FACILITIES FOR FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS BASED ON EVENT HAPPENINGS
Various embodiments of trading in financial instruments are given. In some embodiments, a trading venue may allow trading in futures contacts that relate to the outcome of competitions, such as sporting events, television competitions, and so on.
1 . (canceled)
2 . A method comprising:
receiving, by a computing device, information defining a winning parameter of a contest from a contest expert;
listing, by the computing device, a financial instrument that gives a holder of the financial instrument a right to a payment based on an outcome the contest and the winning parameter;
receiving, by the computing device, an offer to sell the financial instrument at a first price;
receiving, by the computing device, a bid to buy the financial instrument at the first price;
matching, by the computing device and in response to receiving the bid for the first price and receiving the offer for the first price, the offer and the bid; and
facilitating, by the computing device and in response to matching the bid and the offer, a trade that fulfills at last a part of each of the bid and the offer.
3 . The method of claim 2 , in which the contest includes a fantasy sports game.
4 . The method of claim 2 , in which the computing device includes an electronic marketplace.
5 . The method of claim 2 , in which facilitating the trade includes controlling a clearinghouse to make the trade.
6 . The method of claim 2 , in which the method comprises:
determining, by a second computing device, the matching bid and offer for the financial instrument;
facilitating, by the second computing device and in response to determining the matching bid and offer, a transfer of money from the second user's account into the first user's account;
forming, by the second computing device and in response to determining the matching bid and offer, a first obligation to make a payment of an amount of money to the second user if the outcome of the contest meets the winning parameter;
forming, by the second computing device and in response to determining the matching bid and offer, a second obligation to receive a payment of the amount of money from the first user if the outcome meets the winning parameter;
determining, by the second computing device, that the outcome meets the winning parameter;
facilitating, by the second computing device and in response to the determining that the outcome meets the winning parameter, a payment of the amount of money to the second user; and
facilitating, by the second computing device and in response to the determining that the outcome meets the winning parameter, a payment of the amount of money from the first user.
7 . The method of claim 2 , in which the winning parameter includes a line.
8 . An apparatus comprising:
a memory;
at least one processor to:
store a plurality of electronic records indicative of bids and offers for a variety of financial instruments in at least one queue in the memory;
compare the bids with the offers stored in the at least one queue;
determine whether a bid for a financial instrument stored in the at least one queue matches an offer for the financial instrument stored in the at least one queue;
transfer, in response to determining the matching bid and offer, a transfer of money from a first database to a second database;
form, in response to determining the matching bid and offer, a first obligation to make a payment of an amount of money to a user if the outcome of a contest meets a winning parameter;
determine that the outcome meets the winning parameter;
transfer, in response to the determining that the outcome meets the winning parameter, a payment of the amount of money to the user; and
transfer, by the computing device and in response to the determining that the outcome meets the winning parameter, a payment of the amount of money to the user.
9 . The apparatus of claim 8 , in which the at least one processor is configured to transmit the payment through a clearing house.
10 . The apparatus of claim 9 , in which the contest includes a fantasy sports game.
11 . The apparatus of claim 9 , in which the winning parameter includes a point spread in a sports game.
12 . The apparatus of claim 9 , in which the at least one processor is further configured to receive the plurality of electronic records indicative of bids and offers from an electronic marketplace.