System and method for wagering based on financial market indicators

Abstract

A method for wagering comprises receiving a bet regarding a spin of the reels of a slot machine. The method continues by determining a first value for a first reel of the slot machine based at least in part upon the value of a digit of a first financial market indicator. The method proceeds by determining a second value for a second reel of the slot machine, and by determining a third value for a third reel of the slot machine. The method concludes by determining the outcome of the bet based at least in part upon the first value, the second value, and the third value.

1 . A wagering system, comprising: 
 a client operable to communicate a bet regarding a spin of the reels of a slot machine;    a controller communicably coupled to the client and operable to:    determine a first value for a first reel of the slot machine based at least in part upon the value of a digit of a first financial market indicator;    determine a second value for a second reel of the slot machine;    determine a third value for a third reel of the slot machine; and    determine the outcome of the bet based at least in part upon the first value, the second value, and the third value.    
   
   
       2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the client comprises the slot machine.  
   
   
       3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the client comprises at least one of: 
 a computer;    a mobile phone;    a personal digital assistant;    a kiosk; and    a point of sale terminal.    
   
   
       4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the slot machine comprises a virtual slot machine displayed by the client.  
   
   
       5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is further operable to: 
 map the first value to a symbol for the first reel of the slot machine;    map the second value to a symbol for the second reel of the slot machine; and    map the third value to a symbol for the third reel of the slot machine;    wherein determining the outcome is further based at least in part upon the symbols of the first reel, the second reel, and the third reel of the slot machine.    
   
   
       6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first financial market indicator comprises a plurality of numerical digits, and the first value is based at least in part upon the value of the last digit of the plurality of digits.  
   
   
       7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first financial market indicator comprises a plurality of numerical digits, and the first value is based at least in part upon a formula using at least one of the plurality of digits.  
   
   
       8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first financial market indicator comprises a plurality of numerical digits, and the first value is based at least in part upon the value of at least one particular digit of the plurality of digits, the particular digit identified by the bet.  
   
   
       9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first financial market indicator is associated with at least one of: 
 the Dow Jones Industrial Average;    the NASDAQ;    the Financial Times Stock Exchange; and    the S&P 500.    
   
   
       10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first value is based upon the value of a digit of the first financial market indicator a predetermined period of time after receiving the bet.  
   
   
       11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the bet identifies the predetermined period of time.  
   
   
       12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the bet identifies a source of the first financial market indicator.  
   
   
       13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller determines a payout for the bet based at least in part upon the determined outcome.  
   
   
       14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the bet is associated with a bet amount and determining a payout is further based upon the bet amount.  
   
   
       15 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the second value is based at least in part upon the value of a digit of a second financial market indicator.  
   
   
       16 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the second value is based at least in part upon the value of a second digit of the first financial market indicator.  
   
   
       17 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the third value is based at least in part upon the value of a digit of a third financial market indicator.  
   
   
       18 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first reel, the second reel, and the third reel are arranged in any order in the slot machine.  
   
   
       19 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first financial market indicator is unavailable and, in response, the controller is operable to determine the first value based upon non-random numerical data.  
   
   
       20 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the non-random numerical data is associated with at least one of: 
 the weather in a particular location;    the U.S. national debt;    the power consumption of a particular city;    television ratings;    the power output generated by a particular facility; and    the results of a particular sporting event.    
   
   
       21 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein at least one of the symbols comprises a bonus symbol and, in response, the controller determines an enhanced payout for the bet.  
   
   
       22 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first value is based upon the value of a digit of the first financial market indicator at the time when the bet was placed.  
   
   
       23 . A method for wagering, comprising: 
 receiving a bet regarding a spin of the reels of a slot machine;    determining a first value for a first reel of the slot machine based at least in part upon the value of a digit of a first financial market indicator;    determining a second value for a second reel of the slot machine;    determining a third value for a third reel of the slot machine; and    determining the outcome of the bet based at least in part upon the first value, the second value, and the third value.    
   
   
       24 . The method of  claim 23 , further comprising: 
 mapping the first value to a symbol for the first reel of the slot machine;    mapping the second value to a symbol for the second reel of the slot machine; and    mapping the third value to a symbol for the third reel of the slot machine;    wherein determining the outcome is further based at least in part upon the symbols of the first reel, the second reel, and the third reel of the slot machine.    
   
   
       25 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the first financial market indicator comprises a plurality of numerical digits, and the first value is based at least in part upon the value of the last digit of the plurality of digits.  
   
   
       26 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the first financial market indicator comprises a plurality of numerical digits, and the first value is based at least in part upon a formula using at least one of the plurality of digits.  
   
   
       27 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the first financial market indicator comprises a plurality of numerical digits, and the first value is based at least in part upon the value of at least one particular digit of the plurality of digits, the particular digit identified by the bet.  
   
