Social Crowdsourced Parlay Gaming System and Method

Abstract

A unique online and mobile, social sports betting system where players submit single bets on future sporting events, to form multiplayer parlay tickets. A parlay, in this case, is a single wager that links together multiple unique bets whose outcome is dependent on all of those bets winning. Registered users in the system can only submit one bet to any given parlay ticket, but can participate in multiple parlay tickets. If all the bets in the parlay win, each player equally shares in the parlay payout. If one or more bets do not win, players that win or push their individual parlay bets get the cost of the ticket refunded, while losing players cover the cost of the entire parlay ticket.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving, by the at least one processor, from a first client computing device of a plurality of client computing devices, a request to create a crowdfunded parlay, the crowdfunded parlay having a plurality of individual bets, each individual bet associated with at least one of a plurality of live sporting events;   determining, by the at least one processor, a first physical location of the first client computing device sent by the first client computing device to validate that the first client computing device is located in a location where sports gambling is legal, and confirming that the first physical location is a valid geographic location located within a particular geofenced area to create the crowdfunded parlay;   receiving, by the at least one processor, a first individual bet from the first client computing device associated with the at least one of the plurality of live sporting events comprising a selection of an individual bet user interface element on the touchscreen user interface of the first client computing device, the first individual bet having a first amount deposited by a user of the first client computing device;   determining, by the at least one processor, a second physical location of a second client computing device of the plurality of client computing devices to validate that the second client computing device is located in a location where sports gambling is legal, the second physical location sent by the second client computing device, and confirming that the second physical location is a valid physical location within the particular geofenced area to receive an individual bet;   receiving, by the at least one processor, a second individual bet from the second client computing device associated with the at least one of the plurality of live sporting events and adding the second individual bet to the crowdfunded parlay, the second individual bet having a second amount deposited by a user of the second client computing device; and   continually determining, by the at least one processor, that the first client computing device and the second client computing device are in a valid physical location to participate in the crowdfunded parlay until a predetermined number of bets have been approved and added to the crowdfunded parlay, limiting each of the first client computing device and the second client computing device to the first individual bet and the second individual bet, determining that the first individual bet and the second individual bet are different, and determining that the first amount deposited by the user of the first client computing device and the second amount deposited by the user of the second client computing device each individually cover the predetermined number of bets.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining, by at least one processor, information associated with the plurality of live sporting events in realtime, the live sporting events having human players and rules to determine a winner of each live sporting event. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining the location of the first client computing device and determining the location of the second client computing device using at least one of cellular, Wi-Fi, Global Positioning System (GPS) networks, and Bluetooth. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving a selection of a create a crowdfunded parlay user interface element on a touchscreen user interface of the first client computing device. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving a selection of an individual bet user interface element on a touchscreen user interface of the second client computing device. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising sending an invitation to participate in the crowdfunded parlay to the plurality of client computing devices using at least one of an email, a text message, and a push notification. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising sending a notification to the first client computing device and the second client computing device to accept a lesser payout for the crowdfunded parlay when at least one individual bet has won and when there is at least one remaining individual bet in the crowdfunded parlay. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising sending a notification to participate in a special crowdfunded parlay to the plurality of client computing devices. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the particular geofenced area is based on a list of states having legalized sports betting. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined number of bets is three. 
     
