, handicap, number of golf strokes, and number of strike-outs.

14. The method of claim 1, in which the act of determining the probability of occurrence comprises:

determining a probability of occurrence based on a player'"'"'s performance during the live event in at least one of the following performance categories;

batting average, points scored, yards run, number of carries, runs batted in (RBIs), bases stolen, home runs, pass completion percentage, on base percentage, total bases per at bat, number of errors, number of aces, double fault percentage, free throw percentage, number of rebounds, handicap, number of golf strokes, and number of strike-outs.

15. The method of claim 1, in which the live event comprises a competition in at least one of tennis, squash, badminton, baseball, softball, cricket, surfing, football, soccer, basketball, hockey, gymnastics, skating, golf, running, swimming, skiing, biking, rugby, polo, water polo, bowling, dancing, billiards, shooting, a track and field competition, horse racing, dog racing, automobile racing, motorcycle racing, boat racing, fishing, boxing, a martial art competition, a mixed martial arts competition, a casino game, a card game, and chess.

16. The method of claim 1, in which the live event comprises a game of baseball, and the plurality of possible states comprise mutually exclusive outcomes of at least one of a specific player'"'"'s at-bat, a top of an inning, a bottom of an inning, a whole inning, and multiple innings.

17. The method of claim 1, in which the live event comprises a game of football, and the plurality of possible states comprise mutually exclusive outcomes of at least one of a play, a set of plays before a first down, a quarter, a half, and a two minute drill.

18. The method of claim 1, in which the first possible future state selected by the first user comprises at least one of:

a score, a number of points, a number of yards, a type of play, a number of runs in an inning, a number of runs in a game, a number of home runs, a number of base hits, a number of doubles, a number of triples, a number of errors, a number of aces, a number of golf strokes by a player on a hole, a number of golf strokes by a player on a plurality of holes, a number of three-pointers, and a number of rebounds.

19. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory, in which the at least one memory stores instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, direct the at least one processor to;

receive state information of a live event in real time, the live event comprising a sporting event played by human players according to predetermined rules that are used to determine at least one winner of the sporting event, in which at least a portion of the sporting event is played at a playing area;

determine an initial state and a plurality of possible future states of a performance parameter of the live event based on the state information;

create a first betting market for betting on at least a first one of the plurality of possible future states, in which the plurality of users comprises a first user, in which the act of creating a first betting market comprises;

determining probabilities for the plurality of possible future states, in which a first one of the possible future states is defined by a first location of the playing area; and

based on the probabilities, determining odds for betting on at least one of the plurality of possible future states, the odds comprising at least first odds for betting on the first possible future state;

after creating the first betting market, cause, by the at least one processor, a video of the game to be displayed to the first user at a touch-sensitive display device, the live video comprising at least one live image of the playing area;

receive from a first of a plurality of users a first bet, in which the act of receiving the first bet comprises receiving indicia of a touching of the live image of the first location of the playing area corresponding to the first one of the plurality of possible future states defined by the first location;

after receiving the first bet, close the first betting market prior to an end time of the initial state;

send an instruction signal to close the first betting market;

determine an actual future state of the performance parameter;

determine that the possible future state selected by the first user is the actual future state; and

automatically pay a payout to the first user based on the first bet and the act of determining that the first possible future state selected by the first user is the actual future state.

20. An apparatus comprising:

a touch-sensitive display device comprising a user input device;

a processor operably connected to the display; and

a memory operably connected to the processor and the display, in which the memory stores instructions which, when executed by the processor, direct the processor to;

receive state information of a live event in real time, the live event comprising a sporting event played by human players according to predetermined rules that are used to determine at least one winner of the sporting event;

determine an initial state and a plurality of possible future states of a performance parameter of the live event based on the state information;

create a first betting market for betting on at least one of the plurality of possible future states, in which the plurality of users comprises a first user, in which the act of creating a first betting market comprises;

determining probabilities for the plurality of possible future states; and

based on the probabilities, determining odds for betting on at least one of the plurality of possible future states;

after creating the first betting market, receive from a first of a plurality of users a first bet comprising a selection of one of the plurality of possible future states;

after receiving the first bet, close the first betting market prior to an end time of the initial state;

send an instruction signal to close the first betting market;

determine an actual future state of the performance parameter;

determine that the possible future state selected by the first user is the actual future state; and

pay a payout to the first user based on the first bet and the act of determining that the possible future state selected by the first user is the actual future state;

transmit a live video of the live event in real time to a touch-sensitive display device, the live video comprising an image of a player in the live event;

cause the touch-sensitive display device to display an image of the player;

receive from the display device an indication that a user touched the image of the player on the touch-sensitive display;

in response to receiving the indication, cause the touch-sensitive display device to output betting information related to the player;

cause the display device to display a betting menu overlay on the touchsensitive display, the betting menu overlay comprising at least one image corresponding to a betting option;

receive a signal indicating that a user touched the at least one image; and

responsive to the signal, determine a selection of the betting option by the user;

in which the live video comprises an image of a player, and wherein the touch-sensitive display is operable to output betting information related to the player when the image of the player is touched by a user, and in which the sporting event occurs during an event time duration such that the sporting event begins at the beginning of the event time duration and ends at the end of the event time duration, sporting event comprising a plurality of portions of the event occurring during sequential portions of the event time duration, in which a plurality of possible future states comprises a possible future state occurring at the end of one of the sequential time periods, and in which at least one betting market is created for each of the sequential time periods.