Patent Publication Number: US-2004060064-A1

Title: Methods and systems for purchasing lottery tickets via a television terminal

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] The present invention relates to the field of satellite and cable television systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to enabling the purchase of lottery tickets from a state lottery system via a television terminal utilizing an existing television network.  
       [0002] As television systems continue to develop, particularly digital television systems, more and more features are being added to the television terminal, such as pay-per-view, electronic program guides, digital video recording capabilities, electronic shopping capabilities, video-on-demand, weather and stock information, as well as Internet access and related interactive features.  
       [0003] Currently, lottery tickets are sold through agents on behalf of state lottery commissions. High lottery jackpots frequently lead to long lines for ticket purchases at agent locations, such as convenience stores, gas stations, liquor stores, and the like.  
       [0004] It would be advantageous to extend the capabilities of a television system to enable the purchase of lottery tickets through a television terminal. It would be further advantageous to provide for the purchase of said lottery tickets from a lottery system over the existing television system network.  
       [0005] The methods and systems of the present invention provide the foregoing and other advantages.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006] The present invention relates to methods and systems for the purchase of lottery tickets via a television terminal. A lottery interface is provided to enable communications between the television terminal and a lottery system. A lottery application residing on the television terminal enables communication of a lottery ticket purchase request to the lottery interface via an upstream television path. A user interface is provided which is capable of accessing the lottery application residing on the television terminal and initiating the lottery ticket purchase request.  
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0007] The present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and:  
     [0008]FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an example embodiment of the invention; and  
     [0009]FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a further example embodiment of the invention.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
     [0010] The ensuing detailed description provides preferred exemplary embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention. Rather, the ensuing detailed description of the preferred exemplary embodiments will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing a preferred embodiment of the invention. It should be understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.  
     [0011] The present invention relates to methods and systems for the purchase of lottery tickets via a television terminal. In an example embodiment as shown in FIG. 1, a lottery interface  18  is provided to enable communications between a television terminal  10  and a lottery system  20 . A lottery application  12  residing on the television terminal  10  enables communication of a lottery ticket purchase request to the lottery interface  18  via an upstream television path of a television network  25 . A user interface  14  is provided which is capable of accessing the lottery application  12  residing on the television terminal  10 .  
     [0012] A lottery ticket purchase request is initiated via the user interface  14 . The user interface  14  accesses the lottery application  12  residing on the television terminal  10  in order to generate the purchase request. The purchase request is then communicated over an upstream television path (of television network  25 ) from the lottery application  12  to the lottery interface  18 . The communication between the television terminal  10  and the lottery interface  18  may take place via a television system headed  16  as shown FIG. 1. The purchase request is forwarded from the lottery interface  18  to the lottery system  20 , where a purchase of the lottery ticket is completed as requested in the purchase request.  
     [0013] A confirmation of the purchase may be provided from the lottery system  20  to the television terminal  10 . The confirmation of the purchase may comprises at least one of a name of a user, an address of the user, an order number, a listing of selected lottery numbers, a dollar amount of the purchase, or prize claim information. The confirmation of the purchase may be printed on a printing device  35  associated with the television terminal  10 .  
     [0014] The lottery interface  18  may comprise a lottery application server. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that this server  18  may be located at a television system headend, at the lottery system facility, or at a remote location independent of the headend and the lottery system. Further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the lottery application server  18  may be under the control of the television system headend  16 , the lottery system  20 , or a third party provider.  
     [0015] The user interface  14  may comprise one of a remote control, a keyboard, a mouse, a joystick, a touch pad, or similar device which can be enabled for communication with the television terminal  10  and capable of accessing the lottery application  12 .  
     [0016] In a further example embodiment, authorization of the purchase of the lottery ticket in response to the purchase request may be required. Such authorization may be performed at a remote location (e.g., third party authorization  40 ) via communications through a television system headend  16 . Alternatively, authorization for the purchase may be performed at the television system headend  16 . The authorization may comprise verifying the identity of a user making the purchase request and verifying the credit of the user. The authorization may be enabled via one of a smart card (e.g., via a smart card interface associated with television terminal  10  or user interface  14 ) or a television system conditional access system  38 .  
     [0017] Payment for purchase of the lottery ticket may be enabled via one of a smart card or a conditional access system  38 . Prepayment for the purchase of the lottery ticket may be required. Payment may be made via one of a smart card, a credit card, a debit card, or a television billing system  30 . A portion of the payment may be provided to a television system operator, with the remainder of the payment being provided to the lottery system  20 .  
     [0018] A further example embodiment is shown in FIG. 2, wherein the lottery application server  18  communicates with the lottery system  20  via a global communications network  100  (e.g., the Internet). Third party authorization  40  may also take place over the global communication network  100 . In such an embodiment, confirmation of the purchase may be forwarded by electronic mail (email) from the lottery system to the user. The email may be received by the user via the television terminal  10  in the case of an Internet enabled television embodiment. Alternatively, the email may be received by the user on an Internet appliance  110 , such as a personal computer, personal digital assistant, digital cellular telephone, or other Internet enabled appliance as is known in the art.  
     [0019] It should now be appreciated that the present invention provides advantageous methods and systems for purchasing lottery tickets via a television terminal.  
     [0020] Although the invention has been described in connection with various illustrated embodiments, numerous modifications and adaptations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.