     
         11 . A system, comprising:
 a processor; and   a memory device in communication with the processor, the processor to:   receive from a first client computing device of a plurality of client computing devices, a request to create a crowdfunded parlay, the crowdfunded parlay having a plurality of individual bets, each individual bet associated with at least one of a plurality of live sporting events;   determine a first physical location of the first client computing device sent by the first client computing device to validate that the first client computing device is located in a location where sports gambling is legal, and confirm that the first physical location is a valid geographic location located within a particular geofenced area to create the crowdfunded parlay;   receive a first individual bet from the first client computing device associated with the at least one of the plurality of live sporting events comprising a selection of an individual bet user interface element on the touchscreen user interface of the first client computing device, the first individual bet having a first amount deposited by a user of the first client computing device;   determine a second physical location of a second client computing device of the plurality of client computing devices to validate that the second client computing device is located in a location where sports gambling is legal, the second physical location sent by the second client computing device, and confirm that the second physical location is a valid physical location within the particular geofenced area to receive an individual bet;   receive a second individual bet from the second client computing device associated with the at least one of the plurality of live sporting events and adding the second individual bet to the crowdfunded parlay, the second individual bet having a second amount deposited by a user of the second client computing device; and   continually determine that the first client computing device and the second client computing device are in a valid physical location to participate in the crowdfunded parlay until a predetermined number of bets have been approved and added to the crowdfunded parlay, limit each of the first client computing device and the second client computing device to the first individual bet and the second individual bet, determine that the first individual bet and the second individual bet are different, and determine that the first amount deposited by the user of the first client computing device and the second amount deposited by the user of the second client computing device each individually cover the predetermined number of bets.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , the processor further to determine information associated with the plurality of live sporting events in realtime, the live sporting events having human players and rules to determine a winner of each live sporting event. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , the processor further to determine the location of the first client computing device and determine the location of the second client computing device using at least one of cellular, Wi-Fi, Global Positioning System (GPS) networks, and Bluetooth. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , the processor further to receive a selection of a create a crowdfunded parlay user interface element on a touchscreen user interface of the first client computing device. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11 , the processor further to receive a selection of an individual bet user interface element on a touchscreen user interface of the second client computing device. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 11 , the processor further to send an invitation to participate in the crowdfunded parlay to the plurality of client computing devices using at least one of an email, a text message, and a push notification. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 11 , the processor further to send a notification to the first client computing device and the second client computing device to accept a lesser payout for the crowdfunded parlay when at least one individual bet has won and when there is at least one remaining individual bet in the crowdfunded parlay. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 11 , the processor further to send a notification to participate in a special crowdfunded parlay to the plurality of client computing devices. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the particular geofenced area is based on a list of states having legalized sports betting. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the predetermined number of bets is three. 
     
     
         21 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by at least one computing device cause the at least one computing device to perform operations, the operations comprising:
 receiving from a first client computing device of a plurality of client computing devices, a request to create a crowdfunded parlay, the crowdfunded parlay having a plurality of individual bets, each individual bet associated with at least one of a plurality of live sporting events;   determining a first physical location of the first client computing device sent by the first client computing device to validate that the first client computing device is located in a location where sports gambling is legal, and confirming that the first physical location is a valid geographic location located within a particular geofenced area to create the crowdfunded parlay;   receiving a first individual bet from the first client computing device associated with the at least one of the plurality of live sporting events comprising a selection of an individual bet user interface element on the touchscreen user interface of the first client computing device, the first individual bet having a first amount deposited by a user of the first client computing device;   determining a second physical location of a second client computing device of the plurality of client computing devices to validate that the second client computing device is located in a location where sports gambling is legal, the second physical location sent by the second client computing device, and confirming that the second physical location is a valid physical location within the particular geofenced area to receive an individual bet;   receiving a second individual bet from the second client computing device associated with the at least one of the plurality of live sporting events and adding the second individual bet to the crowdfunded parlay, the second individual bet having a second amount deposited by a user of the second client computing device; and   continually determining that the first client computing device and the second client computing device are in a valid physical location to participate in the crowdfunded parlay until a predetermined number of bets have been approved and added to the crowdfunded parlay, limiting each of the first client computing device and the second client computing device to the first individual bet and the second individual bet, determining that the first individual bet and the second individual bet are different, and determining that the first amount deposited by the user of the first client computing device and the second amount deposited by the user of the second client computing device each individually cover the predetermined number of bets.   
     
     
         22 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 21 , wherein the particular geofenced area is based on a list of states having legalized sports betting.