Localized betting system and method
A localized electronic betting system includes: a smart contract generation module and a results engine located in a same low-latency environment as the smart contract generation module, wherein: the smart contract generation module is configured to receive a first betting statement from a first user device located within the low-latency environment, to generate a smart contract based on the first betting statement, the smart contract including a criterion to be met and configured to self-execute in response to a determination that the criterion is met, and to transmit the generated smart contract to a local blockchain node located within the low-latency environment; the results engine is configured, based on content received from a results source, to determine information indicative of whether the criterion in the first betting statement is met; and the localized betting system is configured to transmit a signal to the local blockchain node for storage on a local blockchain ledger or a local copy of a blockchain ledger, the signal containing the information indicative of whether the criterion is met. An equivalent method is also provided.
1. An electronic betting system, the system including:
a smart contract generation module; and
a results engine located in a low-latency environment with the smart contract generation module and a device, wherein the smart contract generation module is configured to:
receive a betting statement from the device via a network, the network including a plurality of edge computing devices connected via a connection, each of the plurality of edge computing devices defining an entry point to the network;
generate a smart contract based on the betting statement, the smart contract including a criterion to be met and configured to self-execute in response to a determination that the criterion is met; and
transmit, via the network, the smart contract to a blockchain node;
wherein the results engine is configured, based on content received from a results source, to determine information indicative of whether the criterion of the smart contract is met; and
wherein the results engine is configured to transmit, via the network, a signal to the blockchain node for storage on a blockchain ledger or a copy of a blockchain ledger, the signal containing the information indicative of whether the criterion is met.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
a latency of the low-latency environment is no more than 40 milliseconds (ms).
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the electronic betting system further comprises a trusted clock; and
when the smart contract generation module receives the betting statement at a time, it is configured to request a timestamp from the trusted clock, and to include the timestamp in the smart contract.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the device comprises a first device;
the betting statement comprises a first betting statement;
the smart contract generation module is configured to receive a second betting statement from a second device located within the low-latency environment;
the smart contract generation module is configured to generate a smart contract including a first criterion based on the first betting statement, and a second criterion based on the second betting statement; and
the smart contract is configured to self-execute to perform a first action in response to receipt of information that the first criterion has been met, and to perform a second action in response to receipt of information that the second criterion has been met.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the smart contract generation module is configured to store a smart contract identifier in a smart contract lookup table in association with an event identifier;
the results engine is configured to receive results in the form of results metadata, or the results engine includes a results conversion module which is configured to convert the content received from the results source into results metadata, the results metadata including a results event identifier;
the electronic betting system is configured to perform a lookup in the smart contract lookup table, in order to determine whether any results event identifier in the results metadata corresponds to any smart contract identifier in the smart contract lookup table; and
in the event that it is determined that the results metadata does include event identifiers which correspond to at least one smart contract identifier in the smart contract lookup table, the results engine is configured to transmit only a subset of the results metadata which corresponds to the at least one smart contract identifier in the smart contract lookup table.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the electronic betting system further comprises a set-top box which comprises the results engine;
the set-top box is configured to receive cable or satellite television signals, and to render the cable or satellite television signals into a format which is viewable on a television; and
the results engine is configured to receive the content from a cable or satellite television provider.
7. The system of claim 6 , wherein:
the set-top box is configured to receive a programming stream, the programming stream including metadata including an event indicator, which is a unique identifier of a type of event which forms part of the programming stream; and
on receipt of a bet type request from a device, the set-top box is configured to perform a lookup in a bet type lookup table in order to determine which types of bet are associated with the event indicator, and to transmit a signal to the device, the signal including information about associated bet types.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the device, the smart contract generation module, and the results engine are all part of a same sub-network, the sub-network including a subset of devices on the network, wherein the subset of devices is configured to access the network via the same entry point.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the betting statement describes a person-to-person bet.
10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the betting statement describes a pool bet.
11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the betting statement describes a person-to-house bet.
12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the results engine is configured to reconcile the blockchain ledger or the copy of the blockchain ledger with a public ledger.
13. A electronic betting system, the system including:
a smart contract generation module; and
a results engine located in a low-latency environment with the smart contract generation module and a device, wherein the smart contract generation module is configured to:
receive a betting statement from the device;
generate a smart contract based on the betting statement, the smart contract including a first criterion to be met and a second criterion to be met, wherein the smart contract is configured to self-execute to perform a first action in response to a determination that the first criterion is met, and to self-execute to perform a second action in response to a determination that the second criterion is met; and
transmit the generated smart contract to a blockchain node located within the low-latency environment;
wherein the results engine is configured, based on content received from a results source, to determine information indicative of whether at least one of the first criterion or the second criterion of the smart contract is met; and
wherein the electronic betting system is configured to transmit a signal to the blockchain node for storage on a blockchain ledger or a copy of a blockchain ledger, the signal containing the information indicative of whether at least one of the first criterion or the second criterion is met.
14. The system of claim 13 , wherein:
a latency of the low-latency environment is no more than 40 milliseconds (ms).
15. The system of claim 13 , wherein:
the electronic betting system further comprises a trusted clock; and
when the smart contract generation module receives the betting statement at a time, it is configured to request a timestamp from the trusted clock, and to include the timestamp in the smart contract.
16. The system of claim 13 , wherein:
the smart contract generation module is configured to store a smart contract identifier in a smart contract lookup table in association with an event identifier;
the results engine is configured to receive results in the form of results metadata, or the results engine includes a results conversion module which is configured to convert the content received from the results source into results metadata, the results metadata including an event identifier;
the electronic betting system is configured to perform a lookup in the smart contract lookup table, in order to determine whether any results event identifier in the results metadata corresponds to any smart contract identifier in the smart contract lookup table; and
in the event that it is determined that the results metadata does include any results event identifier which corresponds to any smart contract identifier in the smart contract lookup table, the results engine is configured to transmit only a subset of the results metadata which corresponds to one or more smart contract identifiers in the smart contract lookup table.
17. The system of claim 13 , wherein:
the electronic betting system further comprises a set-top box which comprises the results engine;
the set-top box is configured to receive cable or satellite television signals, and to render the cable or satellite television signals into a format which is viewable on a television; and
the results engine is configured to receive the content from a cable or satellite television provider.
18. The system of claim 17 , wherein:
the set-top box is configured to receive a programming stream, the programming stream including metadata including an event indicator, which is a unique identifier of a type of event which forms part of the programming stream; and
on receipt of a bet type request from a device, the set-top box is configured to perform a lookup in a bet type lookup table in order to determine which types of bet are associated with the event indicator, and to transmit a signal to the device, the signal including information about associated bet types.
19. The system of claim 13 , wherein the betting statement describes a person-to-person bet.
20. The system of claim 13 , wherein the betting statement describes a pool bet.
21. The system of claim 13 , wherein the betting statement describes a person-to-house bet.