Winner awareness data distribution systems and methods

Abstract

Systems and methods of facilitating the operation of a lottery system are disclosed. An example method may comprise determining winner display data for each of a plurality of lottery client. For each of a plurality of lottery clients, it may be determined whether historical winner data from the lottery client meets a predetermined criteria. The historical winner data for each lottery client may comprise a description of at least one prize won from a chance associated with the lottery client. If the historical winner data from the lottery client meets the predetermined criteria, then the winner display data may be set equal to the historical winner data. If the historical winner data from the lottery client does not meet the predetermined criteria, then the winner display data may be set equal to geographic historical winner data describing at least one prize won from a chance associated with a geographic area comprising the lottery client. The winner display data for each lottery client may then be transmitted to the respective lottery client.

1 . A method of facilitating the operation of a lottery system, the method comprising:
 receiving historical winner data for a plurality of lottery clients, wherein the historical winner data for each of the plurality of lottery clients comprises information concerning prizes won from chances associated with the lottery client;   for each of a plurality of lottery clients, determining winner display data, wherein the determining winner display data comprises:
 determining whether the historical winner data from the lottery client meets a predetermined criteria; 
 conditioned on the historical winner data from the lottery client meeting the predetermined criteria, determining winner display data for the lottery client based on the historical winner data for the lottery client; and 
 conditioned on the historical winner data from the lottery client failing to meet the predetermined criteria, determining the winner display data for the lottery client based on historical winner data for a set of lottery clients comprising the lottery client; and 
   transmitting the corresponding winner display data for each lottery client in the plurality of lottery clients to the respective lottery clients.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the set of lottery clients including the lottery client comprises lottery clients in a common geographic area. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the common geographic area is selected from the group consisting of a municipality, a county and a state. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the set of lottery clients including the lottery terminal comprises lottery terminals at a common retail chain. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the transmitting comprises preparing an e-mail message to each lottery client in the plurality of lottery clients and sending the e-mail messages to the respective lottery clients. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising repeating the determining winner display data and the transmitting periodically. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the period is selected from the group consisting of a day, a week, and a partial week. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the receiving further comprises receiving the historical winner data from the plurality of lottery clients. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the receiving further comprises receiving the historical winner data from a central prize clearing location. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising selecting the set of lottery clients, wherein the selecting comprises:
 determining whether historical winner data from a first geographic area where the lottery client is located meets a second predetermined criteria;   conditioned on the historical winner data from the first geographic area meeting the second predetermined criteria, setting the winner awareness display data equal to the historical winner data from the first geographic area; and   conditioned on the historical winner data from the first geographic area failing to meet the predetermined criteria, determining whether historical winner data from a second geographic area where the lottery client is located meets a third predetermined criteria.   
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the second geographic area comprises the first geographic area. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the selecting further comprises: conditioned on the historical winner data from the second geographic area meeting the third predetermined criteria, setting the winner display data equal to the historical winner data from the second geographic area. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the historical winner data comprises at least one of a count of winning chances associated with the lottery client; a sum of all winnings originating from chances associated with the lottery client; and an indication of a highest prize associated with the lottery client during a predetermined time period. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein, conditioned on the historical winner data from the lottery client not meeting the predetermined criteria, the winner display data comprises at least one of a count of winning chances associated with the set of lottery clients comprising the lottery client, a sum of all winnings originating from chances associated with the set of lottery clients comprising the lottery client, and a highest prize won during a predetermined time period from chances associated with the set of lottery clients comprising the lottery client. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising aggregating the historical winner data from the plurality of lottery clients by sets of lottery clients. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the historical winner data for each lottery client comprises a description of at least one prize won from a chance that was at purchased at the lottery client in a predetermined time period. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the predetermined time period is selected from the group consisting of a current week and a previous week. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the winner display data comprises descriptions of prizes won from chances on a single lottery game. 
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the winner display data comprises descriptions of prizes won from chances on a single category of lottery games. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the historical winner data comprises a description of at least one prize won from a chance purchased at the lottery client. 
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the historical winner data comprises a description of at least one prize won from a chance redeemed at the lottery client. 
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising modifying the predetermined criteria. 
   
   
       23 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined criteria is common to all of the plurality of clients. 
   
   
       24 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving from a first lottery client selected from the plurality of lottery clients the predetermined criteria for the first lottery client. 
   
   
       25 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying the winner display data. 
   
   
       26 . A lottery host system to provide players with winner display data, the system comprising at least one processor programmed to:
 receive historical winner data for a plurality of lottery clients, wherein the historical winner data for each of the plurality of lottery clients comprises information concerning prizes won from chances associated with the lottery client;   for each of a plurality of lottery clients, determine winner display data, wherein determining the winner display data comprises:
 determining whether historical winner data from the lottery client meets a predetermined criteria; 
 conditioned on the historical winner data from the lottery client meeting the predetermined criteria, determining winner display data for the lottery client based on the respective historical winner data for the lottery client; and 
 conditioned on the historical winner data from the lottery client failing to meet the predetermined criteria, determining the winner display data for the lottery client based on historical winner data for a set of lottery clients comprising the lottery client; and 
   transmit the corresponding winner display data for each lottery in the plurality of lottery clients to the respective lottery clients.   
   
