On-line lottery extension game having an instant component and a draw-based component

Abstract

An on-line lottery game method is disclosed. The game method includes the steps of providing a base lottery game, in known fashion, and an extension game offered in association with the base lottery game wherein those lottery game players who selectively choose to play the extension game are issued lottery game tickets bearing game indicia selected by the lottery system from a set of game indicia separate from that of player selected indicia. A drawing is held in the normal fashion for the base lottery game, and a drawing is held for the extension game in which game indicia from the second set of game indicia which match the player selected game indicia determine winners of the extension game.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/623,074 filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Oct. 28, 2005, the provisions of which are fully incorporated herein by this reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to a lottery game, and more particularly to a lottery game in which after selecting a plurality of indicia, the player receives a ticket containing the selected indicia and plurality of indicia which the player will use twice, first to match the selected indicia on the ticket and then later to match indicia selected by the lottery in a draw.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many governments and/or gaming organizations sponsor wagering games known as lotteries. A typical lottery game entails players selecting permutations or combinations of numbers. This is followed by a “draw,” wherein the lottery randomly selects a combination or permutation of numbered balls. Prizes are awarded based on the number of matches between a player's selection and the drawn numbers. The drawn numbers are the well-publicized, and multi-million-dollar-jackpot lotteries are popular throughout the world.

Lotteries have become an important source of income to governments as they shoulder much of the financial burden for education and other programs. However, as governments have grown more dependent on lotteries it has become a challenge to sustain public interest therein. One approach to invigorating lottery sales for on-line drawing games is to offer “extension games,” games that can only be purchased in combination with other lottery games. An advantage of extension games is that they tap into existing player bases.

A special kind of on-line extension game is a so-called “instant” game where players immediately learn whether or not they have won a prize. Such a game creates excitement and is appealing to players since they don't have to wait for a drawing to claim a prize. However when players lose an on-line instant game, which happens more often than not, they never experience the sense of anticipation when they feel they might win a prize. The losing experience is even more sudden than with a scratch-off ticket, where players spend at least a small amount of time discovering the outcome of their wager. Thus, there is need for an instant extension game with a play mechanism that also allows players to win an extension game prize in the draw even if they have not won an instant prize.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These, and other deficiencies in the art, are overcome by the present invention, which invention comprises a lottery game in which the player selects a plurality of indicia from a set of indicia, after which the player receives a ticket containing the player-selected indicia as well as another subset of indicia selected by the lottery from the same set. The player may win prizes by matching the lottery-selected indicia on the ticket with the player-selected indicia, by matching the lottery-selected indicia on the ticket with indicia selected by the lottery in a drawing, or in the traditional manner, i.e. by matching the player-selected indicia with indicia selected by the lottery in a drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a prize table for a base game that is used in conjunction with a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a first embodiment of a prize table for the instant portion of the lottery extension game.

FIG. 3 is a first embodiment of a ticket for the lottery extension game.

FIG. 4 is a second embodiment of a ticket for the lottery extension game.

FIG. 5 is a prize table for a base game that is used in conjunction with a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a second embodiment of a prize table for the instant portion of the lottery extension game.

FIG. 7 is an embodiment of a prize table for the draw-based portion of the lottery extension game.

FIG. 8 is a third embodiment of a ticket for the lottery extension game.

FIG. 9 is a fourth embodiment of a ticket for the lottery extension game.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In a preferred embodiment, the invention is an “extension game,” that is, a game offered for sale only in combination with another lottery game, referred to here as the “base game.” It is assumed that the base game is a lotto-style game, as is well-known in the art. The base game therefore comprises a player selecting indicia from a set of indicia and submitting his selections along with a wager to a lottery system, either through a retailer operating a lottery terminal or through a self-serve kiosk. Alternatively, the player may request that the lottery system select the indicia for him. The assumption made herein, for the purposes of this description, is that the player has selected their own indicia. After sales for the game are closed, a drawing is held in which indicia are selected from the same set. Players may win prizes based on the number of matches between the indicia they selected and the indicia selected in the draw.

