Interactive gaming system with access to a plurality of data sources

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 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.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An apparatus of a gaming operator, the apparatus comprising:
 1) one or more data processing devices;   2) one or more network interfaces that couples the apparatus to a plurality of data sources and a plurality of clients;   3) one or more memory devices having stored thereon user authentication information, user financial information, game information, and instructions that when executed by the one or more data processing devices cause the apparatus to:   open a gaming account for a new user;   receive authorization from the new user to charge a credit card account of the new user;   establish a balance of money in the gaming account of the new user by charging the credit card account, in which the balance of money may be used to play games;   after opening the gaming account and establishing the balance of money, authorize the new user to access the gaming account from a cellular telephone by verifying login credentials of the new user received from the cellular telephone;   cause the cellular telephone to display information indicating at least some games that the user is authorized to play, in which the displayed information orders the at least some games based at least in part on popularity, in which each game of the at least some games has a respective wager amount to play the game, in which the information indicates each respective wager amount;   cause the cellular telephone to, in response to the new user entering a customization request, display filtered information indicating a subset of the at least some games that meet a wager amount limitation, in which the displayed filtered information orders the subset of the at least some games based at least in part on popularity, in which the filtered information includes a respective time associated with each game of the subset;   determine a change to a popularity of a game in the subset of the at least some games;   in response to determining the change, cause the cellular telephone to update the displayed filtered information;   determining an availability of a new game;   in response to determining the availability of the new game, updating the displayed filtered information to include an indication of the new game;   determine a number of entries into at least one game of the subset;   in response to determining the number of entries, cause the cellular telephone to display information indicating the number of entries into the at least one game of the subset;   receive an entry request from the new user to enter into a specified game;   in response to receiving the entry request, cause the cellular telephone to present an interface to the new user through which the new user may enter one or more parameters of the game;   receive data indicating that the new user entered the one or more parameters of the game;   update, in response to receiving the data, the balance of money in the gaming account to reflect a respective wager amount to play the game;   cause the cellular telephone to display a confirmation that the data was received;
 receive, from an other user using one of the plurality of clients, an entry into the game in opposition to the new user; 
   in response to receiving at least the data and the entry, form one obligation with the gaming operator to pay the new user if the new user wins the game and form one other obligation with the gaming operator to pay the other user if the other user wins the game;   in response to receiving at least the data and the entry, update a listing of active games for the new user to indicate that the new user has entered into the game;   determine that the new user is a winner of the game by processing at least one electronic feed of data from at least one of the plurality of data sources; and   increase the balance of money in the winner's gaming account in response to determining that the new user is the winner of the game.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , in which determining that the new user wins the game includes corroborating the feed of data with at least one other feed of data. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , in which the at least one other feed of data is from at least one other of the plurality of data sources. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , in which the execution of the instructions by the one or more data processing devices cause the apparatus to:
 award the new user with a reward for playing the game; and   update a gaming account to reflect the reward.   
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , in which awarding the new user includes awarding the new user based on an amount wagered in the game. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , in which causing the cellular telephone to update the displayed filtered information in response to the change includes a real time update to displayed information. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , in which causing the cellular telephone to display information indicating the number of entries into the at least one game of the subset includes a real time update to displayed information. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , in which the execution of the instructions by the one or more data processing devices cause the apparatus to:
 in response to receiving at least the first request and the second request, match the first user and the second user into the game.   
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , in which the execution of the instructions by the one or more data processing devices cause the apparatus to:
 determine an index indicative of a win rate of the new user based on the new user winning the game;   cause the cellular telephone to display the index.   
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , in which the execution of the instructions by the one or more data processing devices cause the apparatus to:
 cause the cellular telephone to adjust the interface in response to the user entering the one or more parameters, in which the adjusting the interface include activating a button in the interface that was previously disabled.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , in which at least one of the one or more data processing devices comprises a processor. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , in which the one or more network interfaces couples the apparatus to the plurality of data sources and the plurality of clients through the Internet. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , in which the game is based on at least one sporting event. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , in which the game is resolved based at least in part on an aggregate of outcomes of a plurality of games. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , in which the wager amount limitations includes a maximum wager amount. 
