Real-time interactive wagering on event outcomes

• US 9,406,196 B2
• Filed: 09/05/2007
• Issued: 08/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cantor Index LLC
• Original Assignee: Cantor Index LLC
• Inventors: Asher, Joseph M., Lutnick, Howard W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Milap
• Application Number:
  US11/850,213
• Publication Number:
  US 20070298871A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,254 Days
• Field of Search: 463/25
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 for real-time interactive wagering on event outcomes are presented. Clients are first qualified and given wagering limits before being allowed to interactively wager on event outcomes. Event outcomes may be based on, for example, financial markets and indices, sporting and entertainment events, casino games, casino performances, and natural phenomena such as weather and earthquakes. Events on which wagers can be placed include both those with known and unknown outcome probabilities, and wagers can be a fixed-odds type or a spread-bet type. Wager transactions, including acceptances and confirmations, are executed in real time. Clients can customize displays of events on which they are authorized to wager. Real-time client credit management, automatic dealer hedging, automatic price-spread adjustments, and automatic client and dealer defined wagering limits are also provided.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

qualifying, by a computing device, a user of a remote client device to participate in wagering on a plurality of live casino games, wherein the wagering includes utilizing credit associated with monetary value;

determining, by the computing device, an available amount of the credit, for said wagering, of a user of the remote client device;

determining, by the computing device, the plurality of live casino games on which the user may participate for said wagering;

determining, by the computing device, a set of the plurality of live casino games on which the user is enabled to wager based on the available amount of credit, in which the user is enabled to wager the available amount of credit on a respective live casino game of the set of live casino games if the user has sufficient credit in the available amount of credit to pay a minimum wagering amount associated with the respective live casino game;

communicating, by the computing device, through a data communication interface, a listing of only information about the set of live casino games to the remote client device;

displaying, at a display device coupled to the remote client device, the listing;

communicating, by the computing device, through the data communication interface, a real-time representation of at least one live casino game of said set to the remote client device, the real-time representation comprising at least one of a multimedia format and a text format;

displaying, at the display device, the real-time representation of the at least one live casino game of said set;

receiving, by the computing device, a request from the remote client device to place a wager on a user-selected live casino game from the listing of the set of live casino games, the wager being based in accordance with the rules of said user-selected live casino game;

notifying, through said data communication interface, the remote client device whether said wager has been accepted; and

facilitating, by the computing device, a purchase of a real-world financial market option or contract to hedge against the wager being won by the user, wherein an amount of said purchase is automatically increased, by the computing device, based on a historic performance of the user indicating that the user has a winning record.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the display device comprises a workstation.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the display device comprises a computer.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the display device comprises a television.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said display device is located in a hotel room.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said data communication interface is the Internet.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said data communication interface is an intranet.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said data communication interface is an open system.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising selecting a particular casino in which at least one of the plurality of live casino games occurs.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said data communication interface is a closed system.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising rewarding said user in accordance with predetermined wagering activity criteria.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said rewarding comprises giving said user an increased line of credit.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein said rewarding comprises giving said user free rooms or room upgrades.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein said rewarding comprises giving said user free wagers.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein said rewarding comprises giving credits on said user'"'"'s bill.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein said rewarding comprises giving said user free gifts.

17. The method of claim 11 wherein said rewarding comprises giving said user free event tickets.

18. The method of claim 11 wherein said rewarding comprises giving said user free transportation.

19. The method of claim 11 wherein said rewarding comprises giving said user free access to clubs.

20. The method of claim 11 wherein said reward comprises free meals.

21. The method of claim 11 wherein said predetermined wagering activity criteria includes at least one of the following:

a number of wagers placed by said user exceeding a predetermined minimum number of wagers;

said user placing a wager on a specified event;

the total value of wagers placed by said user exceeding a predetermined minimum total value amount;

said user winning an amount in excess of a predetermined amount; and

said user losing an amount in excess of a predetermined amount.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the computing device, that the available amount of credit has increased;

in response to determining that the available amount of credit has increased, updating the set of live casino games to include at least one additional live casino game; and

communicating, through the data communication interface, an updated listing of the updated set of live casino games to the remote client device.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the computing device, that the available amount of credit has decreased;

in response to determining that the available amount of credit has decreased, updating the set of live casino games to exclude at least one previously included live casino game; and

communicating, through the data communication interface, an updated listing of the updated set of live casino games to the remote client device.

24. The method of claim 1, in which the available amount of credit is based on one or more securities owned by the user, and in which the method further comprises ascertaining the value of the securities to determine the available amount of credit.

25. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the computing device, that an amount of time after determining the available credit has passed without receiving the request; and

in response to determining that the amount of time has passed, updating the available amount of credit, updating the set of live casino games based on the updated available amount of credit, and communicating, through the data communication interface, an updated listing based on the updated set of live casino games to the remote client device.

26. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating an index identifying a win-loss ratio of the user over a number of prior wagers.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

determining an outcome of the wager; and

updating the number of prior wagers to include the outcome and to not include an oldest outcome that was previously included.

28. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the computing device, that the user has a chance of winning the wager that is greater than a threshold percentage based on the historic performance of the user, and in which facilitating the purchase is performed in response to determining that the user has the chance.

29. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting, by the computing device, available wagers to other users in response to a receiving the request.

30. The method of claim 1, in which the listing includes bids that an event in at least one live casino game of the set of live casino games will happen and offers that the event will not happen, in which cost of each of a bid and an offer on the event differ by a spread.

31. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the computing device, that the user has lost a threshold percentage of the available credit in a threshold period of time; and

in response to determining that the user has lost the threshold percentage, halting the user'"'"'s wagering for at least a period of time.

32. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to receiving the request, placing a second wager in addition to the wager on behalf of the user without the user requesting the second wager.

33. The method of claim 32, in which the second wager includes a hedging wager on behalf of the user to stop losses possible from the wager.

34. A system comprising:

a server storage device;

a server processor connected to the server storage device, the server storage device storing a server program for controlling the server processor, the server processor, upon execution of the server program, configured to;

qualify a user of a remote client device to participate in wagering on a plurality of live casino games, wherein the wagering includes utilizing credit associated with a monetary value;

determine an available amount of the credit for said wagering of a user of the remote client device;

determine the plurality of games on which the user may participate for said wagering;

determine a set of the plurality of live casino games on which the user is enabled to wager based on the available amount of credit, in which the user is enabled to wager the available amount of credit on a respective live casino game of the set of live casino games if the user has sufficient credit in the available amount of credit to pay a minimum wagering amount associated with the respective live casino game;

communicate, through a data communication interface, a listing of only information about the set of live casino games to the remote client device;

control the remote client device to display the listing;

communicate, through the data communication interface, a real-time representation of at least one live casino game of said set to the remote client device, the real-time representation comprising at least one of a multimedia format and a text format;

control the remote client device to display the real-time representation of the at least one live casino game of said set;

receive a request from the remote client device to place a wager on a user-selected live casino game from the listing of the set of live casino games, the wagering being based in accordance with the rules of said user-selected live casino game;

notify, through the data communication interface, the remote client device whether said wager has been accepted; and

facilitate a purchase of a real-world financial market option or contract to hedge against the wager being won by the user, wherein an amount of said purchase is automatically increased based on a historic performance of the user indicating that the user has a winning record.

35. The system of claim 34 in which the server processor is further configured to reward said user in accordance with predetermined wagering activity criteria.

36. The system of claim 35 wherein said rewarding comprises giving said user an increased line of credit.

37. The system, of claim 35 wherein said rewarding comprises giving said user free rooms or room upgrades.

38. The system of claim 35 wherein said rewarding comprises giving said user free wagers.

39. The system of claim 35 wherein said rewarding comprises giving credits on said user'"'"'s bill.

40. The system of claim 35 wherein said rewarding comprises giving said user free gifts.

41. The system of claim 35 wherein said rewarding comprises giving said user free event tickets.

42. The system of claim 35 wherein said rewarding comprises giving said user free transportation.

43. The system of claim 35 wherein said rewarding comprises giving said user free access to clubs.

44. The system of claim 35 wherein said rewarding comprises giving said user free meals.

45. The system of claim 35 wherein said predetermined wagering activity criteria includes at least one of the following:

a number of wagers placed by said user exceeding a predetermined minimum number of wagers;

said user placing a wager on a specified event;

the total value of wagers placed by said user exceeding a predetermined minimum total value amount;

said user winning an amount in excess of a predetermined amount; and

said user losing an amount in excess of a predetermined amount.

46. The system of claim 34, in which the server processor is further configured to:

determine that the available amount of credit has increased;

in response to determining that the available amount of credit has increased, update the set of live casino games to include at least one additional live casino game; and

communicating, through the data interface, an updated listing of the updated set of live casino games to the remote client device.

47. The system of claim 34, in which the server processor is further configured to:

determine that the available amount of credit has decreased;

in response to determining that the available amount of credit has decreased, update the set of live casino games to exclude at least one previously included live casino game; and

provide an updated listing of the updated set of live casino games.