   
       27 . The lottery host system of  claim 26 , wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to receive historical winner data from a plurality of lottery clients. 
   
   
       28 . The lottery host system of  claim 26 , wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to display the winner display data. 
   
   
       29 . A method of facilitating the operation of a lottery system, the method comprising:
 determining winner display data, wherein determining the winner display data comprises:
 determining whether historical winner data from a lottery client meets a predetermined criteria, wherein the historical winner data for the lottery client comprises a description of at least one prize won from a chance associated with the lottery client; 
 conditioned on the historical winner data from the lottery client meeting the predetermined criteria, determining corresponding winner display data for the lottery client based on the historical winner data from the lottery client; and 
 conditioned on the historical winner data failing to meet the predetermined criteria, determining winner display data for the lottery client based on historical winner data for a set of lottery clients comprising the lottery client; and 
   displaying the winner display data.   
   
   
       30 . The method of  claim 29 , further comprising repeating the determining winner display data and displaying the winner display data periodically. 
   
   
       31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the period is selected from the group consisting of a day, a week and a partial week. 
   
   
       32 . The method of  claim 29 , further comprising selecting the set of lottery clients, wherein the selecting comprises:
 determining whether historical winner data from a first geographic area comprising the lottery client meets a second predetermined criteria;   conditioned on the historical winner data from the first geographic area meeting the second predetermined criteria, setting the winner display data equal to the historical winner data from the first geographic area; and   conditioned on the historical winner data from the first geographic area failing to meet the predetermined criteria, determining whether data from a second geographic area comprising the lottery client meets a third predetermined criteria.   
   
   
       33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the second geographic area comprises the first geographic area. 
   
   
       34 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the selecting further comprises: conditioned on the historical winner data from the second geographic area meeting the third predetermined criteria, setting the winner display data equal to the historical winner data from the second geographic area. 
   
   
       35 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the historical winner data comprises at least one of a count of winning chances associated with the lottery client; a sum of all winnings originating from chances associated with the lottery client; and an indication of a highest prize associated with the lottery client during a predetermined time period. 
   
   
       36 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein conditioned on the historical winner data from the lottery client failing to meet the predetermined criteria, the winner display data comprises at least one of a count of winning chances associated with the set of lottery clients comprising the lottery client, a sum of all winnings originating from chances associated with the set of lottery clients comprising the lottery client, and a highest prize during a predetermined time period associated with the set of lottery clients comprising the lottery client. 
   
   
       37 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the historical winner data comprises a description of at least one prize won from a chance that was purchased at the lottery client in a predetermined time period. 
   
   
       38 . The method of  claim 37 , wherein the predetermined time period is selected from the group consisting of a current week and a previous week. 
   
   
       39 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the winner display data comprises descriptions of prizes won from chances on a single lottery game. 
   
   
       40 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the winner display data comprises descriptions of prizes won from chances on a single category of lottery games. 
   
   
       41 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the geographic area is selected from the group consisting of a municipality, a county and a state. 
   
   
       42 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the historical winner data comprises a description of at least one prize won from a chance purchased at the lottery client. 
   
   
       43 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the historical winner data comprises a description of at least one prize won from a chance redeemed at the lottery client. 
   
   
       44 . The method of  claim 29 , further comprising modifying the predetermined criteria. 
   
   
       45 . A system for facilitating the operation of a lottery system, the system comprising at least one processor programmed to:
 determine winner display data, wherein determining the winner display data comprises:
 determining whether historical winner data from a lottery client meets a predetermined criteria, wherein the historical winner data for the lottery client comprises a description of at least one prize won from a chance associated with the lottery client; 
 conditioned on the historical winner data from the lottery client meeting the predetermined criteria, setting the winner display data equal to the historical winner data; and 
 conditioned on the historical winner data from the lottery client failing to meet the predetermined criteria, setting the winner display data equal to geographic historical winner data describing at least one prize won from a chance associated with a geographic area comprising the lottery client; and 
   display the historical winner data.   
   
   
       46 . A system for facilitating the operation of a lottery system, the system comprising:
 a plurality of lottery clients configured to allow players to purchase chances in a lottery game, each client configured to: report sales of chances in the lottery game to a central host and display winner display data;   a central sales recording system configured to receive and store information from the plurality of lottery clients identifying chances sold at the lottery clients;   a winner log configured to store, for each of the chances associated with one of the plurality of lottery clients, the value of prizes awarded for the chances sold at the lottery clients;   a winner display data analysis system configured to, for each of the plurality of lottery clients:
 compile historical winner data for the lottery client, the historical winner data comprising information concerning prizes won from chances associated with the lottery client; 
 determine whether historical winner data from the lottery client meets a predetermined criteria; 
 conditioned on the historical winner data from the lottery client meeting the predetermined criteria, determining the winner display data for the lottery client based on the historical winner data for the lottery client; 
 conditioned on the historical winner data from the lottery client failing to meet the predetermined criteria, determining the winner display data for the lottery client based on historical winner data for a set of lottery clients comprising the lottery client; and 
 transmit the corresponding winner display data to the lottery client.