     
     
         16 . A. An apparatus of a gaming operator, the apparatus comprising:
 1) one or more data processing devices;   2) one or more network interfaces that couples the apparatus to a plurality of data sources and a plurality of clients;   3) one or more memory devices having stored thereon user authentication information, user financial information, game information, and instructions that when executed by the one or more data processing devices cause the apparatus to:   open a gaming account for a new user;   receive authorization from the new user to charge a credit card account of the new user;   establish a balance of money in the gaming account of the new user by charging the credit card account, in which the balance of money may be used to play games;   after opening the gaming account and establishing the balance of money, authorize the new user to access the gaming account from a computing device by verifying login credentials of the new user received from the computing device;   cause the computing device to display information indicating at least some games that the user is authorized to play, in which the displayed information orders the at least some games based at least in part on popularity, in which each game of the at least some games has a respective wager amount to play the game, in which the information indicates each respective wager amount;   cause the computing device to, in response to the new user entering a customization request, display filtered information indicating a subset of the at least some games that meet a wager amount limitation, in which the displayed filtered information orders the subset of the at least some games based at least in part on popularity, in which the filtered information includes a respective time associated with each game of the subset;   determine a change to a popularity of a game in the subset of the at least some games;   in response to determining the change, cause the computing device to update the displayed filtered information;   determining an availability of a new game;   in response to determining the availability of the new game, updating the displayed filtered information to include an indication of the new game;   determine a number of entries into at least one game of the subset;   in response to determining the number of entries, cause the computing device to display information indicating the number of entries into the at least one game of the subset;   receive an entry request from the new user to enter into a specified game;   in response to receiving the entry request, cause the computing device to present an interface to the new user through which the new user may enter one or more parameters of the game;   receive data indicating that the new user entered the one or more parameters of the game;   update, in response to receiving the data, the balance of money in the gaming account to reflect a respective wager amount to play the game;   cause the computing device to display a confirmation that the data was received;
 receive, from an other user using one of the plurality of clients, an entry into the game in opposition to the new user, in which the one of the plurality of clients is a cellular telephone; 
   in response to receiving at least the data and the entry, form one obligation with the gaming operator to pay the new user if the new user wins the game and form one other obligation with the gaming operator to pay the other user if the other user wins the game;   in response to receiving at least the data and the entry, update a listing of active games for the new user to indicate that the new user has entered into the game;   determine that the new user is a winner of the game by processing at least one electronic feed of data from at least one of the plurality of data sources; and   increase the balance of money in the winner's gaming account in response to determining that the new user is the winner of the game.   
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , in which determining that the new user wins the game includes corroborating the feed of data with at least one other feed of data. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , in which the at least one other feed of data is from at least one other of the plurality of data sources. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , in which the execution of the instructions by the one or more data processing devices cause the apparatus to:
 award the new user with a reward for playing the game; and   update a gaming account to reflect the reward.   
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , in which awarding the new user includes awarding the new user based on an amount wagered in the game. 
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , in which the execution of the instructions by the one or more data processing devices cause the apparatus to:
 in response to receiving at least the first request and the second request, match the first user and the second user into the game.   
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , in which the execution of the instructions by the one or more data processing devices cause the apparatus to:
 determine an index indicative of a win rate of the new user based on the new user winning the game;   cause the cellular telephone to display the index.   
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , in which the execution of the instructions by the one or more data processing devices cause the apparatus to:
 cause the computing device to adjust the interface in response to the user entering the one or more parameters, in which the adjusting the interface include activating a button in the interface that was previously disabled.   
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , in which the game is based on at least one sporting event. 
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , in which the game is resolved based at least in part on an aggregate of outcomes of a plurality of games. 
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , in which the wager amount limitations includes a maximum wager amount. 