48. The system of claim 34, in which the available amount of credit is based on one or more securities owned by the user, and in which the server processor is further configured to ascertain the value of the securities to determine the available credit.

49. The system of claim 34, in which the server processor is further configured to:

determine that an amount of time after determining the available amount of credit has passed without receiving the request; and

in response to determining that the amount of time has passed, update the available amount of credit, update the set of live casino games based on the updated available credit, and communication, through the data interface, an updated listing based on the updated set of live casino games to the remote client device.

50. The system of claim 34, in which the server processor is further configured to:

generate an index identifying a win-loss ratio of the user over a number of prior wagers.

51. The system of claim 50, in which the server processor is further configured to:

determine an outcome of the wager; and

update the number of prior wagers to include the outcome and to not include an oldest outcome that was previously included.

52. The system of claim 34, in which the server processor is further configured to:

determine that the user has a chance of winning the wager that is greater than a threshold percentage based on the historic performance of the user, and in which facilitating the purchase is performed in response to determining that the user has the chance.

53. The system of claim 34, in which the server processor is further configured to:

adjust available wagers to other users in response to a receiving the request.

54. The system of claim 34, in which the listing includes bid wagers that an event in at least one of the set of live casino games will happen and offer wagers that the event will not happen, in which cost of each of a bid wager and an offer wager on the event differ by a spread.

55. The system of claim 34, in which the server processor is further configured to:

determine that the user has lost a threshold percentage of the available amount of credit in a threshold period of time; and

in response to determining that the user has lost the threshold percentage, halt the user'"'"'s wagering for at least a period of time.

56. The system of claim 34, in which the server processor is further configured to:

in response to receiving the request, place a second wager in addition to the wager on behalf of the user without the user requesting the second wager.

57. The system of claim 56, in which the second wager includes a hedging wager on behalf of the user to stop losses possible from the wager.

58. The system of claim 34, in which qualifying the user includes logging the user into a wagering service.

59. A method comprising:

qualifying, by a computing device, a user of a remote client device to participate in wagering on a plurality of live casino games, wherein the wagering includes utilizing credit associated with monetary value;

determining, by the computing device, an available amount of the credit of a user of the remote client device;

determining, by the computing device, the plurality of live casino games on which the user may participate for said wagering;

determining, by the computing device, a set of the plurality of live casino games on which the user is enabled to wager based on the available amount of credit, in which the user is enabled to wager on a respective live casino game of the set of live casino games if the user has sufficient credit to pay a minimum wagering amount associated with the respective live casino game;

communicating, by the computing device, through a data communication interface, a listing of only information about the set of live casino games to the remote client device, in which the listing includes bids that an event in at least one live casino game of the set of live casino games will happen and offers that the event will not happen, in which cost of each of a bid and an offer on the event differ by a spread;

displaying, at a display device coupled to the remote client device, the listing;

receiving, by the computing device, a request from the remote client device to place a wager on a user-selected live casino game from the listing of the set of live casino games, the wagering being based in accordance with the rules of said user-selected live casino game;

notifying, through said data communication interface, the remote client device whether said wager has been accepted; and

adjusting, by the computing device, the spread based on an output of a neural network that includes as input real-world market conditions for the bid and offer wagers and real-world market conditions for hedging opportunities.

60. A system comprising:

a server storage device;

a server processor connected to the server storage device, the server storage device storing a server program for controlling the server processor, the server processor, upon execution of the server program, configured to;

qualify a user of a remote client device to participate in wagering on a plurality of live casino games, wherein the wagering includes utilizing credit associated with a monetary value;

determine an available amount of the credit for said wagering of a user of the remote client device;

determine the plurality of games on which the user may participate for said wager;

determine a set of the plurality of live casino games on which the user is enabled to wager based on the available amount of credit, in which the user is enabled to wager on a respective live casino game of the set of live casino games if the user has sufficient credit in the available amount of credit to pay a minimum wagering amount associated with the respective live casino game;

communicate, through a data communication interface, a listing of only information about the set of live casino games to the remote client device, in which the listing includes bid wagers that an event in at least one of the set of live casino games will happen and offer wagers that the event will not happen, in which cost of each of a bid wager and an offer wager on the event differ by a spread;

control the remote client device to display the listing;

receive a request from the remote client device to place a wager on a user-selected live casino game from the listing of the set of live casino games, the wagering being based in accordance with the rules of said user-selected live casino game;

notify, through the data communication interface, the remote client device whether said wager has been accepted; and

adjust the spread based on an output of a neural network that includes as input market real-world conditions for the bid and offer wagers and real-world market conditions for hedging opportunities.