The player may initiate a play of the extension game simply by expressing the desire to do so by either marking the bet slip where indicated, informing the retailer verbally, or using a lottery kiosk interface, if applicable, and paying an additional amount of money. If the player has elected to play the extension game, the player is issued a ticket that will contain his own selections and also a set of indicia selected by the lottery for the extension game, as illustrated.

The plurality of lottery-selected indicia on the ticket may be less than, equal to, or greater than the plurality of indicia selected by the player. The player may be awarded prizes, based on the number of lottery-selected indicia that match the player-selected indicia. The prizes may be cash, a multiplier that may be applied to base game winnings, one or more free plays for the base game, or any combination thereof. If the player wins a cash prize at the time the ticket is issued, the ticket may be redeemed for the cash prize and the player is then issued a “trailer” ticket, indicating that the cash prize has been redeemed and listing once again the indicia selected for use in the drawing portion of the game. The portion of the game described above will henceforth be referred to as the “instant” portion of the game, as discussed below.

After sales for the lottery game have been discontinued, the lottery holds a drawing, i.e. a selection of indicia from the same set from which indicia on the ticket were selected. The player may win a prize based on the number of matches between the indicia he initially selected and the indicia selected in the drawing. Such a prize would constitute a base game prize, as it would be available to all players of the base game whether or not they had elected to play the extension.

The player may also win a prize based on the number of matches between the additional lottery-selected indicia on the ticket and the indicia selected in the drawing. Alternatively, a specified subset of the lottery-selected indicia on the ticket may be compared to a specified subset of the indicia selected in the drawing. Also, an alternate embodiment may limit prizes in this portion of the game to players who did not win a prize in the instant portion of the game. As this portion of the game is available only to players who elected to play the extension, the prizes may consist of multiplier values that may be applied to base game winnings.

Two sample embodiments will be discussed. The first is an extension game for Tri State Megabucks® selected by way of example only as any desired lottery game sponsored by a lottery organization may suffice as the base game. In the Tri State Megabucks® game, players select six numbers from the set of integers 1 to 42. The lottery selects seven numbers from the of integers 1 to 42, the last one being designated as the “bonus ball.” Players win prizes based on how many of their selections match the lottery's first six selections and whether one of their selections matches the bonus ball. The prize table for Tri State Megabucks® is shown in FIG. 1.

In the first sample embodiment, the extension player's ticket contains three lottery-selected numbers, one of which is underlined. The significance of the underlined number is that the player will win $13 if this number matches the bonus ball from the drawing. The prizes for the instant portion of the game are shown in the prize table in FIG. 2. In this embodiment, the multipliers apply only to base game winnings other than the jackpot.

FIG. 3 shows a sample ticket in which the player selected, 3, 7, 12, 17, 28, and 40. The lottery-selected numbers on the ticket are 5, 7, and 12, with the 5 underlined. The 7 and the 12 match two of the numbers being played in the base game, so according to the prize table the player wins a 4× multiplier. Suppose the lottery draw is 3, 11, 12, 15, 28, and 33, with bonus ball 40. Then the player's base game outcome is 3 matches plus the bonus ball. Since the base game prize for this level of matching is $5, the player has won $20.

A second sample ticket for this lottery game is shown in FIG. 4. The player has made the same selections as in the previous sample ticket, but the lottery-selected numbers in this example are 6, 11, and 40, with the 40 underlined. The 40 matches one of the player selections, so the ticket wins a 3× multiplier. Assuming the lottery again draws 3, 11, 12, 15, 28, and 33, with bonus ball 40, the player wins $5 in the base game. He also wins $13 since his underlined number matches the bonus ball. His total winnings are (3×$5)+$13=$28.

