Products and processes for a point exchange

Abstract

Methods of tracking points among participants in various wagers. An indication of a wager may be received, including point distributions, participants, an event, etc. An indication of an outcome of the wager may be received. Points may be allocated among participants in accordance with a desired point distribution based on the outcome of the wager. An indication of a point adjustment may be received, and points may be adjusted accordingly. The point adjustment may be associated with an external exchange between participants in a wager. Other embodiments are disclosed.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A method executed by a computer processor, the method comprising:
 establishing network communication with a remote device;   establishing communication with a memory;   receiving an indication from the remote device, the indication comprising data indicative of a wager on an event, an amount of points wagered, and a plurality of participants in the wager;   in response to receiving the indication, generating a table in the memory with a points column;   associating the table with the plurality of participants;   receiving a first message that indicates a positive point adjustment for a given participant, the first message being initiated by a subset of the plurality of participants;   receiving a second message that indicates a negative point adjustment for the given participant, the second message originating from a single participant; and   updating the points column of the table in the memory based on the positive point adjustment and the negative point adjustment.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising generating, in the memory, a history of point adjustments among the plurality of participants in the memory. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , in which the indication further comprises a distribution plan that specifies how points should be distributed among at least one winner of the wager. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising receiving at least one acceptance of the wager from at least one other remote device. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising: receiving data indicative of an outcome of the event; and transmitting at least one representation of a current point distribution. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2 , in which the positive point adjustment and the negative point adjustment include an indication that an event occurred. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 2 , in which the positive point adjustment and the negative point adjustment include an indication of an exchange between at least two participants. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , in which the exchange includes at least one of an exchange of goods, an exchange of services, and an exchange of money. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising transmitting a request to verify the positive point adjustment and the negative point adjustment. 
     
     
         11 . An apparatus comprising:
 a memory;   a network interface;   at least one processor to:
 establish network communication with a remote device; 
 establish communication with a memory; 
 receive an indication from the remote device, the indication comprising data indicative of a wager on an event, an amount of points wagered, and a plurality of participants in the wager; 
 in response to receiving the indication, generate a table in the memory with a points column; 
 associate the table with the plurality of participants; 
 receive a first message that indicates a positive point adjustment for a given participant, the first message being initiated by a subset of the plurality of participants; 
 receive a second message that indicates a negative point adjustment for the given participant, the second message originating from a single participant; and 
 update the points column of the table in the memory based on the positive point adjustment and the negative point adjustment. 
   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to generate a history of point adjustments among the plurality of participants in the memory. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , in which the indication further comprises a distribution plan that indicates how points should be distributed among at least one winner of the wager. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , in which the at least one processor is further configured to receive at least one acceptance of the wager via the network interface from at least one other remote device. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , in which the at least one processor is further configured to receive information regarding at least one participant in at least one wager. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , in which the information includes at least one of identification information, and information identifying a group of associated participants. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , in which the at least one processor is further configured to: receive data indicative of an outcome of the event; and transmit at least one representation of a current point distribution. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , in which the positive point adjustment and the negative point adjustment include an indication that an event occurred. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , in which the positive point adjustment or the negative point adjustment include an indication of an exchange between at least two participants. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , in which the exchange includes at least one of an exchange of goods, an exchange of services, and an exchange of money. 
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , in which the at least one processor is further configured to transmit a request to verify the positive point adjustment and the negative point adjustment.