     
     
         27 . An apparatus of a gaming operator, the apparatus comprising:
 1) one or more data processing devices;   2) one or more network interfaces that couples the apparatus to a plurality of data sources and a plurality of clients;   3) one or more memory devices having stored thereon user authentication information, user financial information, game information, and instructions that when executed by the one or more data processing devices cause the apparatus to:   open a gaming account for a new user;   receive authorization from the new user to charge a credit card account of the new user;   establish a balance of money in the gaming account of the new user by charging the credit card account, in which the balance of money may be used to play games;   after opening the gaming account and establishing the balance of money, authorize the new user to access the gaming account from a cellular telephone by verifying login credentials of the new user received from the cellular telephone;   cause the cellular telephone to display information indicating at least some games that the user is authorized to play, in which the displayed information orders the at least some games based at least in part on popularity, in which each game of the at least some games has a respective wager amount to play the game, in which the information indicates each respective wager amount;   cause the cellular telephone to, in response to the new user entering a customization request, display filtered information indicating a subset of the at least some games that meet a wager amount limitation, in which the displayed filtered information orders the subset of the at least some games based at least in part on popularity, in which the filtered information includes a respective time associated with each game of the subset;   determine a change to a popularity of a game in the subset of the at least some games;   in response to determining the change, cause the cellular telephone to update the displayed filtered information;   determining an availability of a new game;   in response to determining the availability of the new game, updating the displayed filtered information to include an indication of the new game;   determine a number of entries into at least one game of the subset;   in response to determining the number of entries, cause the cellular telephone to display information indicating the number of entries into the at least one game of the subset;   receive an entry request from the new user to enter into a specified game;   in response to receiving the entry request, cause the cellular telephone to present an interface to the new user through which the new user may enter one or more parameters of the game;   receive data indicating that the new user entered the one or more parameters of the game;   update, in response to receiving the data, the balance of money in the gaming account to reflect a respective wager amount to play the game;   cause the cellular telephone to display a confirmation that the data was received;
 receive, from an other user using one of the plurality of clients, an entry into the game in opposition to the new user; 
   in response to receiving at least the data and the entry, form one obligation with the gaming operator to pay the new user if the new user wins the game and form one other obligation with the gaming operator to pay the other user if the other user wins the game;   in response to receiving at least the data and the entry, update a listing of active games for the new user to indicate that the new user has entered into the game;   determine that the other user is a winner of the game by processing at least one electronic feed of data from at least one of the plurality of data sources; and   adjust the winner's gaming account in response to determining that the other user is the winner of the game.   
     
     
         28 . An apparatus of a gaming operator, the apparatus comprising:
 1) one or more data processing devices;   2) one or more network interfaces that couples the apparatus to a plurality of data sources and a plurality of clients;   3) one or more memory devices having stored thereon user authentication information, user financial information, game information, and instructions that when executed by the one or more data processing devices cause the apparatus to:   open a gaming account for a new user;   receive authorization from the new user to charge a credit card account of the new user;   establish a balance of money in the gaming account of the new user by charging the credit card account, in which the balance of money may be used to play games;   after opening the gaming account and establishing the balance of money, authorize the new user to access the gaming account from a computing device by verifying login credentials of the new user received from the computing device;   cause the computing device to display information indicating at least some games that the user is authorized to play, in which the displayed information orders the at least some games based at least in part on popularity, in which each game of the at least some games has a respective wager amount to play the game, in which the information indicates each respective wager amount;   cause the computing device to, in response to the new user entering a customization request, display filtered information indicating a subset of the at least some games that meet a wager amount limitation, in which the displayed filtered information orders the subset of the at least some games based at least in part on popularity, in which the filtered information includes a respective time associated with each game of the subset;   determine a change to a popularity of a game in the subset of the at least some games;   in response to determining the change, cause the computing device to update the displayed filtered information;   determining an availability of a new game;   in response to determining the availability of the new game, updating the displayed filtered information to include an indication of the new game;   determine a number of entries into at least one game of the subset;   in response to determining the number of entries, cause the computing device to display information indicating the number of entries into the at least one game of the subset;   receive an entry request from the new user to enter into a specified game;   in response to receiving the entry request, cause the computing device to present an interface to the new user through which the new user may enter one or more parameters of the game;   receive data indicating that the new user entered the one or more parameters of the game;   update, in response to receiving the data, the balance of money in the gaming account to reflect a respective wager amount to play the game;   cause the computing device to display a confirmation that the data was received;
 receive, from an other user using one of the plurality of clients, an entry into the game in opposition to the new user, in which the one of the plurality of clients is a cellular telephone; 
   in response to receiving at least the data and the entry, form one obligation with the gaming operator to pay the new user if the new user wins the game and form one other obligation with the gaming operator to pay the other user if the other user wins the game;   in response to receiving at least the data and the entry, update a listing of active games for the new user to indicate that the new user has entered into the game;   determine that the other user is a winner of the game by processing at least one electronic feed of data from at least one of the plurality of data sources; and   adjust the winner's gaming account in response to determining that the other user is the winner of the game.