In a second exemplary embodiment, the base game is comprised of the player and the lottery each selecting 6 numbers from the set of integers 1 to 42. The base game prizes, which depend on the number of matches, are shown in FIG. 5. In this embodiment, extension players receive three lottery-selected numbers on their ticket. None of these numbers has any special designation. Prizes for the instant portion of the game are shown in FIG. 6. Note that some of the instant prizes include cash as well as a multiplier. The multipliers do not apply to the instant cash prizes, but only to base game prizes, exclusive of the jackpot. Note also that a player who has 0 matches in the instant portion of the game wins a “second chance,” meaning that he may use the lottery selected numbers on his ticket to match the numbers in the draw to win a multiplier prize. Once again the multipliers apply only to base game prizes, exclusive of the jackpot. The multiplier prizes available to players who did not win have any instant matches is shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 shows a sample ticket in which the player selected, 3, 7, 12, 17, 28, and

40. The lottery-selected numbers are 3, 12, and 28. All three of these numbers match the player's selection so the player wins $50 and a 5 multiplier. Suppose the lottery draws 3, 8, 11, 12, 15, and 28. Then the player has 3 base game matches, and therefore wins a base game prize of $2. His total winnings are (5×$2)+$50=$60.

FIG. 9 shows a sample ticket in which the player selected, 3, 7, 12, 17, 28, and

40. The lottery-selected numbers are 6, 11, and 22. None of these numbers match the player's selection so the player does not win an instant prize but is eligible for a second chance at a multiplier. Suppose the lottery draws 3, 8, 11, 12, 15, and 28. Then the player has 3 base game matches, and therefore wins a base game prize of $2. He also has one match between the lottery-selected numbers on his ticket and the drawing numbers, so he wins a 3 multiplier. His total winnings are 3×$2=$6.

The foregoing descriptions present only exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the invention may be embodied in a variety of ways by varying the plurality of lottery-selected indicia on the ticket, the prize tables, the criteria for determining whether the player may match lottery-selected indicia on the ticket with indicia selected in the drawing, and the subsets of lottery-selected indicia on the ticket and drawing indicia that may be matched against each other. These, and other variations of the gamer, are contemplated as being within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A lottery game method, comprising the steps of:

a) providing a base lottery game for sale in which a plurality of lottery game players individually select game indicia from a first set of game indicia and submit their respective selections along with a wager to a lottery system and are thereafter issued a lottery game ticket;

b) offering an extension game in association with said base lottery game wherein those lottery game players who selectively choose to play the extension game are issued their respective lottery game tickets bearing game indicia selected by the lottery system from a second set of game indicia.

2. The game method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of holding a drawing in which game indicia from the first set of game indicia are randomly selected by the lottery system and then determining whether the lottery game player has won a base game prize by comparing the player selected game indicia with respect to the lottery selected game indicia from said first set of indicia.

3. The game method of claim 2, further comprising the step of holding a drawing in which game indicia from the second set of game indicia are randomly selected by the lottery system and then determining whether the lottery game player has won an extension game prize by comparing the player selected game indicia of said first set of indicia with respect to the lottery selected game indicia of said second set of game indicia.

4. The game method of claim 3, further comprising the step of awarding extension game prizes to lottery game players based upon on the number of lottery selected indicia from the second set of indicia that match the player selected indicia from the first set of indicia.

5. A lottery game method comprising the steps of:

receiving a first set of game indicia from a player;

generating a second set of game indicia for an extension game;

drawing a third set of game indicia;

determining a first multiplier factor for the player if the second set of game indicia matches at least a predetermined number of game indicia in the first set;

determining a prize for the player if the first set of game indicia matches at least a predetermined number of game indicia in the third set; and

modifying the prize for the player according to the first multiplier factor.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of determining an instant prize for the player if the second set of game indicia matches at least a predetermined number of game indicia in the first set.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the instant prize is a cash prize.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising the steps of:

awarding the instant prize to the player; and

issuing a trailer ticket to the player.

9. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of issuing a lottery ticket to the player, the lottery ticket listing the first set of game indicia and the second set of game indicia.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein one game indicia in the third set is specially designated as a bonus game indicia.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein one game indicia in the second set is specially marked.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of, if the specially marked game indicia matches the bonus game indicia, determining a special cash prize for the player.

13. The method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of:

if the second set of game indicia does not matches any game indicia in the first set, determining a second multiplier factor for the player if the second set of game indicia matches at least a predetermined number of game indicia in the third set; and

modifying the prize for the player according to the second multiplier factor.