Systems and methods wherein a lottery number combination is associated with a limited number of occurrences
View Patent ↗Systems and methods are provided to facilitate lottery ticket transactions. A request to purchase a lottery ticket is received, the lottery ticket being associated with a lottery number combination, such as a limited number of lottery tickets or a limited number of players. An indication that the lottery number combination is to be associated with a limited number of occurrences is also received. For example, an indication that the lottery number combination is to be associated with only a single lottery ticket may be received. A price associated with the lottery ticket is determined based on the received indication. According to one embodiment the price is increased by a predetermined amount based on the received indication.
1. A method, comprising:
receiving, by a lottery device, an indication of request made by a player to purchase a lottery ticket for a lottery drawing, wherein the lottery drawing does not prohibit duplicate entries;
receiving, by the lottery device, an indication of a request by the player that a lottery number combination assigned to the lottery ticket is to be assigned to only a limited number of occurrences for the lottery drawing; and
determining, by the lottery device and based at least in part on the receiving of the indication of the request by the player that the lottery number combination assigned to the lottery ticket is to be assigned to only the limited number of occurrences for the lottery drawing, a price for the lottery ticket.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining is further based at least in part on the limited number of occurrences.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining is further based at least in part on an expected value associated with the lottery number combination.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
outputting an indication of a number of occurrences currently assigned to the lottery number combination.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining is conducted at least in part based on the receiving of the indications occurring when a winning amount of the lottery drawing is less than a predetermined amount.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining is conducted at least in part based on the receiving of the indications occurring before a predetermined number of tickets have been sold for the lottery drawing.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining is conducted at least in part based on a status of the player.
8. A method comprising:
receiving, by a lottery device and from a player device, a request to purchase a lottery ticket for a drawing in a pari-mutuel lottery that does not limit sales of duplicate sets of symbols;
receiving, by the lottery device and from the player device, an indication of a request by a player that a set of symbols is to be assigned to no more than a predetermined number of occurrences with respect to the drawing;
determining, by the lottery device and at least in part in response to the receiving of the indication of the request by the player, the set of symbols;
determining, by the lottery device, a price for the lottery ticket based on the predetermined number of occurrences; and
storing, by the lottery device, an indication of the price for the lottery ticket.
9. A system comprising:
a user interface; and
a controller operatively coupled to the user interface and adapted to:
receive an indication of request made by a player to purchase a lottery ticket for a lottery drawing, wherein the lottery drawing does not prohibit duplicate entries;
receive an indication of a request by the player that a lottery number combination assigned to the lottery ticket is to be assigned to only a limited number of occurrences for the lottery drawing; and
determine, based at least in part on the receiving of the indication that the lottery number combination assigned to the lottery ticket is to be assigned to only the limited number of occurrences for the lottery drawing, a price for the lottery ticket.
10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the system is embodied in a mobile terminal.
11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the user interface is embodied in a mobile terminal.
12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the mobile terminal comprises one or more of a PDA, a pager, a telephone, and a smart card.