Systems and methods for operating lottery games including player-designated beneficiaries and conditional payout distribution
Systems, apparatus, methods and articles of manufacture provide for the distribution of a payout amount associated with a lottery ticket being conditioned or otherwise based on the payout amount. Some embodiments provide for determining a positive payout amount associated with a lottery ticket and determining at least one recipient and/or beneficiary of the positive payout amount based on (i) the positive payout amount and/or (ii) a recipient or beneficiary associated with the lottery ticket and/or the payout amount. In one embodiment, larger prizes (e.g., a jackpot prize, a prize greater than a predetermined threshold payout amount) are awarded to the player(s) of a virtual lottery ticket (e.g., shared by the players), and smaller prizes are distributed to a charitable organization (e.g., other than any of the players) selected by one or more players of the lottery ticket.
1. A method, comprising:
receiving, via a ticket management system controller device in communication with a player device, an indication of a first player associated with a physical lottery ticket,
the player device comprising at least one input device configured to receive an identifier from the physical lottery ticket,
the ticket management system controller device being programmed in accordance with a software program specifically to provide for management of physical lottery tickets associated with one or more of:
a player-designated beneficiary, and
a conditional payout distribution,
the ticket management system controller device comprising:
a communications port,
at least one input device,
at least one output device,
a data storage device storing:
the software program,
a lottery games database,
a lottery ticket database,
a lottery player database, and
a beneficiary database;
receiving, via the ticket management system controller device, an indication of a second player associated with the physical lottery ticket;
receiving, via the ticket management system controller device, an indication of a beneficiary associated with the physical lottery ticket and an indication of a predetermined threshold payout amount associated with a lottery ticket,
wherein if the physical lottery ticket is a winning ticket the beneficiary is to receive at least a portion of any payout amount that is less than or equal to the predetermined threshold payout amount;
determining, via the ticket management system controller device, that the physical lottery ticket is a winning lottery ticket corresponding to a positive payout amount;
determining, via the ticket management system controller device, that the positive payout amount is greater than the predetermined threshold payout amount;
in response to determining that the positive payout amount is greater than the predetermined threshold payout amount, identifying, via the ticket management system controller device, the second player,
in which the second player is not the first player; and after identifying the second player, providing, via the ticket management system controller device, at least a portion of the positive payout amount to the second player.
2. The method of claim 1 , in which the beneficiary is not provided any portion of the positive payout amount.
3. The method of claim 1 , in which receiving the indication of the predetermined threshold payout amount comprises receiving the indication of the predetermined threshold payout amount prior to determining the positive payout amount for the lottery ticket.
4. The method of claim 1 , in which receiving the indication of the predetermined threshold payout amount comprises receiving the indication of the predetermined threshold payout amount prior to revealing the positive payout amount for the lottery ticket to any player of the ticket.
5. The method of claim 1 , in which receiving the indication of the predetermined threshold payout amount comprises receiving the indication of the predetermined threshold payout amount from one of a group consisting of:
a purchaser of the lottery ticket;
a player of the lottery ticket; and
a lottery authority.
6. The method of claim 1 , in which receiving an indication of the beneficiary comprises
receiving the indication of the beneficiary from the first player.
7. The method of claim 1 , in which receiving an indication of the beneficiary comprises
receiving the indication of the beneficiary from the second player.
8. The method of claim 1 , in which receiving the indication of the beneficiary comprises receiving the indication of a beneficiary from one of a group consisting of:
a purchaser of the lottery ticket; and
a lottery authority.
9. The method of claim 1 , in which receiving the indication of the beneficiary comprises prompting a user to indicate a beneficiary via a user interface.