   
       28 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the slot machine comprises a physical slot machine.  
   
   
       29 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the slot machine comprises a virtual slot machine.  
   
   
       30 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the first financial market indicator is associated with at least one of: 
 the Dow Jones Industrial Average;    the NASDAQ;    the Financial Times Stock Exchange; and    the S&P 500.    
   
   
       31 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the first value is based upon the value of a digit of the first financial market indicator a predetermined period of time after receiving the bet.  
   
   
       32 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the bet identifies the predetermined period of time.  
   
   
       33 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the bet identifies a source of the first financial market indicator.  
   
   
       34 . The method of  claim 23 , further comprising determining a payout for the bet based at least in part upon the determined outcome.  
   
   
       35 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein the bet is associated with a bet amount and determining a payout is further based upon the bet amount.  
   
   
       36 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the second value is based at least in part upon the value of a digit of a second financial market indicator.  
   
   
       37 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the second value is based at least in part upon the value of a second digit of the first financial market indicator.  
   
   
       38 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein the third value is based at least in part upon the value of a digit of a third financial market indicator.  
   
   
       39 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the first reel, the second reel, and the third reel are arranged in any order in the slot machine.  
   
   
       40 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the first financial market indicator is unavailable and, in response, determining the first value comprises determining the first value based upon non-random numerical data.  
   
   
       41 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the non-random numerical data is associated with at least one of: 
 the weather in a particular location;    the U.S. national debt;    the power consumption of a particular city;    television ratings;    the power output generated by a particular facility; and    the results of a particular sporting event.    
   
   
       42 . The method of  claim 24  wherein at least one of the symbols comprises a bonus symbol and, in response, the controller determines an enhanced payout for the bet.  
   
   
       43 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the first value is based upon the value of a digit of the first financial market indicator at the time when the bet was placed.  
   
   
       44 . A method for wagering, comprising: 
 receiving a bet indicating the value of a multi-digit number;    determining a first value based at least in part upon the value of a digit of a first financial market indicator;    determining a second value based at least in part upon the value of a digit of a second financial market indicator;    determining a winning number based at least in part upon the first value and the second value;    comparing the winning number against the value of the multi-digit number indicated by the bet; and    determining an outcome of the bet based at least in part upon the comparison.    
   
   
       45 . The method of  claim 44 , further comprising determining a third value based at least in part upon the value of a third financial market indicator, wherein determining the winning number is further based upon the third value.  
   
   
       46 . The method of  claim 44 , wherein the first value and the second value are arranged in an order to determine the winning number, and the order is indicated by the bet.  
   
   
       47 . The method of  claim 44 , wherein the first financial market indicator comprises a plurality of numerical digits, and the first value is based at least in part upon the value of the last digit of the plurality of digits.  
   
   
       48 . The method of  claim 44 , wherein the first financial market indicator comprises a plurality of numerical digits, and the first value is based at least in part upon a formula using at least one of the plurality of digits.  
   
   
       49 . The method of  claim 44 , wherein the first financial market indicator comprises a plurality of numerical digits, and the first value is based at least in part upon the value of at least one particular digit of the plurality of digits, the particular digit identified by the bet.  
   
   
       50 . The method of  claim 44 , wherein the first financial market indicator is associated with at least one of: 
 the Dow Jones Industrial Average;    the NASDAQ;    the Financial Times Stock Exchange; and    the S&P 500.    
   
   
       51 . The method of  claim 44 , wherein the first value is based upon the value of a digit of the first financial market indicator determined a predetermined period of time after receiving the bet.  
   
   
       52 . The method of  claim 51 , wherein the bet identifies the predetermined period of time.  
   
   
       53 . The method of  claim 44 , wherein the bet identifies a source of the first financial market indicator.  
   
   
       54 . The method of  claim 44 , further comprising determining a payout for the bet based at least in part upon the determined outcome.  
   
   
       55 . The method of  claim 54 , wherein the bet is associated with a bet amount and determining a payout is further based upon the bet amount.  
   
   
       56 . The method of  claim 44 , wherein the second value is based at least in part upon the value of a digit of a second financial market indicator.  
   
   
       57 . The method of  claim 44 , further comprising: 
 mapping the first value to a symbol for a first reel of a slot machine;    mapping the second value to a symbol for a second reel of a slot machine; and    determining another outcome of the bet based at least in part upon the symbols of the first reel and the second reel of the slot machine.    
   
   
       58 . The method of  claim 57 , wherein the first reel and the second reel are arranged in any order in the slot machine.  
   
   
       59 . The method of  claim 57 , wherein the slot machine comprises a physical slot machine.  
   
   
       60 . The method of  claim 57 , wherein the slot machine comprises a virtual slot machine.