System and method for wireless lottery

Abstract

A lottery system is provided. Lottery tickets may be purchased using a communication device, such as a mobile device. Sales commissions, or other credit, for the purchased tickets may be determined for one or more retailers based at least partially on the location of the communication device, for example, when the purchase is made.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A method comprising:
 controlling, by at least one processor:
 receiving a location determination signal from a mobile computing device over a communication network, in which the location determination signal is from using at least one of network-based technology or satellite-based technology; 
 enabling and disabling a transaction activity using the mobile computing device, based on whether a location of the mobile computing device determined from the location determination signal is within a predefined zone; 
 while the location is determined to be within the predefined zone, enabling the transaction activity using the mobile computing device, in which the transaction activity using the mobile computing device is disabled when the location is determined to be outside the predefined zone; 
 determining, for each of a plurality of commercial entities, a distance between (a) a location of the mobile computing device at a time of a transaction using the mobile computing device when the transaction activity is enabled, the location of the mobile computing device at the time of the transaction determined from the location determination signal, and (b) a location of the respective commercial entity; and 
 determining whether at least one given commercial entity of the plurality of commercial entities is entitled to a credit based at least partially on the distance between the location of the mobile computing device at the time of the transaction and the location of the given commercial entity. 
   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 controlling, by the at least one processor,   causing a given respective credit to be provided to the at least one given commercial entity.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the determining whether the at least one given commercial entity is entitled to a credit comprises:
 determining, based on the distance between (a) the location of the mobile computing device at the time of the transaction and (b) the location of each respective commercial entity, how many of the plurality of commercial entities are within a predetermined range of the location of the mobile computing device at the time of the transaction.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein a same credit is determined to be provided to each of the plurality of commercial entities. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 controlling, by the at least one processor, determining respective credits for each of the plurality of commercial entities by:   determining a commission for the transaction; and   dividing the commission among the plurality of commercial entities according to predetermined percentages based on the distance between (a) the location of the mobile computing device at the time of the transaction and (b) the location of each respective commercial entity.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 controlling, by the at least one processor, determining respective credits for each of the plurality of commercial entities by:   determining a commission for the transaction; and   prorating the commission among the one or more commercial entities based on the distance between (a) the location of the mobile computing device at the time of the transaction and (b) the location of each respective commercial entity.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising controlling, by the at least one processor, sending a message to a user of the mobile computing device, in which the message comprises at least one of a promotion or a confirmation of the transaction. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 controlling, by the at least one processor, receiving transaction information from the mobile computing device,   wherein the transaction information comprises a code, and   wherein the determining the credit is performed based at least in part on the code.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising controlling, by the at least one processor, receiving transaction information from the mobile computing device, wherein:
 the transaction information comprises a code;   the code is associated with a first entity; and   a credit associated with the transaction is provided to the first entity.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the first entity is an advertiser. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the first entity is a media provider. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the code is provided on media distributed by the media provider. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 in which the transaction activity using the mobile computing device is enabled based on a determination that the location of the mobile computing device determined from the location determination signal is within a certain predetermined distance from a predetermined second location.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the predetermined second location corresponds to the location of an advertisement. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the transaction is a sale of a lottery ticket. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the transaction comprises at least one of a sale of a contest entry, a sale of a security, a sale of an investment instrument, or a sale of services. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 2 ,
 in which the determining whether the at least one given commercial entity of the plurality of commercial entities is entitled to a credit comprises:
 determining a shortest distance between (i) the mobile computing device at the time of the transaction and (ii) the plurality of commercial entities; and 
 determining the credit based at least in part on the shortest distance. 
   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 controlling, by the at least one processor, executing at least one contest activity,   in which the at least one contest activity comprises determining the location of the mobile computing device at the time.   
     
     
         20 . An apparatus, comprising:
 at least one processor configured to control:
 receiving a location determination signal from a mobile computing device over a communication network, in which the location determination signal is from using at least one of network-based technology or satellite-based technology; 
 enabling and disabling a transaction activity using the mobile computing device, based on whether a location of the mobile computing device determined from the location determination signal is within a predefined zone; 
 while the location is determined to be within the predefined zone, enabling the transaction activity using the mobile computing device, in which the transaction activity using the mobile computing device is disabled when the location is determined to be outside the predefined zone; 
 determining, for each of a plurality of commercial entities, a distance between (i) a location of the mobile computing device at a time of a transaction using the mobile computing device when the transaction activity is enabled, the location of the mobile computing device at a time of transaction determined from the location determination signal, and (ii) a location of the respective commercial entity, in which a location of each of a plurality of commercial entities is stored in a memory; and 
 determining whether at least one given commercial entity of the plurality of commercial entities is entitled to a commission associated with the transaction based at least partially on the distance between the location of the mobile computing device at the time of the transaction and the locations of the given commercial entity.