Methods and systems for secure mobile integrated lottery gaming

Abstract

A wireless lottery ticket sales system includes a cellular telephone, a short message service (SMS) gateway and an application server that is in electronic communication with a lottery operator's system. Aspects of the invention provide a new conduit for lottery players to purchase lottery ticket(s) electronically using a cellular telephone or similar wireless handheld device, while the lottery operator can collect proceeds of sales and maintain a non-volatile data record of the lottery ticket, including information such as time and date of purchase, numbers picked and amount paid by the player, confirmation of selected numbers and confirmation of winning numbers. The ticket sales system may comprise a feature for age and/or identity authentication to block out under-aged or otherwise unqualified players. The function of the SMS gateway may comprise receiving and replying to players' SMS messages and forwarding lottery purchases and selections to the application server. The function of the application server may be to manage electronic lottery purchase logistics, create and process SMS messages and interface with the lottery operator's system. The function of the lottery operator's system may be to manage random number generation, update lottery draw results and generate and manage data for electronic tickets.

1 . A method for conducting a lottery, the method comprising: 
 receiving a ticket purchase request from a lottery player at an application server via a cellular telephone network, the ticket purchase request comprising identification of a lottery game and an indicator of one or more numbers to play in the lottery game;    sending a confirmation message from the application server to a cellular handset of the lottery player via the cellular telephone network, the confirmation message comprising information which identifies the lottery game and information which indicates the numbers played in the lottery game; and    if the numbers played in the lottery game include winning numbers, sending a winning message from the application server to the cellular handset of the lottery player via the cellular telephone network, the winning message comprising an indication of an amount that the lottery player has won and an indication of the winning numbers.    
   
   
       2 . A method according to  claim 1  wherein sending the confirmation message and sending the winning message respectively comprise sending the confirmation message via a text-based cellular protocol and sending the winning message via the text-based cellular protocol.  
   
   
       3 . A method according to  claim 2  wherein receiving the ticket purchase request comprises receiving the ticket purchase request via the text-based cellular protocol.  
   
   
       4 . A method according to  claim 2  wherein receiving the ticket purchase request comprises receiving the ticket purchase request from a gaming application which is running locally on the cellular handset of the lottery player.  
   
   
       5 . A method according to  claim 1  wherein, prior to receiving a ticket purchase request, the method comprises conducting a series of registration communications which occur at least in part over the cellular telephone network.  
   
   
       6 . A method according to  claim 5  wherein conducting the series of registration communications comprises: 
 receiving a registration request message from the cellular handset of the lottery player at the application server via the cellular telephone network, the registration request message comprising an account identifier and a password; and    sending a registration confirmation message from the application server to the cellular handset of the lottery player via the cellular telephone network, the registration confirmation message comprising an indication that the lottery player is registered.    
   
   
       7 . A method according to  claim 6  wherein receiving the registration request message and sending the registration confirmation message respectively comprise receiving the registration request message via a text-based cellular protocol and sending the registration confirmation message via the text-based cellular protocol.  
   
   
       8 . A method according to  claim 6  wherein the account identifier and password correspond to a prepaid gaming account.  
   
   
       9 . A method according to  claim 8  wherein the method comprises selling the prepaid gaming account to the lottery player via a lottery vendor in an over-the-counter transaction between individual people.  
   
   
       10 . A method according to  claim 9  wherein selling the prepaid gaming account comprises the lottery vendor obtaining information from the lottery player to verify that the lottery player is legally allowed to play the lottery game under applicable legislation.  
   
   
       11 . A method according to  claim 6  wherein receiving the registration request message comprises receiving the registration request message from a gaming application which is running locally on the cellular handset of the lottery player.  
   
   
       12 . A method according to  claim 5  wherein conducting the series of registration communications comprises: 
 receiving an online registration request at the application server via a TCP/IP network, the online registration request comprising information relating to the lottery player for verifying that the lottery player is legally allowed to play the lottery game under applicable legislation;    sending a registration confirmation request from the application server to the cellular handset of the lottery player via the cellular telephone network; and    receiving a registration confirmation message from the cellular handset of the lottery player to the application server via the cellular telephone network.    
   
   
       13 . A method according to  claim 12  wherein sending the registration confirmation request and receiving the registration confirmation message respectively comprise sending the registration confirmation request via a text-based cellular protocol and receiving the registration confirmation message via the text-based cellular protocol.  
   
   
       14 . A method according to  claim 1  comprising, after completion of the lottery game, notifying the lottery player of pending lottery games via the cellular telephone network.  
   
   
       15 . A method according to  claim 1  wherein the indicator of one or more numbers to play in the lottery game comprises an indicator to have the one or more numbers randomly generated by a computer.  
   
   
       16 . A method according to  claim 1  wherein the indicator of one or more numbers to play in the lottery game comprises an indicator to play a recurring set of one or more numbers.  
   
   
       17 . A method according to  claim 1  comprising: 
 receiving a help request from a lottery player at an application server via a cellular telephone network, the help request comprising a help command;    sending a help message from the application server to the cellular handset of the lottery player via the cellular telephone network, the help message comprising information on how to play the lottery game in accordance with the method.    
   
   
       18 . A system for conducting a lottery via a cellular telephone network, the method comprising an application server configured to execute program components, the program components comprising: 
 a ticket purchase request receiving component configured to receive a ticket purchase request from a lottery player via the cellular telephone network, the ticket purchase request comprising identification of a lottery game and an indicator of one or more numbers to play in the lottery game;    a confirmation sending component configured to send a confirmation message to a cellular handset of the lottery player via the cellular telephone network, the confirmation message comprising information which identifies the lottery game and information which indicates the numbers played in the lottery game; and    a winning message sending component configured, if the numbers played in the lottery game include winning numbers, to send a winning message from the application server to the cellular handset of the lottery player via the cellular telephone network, the winning message comprising an indication of an amount that the lottery player has won and an indication of the winning numbers.    
   
   
       19 . A computer program embodied in a computer readable medium for controlling a lottery gaming system which operates over a cellular telephone network, the computer program comprising code segments which direct one or more processors to: 
 receive a ticket purchase request from a lottery player at an application server via a cellular telephone network, the ticket purchase request comprising identification of a lottery game and an indicator of one or more numbers to play in the lottery game;    send a confirmation message from the application server to a cellular handset of the lottery player via the cellular telephone network, the confirmation message comprising information which identifies the lottery game and information which indicates the numbers played in the lottery game; and    if the numbers played in the lottery game include winning numbers, send a winning message from the application server to the cellular handset of the lottery player via the cellular telephone network, the winning message comprising an indication of an amount that the lottery player has won and an indication of the winning numbers.