Abstract:
Method, computer system and program for processing over the telephone net bets and games of chance including placements of bets and winning requests, comprising: 
     a data base; 
     call distribution means (ACD) connected to the telephone net for receiving incoming calls and distributing to a plurality of processing queues (Q 1 -Q K ), and 
     a number N of listening and speaking terminals (P 1 -P M ) connected to M first processing queues (Q); 
     means (ASR 1 -ASR N ) for evaluating a caller identification of a caller, 
     a number N of speech recognition modules connected to N second processing queues (Q) for converting one or more bet placements of the caller into a machine processable set of data and storing it in the data bank together with the caller identity, and\ 
     a selective evaluation device (ASR i , S) connected to the call distribution means (ACD) and, dependent of the input selection by the caller, controls the caller recognition means (ACD) to direct the call to a speech recognition module (ASR) in case placement of a bet has been selected, or to a listening and speaking terminal (P) in case of a request for winnings.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a method of processing, via a telephone net, bets and games of chance which include the placing of bets and requests for winnings, utilizing a computer system communicating with the telephone net and provided with a data base as well as with listening and speaking terminals. 
     Furthermore, the invention relates to a computer system for processing, via a telephone net, bets and games of chance which include the placing of bets and requests for winnings, comprising: 
     a data base, 
     call distribution means (ACD) connected to the telephone net for receiving incoming calls and for distributing them to a plurality of processing queues (Q 1 -Q K ), and 
     a number M of listening and speaking terminals (P 1 -P M ) connected to M first processing queues (Q). 
     Moreover, the invention relates to a program for controlling a computer system communicating with a telephone net and connected to a data base as well as listening and speaking terminals. 
     Such systems are known as computer-assisted call centers. Incoming calls are distributed by the computer system to employees working at work stations equipped with listening and speaking terminals. The computer system may present to a caller voice selection menus which the caller acknowledges or controls by touch tone inputs (MFV) in order to reach a certain employee. 
     The operation of such call centers is particularly uneconomical when used in connection with bets and games of chance: Shortly before the bets or games of chance are closed, there usually occurs an explosion-like increase in the number of incoming calls so that a correspondingly proportional number of working stations for employees and an equal number of employees would have to be provided. However, between bets or games of chance a large number of working stations would be idle during substantial increments of time. 
     2. The Prior Art 
     For that reason, systems have previously been proposed for processing incoming calls completely automatically. U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,416 describes a computerized system for receiving lottery bets via a telephone net, with a speech menu system which is controlled completely, up to the push button inputs (MFV) of credit card numbers and voice responses to the caller, by the caller using push button inputs (MFV). However, this system is only suitable for placing bets and is incapable of processing winning requests. Initial enrollment as a new customer requires registration with an employee at a listening and speaking terminal. 
     It is this user interface which constitutes a critical point in the acceptance of such an automated service. A large number of potential users considers an interaction with the system by way of push button inputs tiresome and prone to input errors, so that it avoids such services. 
     On the other hand, voice controlled menu systems for telephone systems are known which utilize automatic speech recognition methods enabling an input from the caller of natural voice commands and data. 
     In applications of betting and games of chance which include requests for winnings the problem arises that for purposes of possible winning requests the addresses of all callers have heretofore been stored. However, given the state of development of currently available speaker-independent speech recognition methods, speech recognition of a substantially unlimited worldwide set of addresses cannot be accomplished within a realistic calculation time. Only for a limited geographical area of potential customers, for example, addresses from an area of about 100,000 inhabitants, would it be possible to realize speech recognition. However, in the case of a geographical area of customers from all of Germany, the system would have to be capable of recognizing about 80 million addresses. 
     Since the target group of telephone supported automatic betting and game of chance systems is basically directed to potential new customers in an unlimited geographical area, a problem arises which cannot at present be solved. On the one hand, it is uneconomical, because of the irregularity of peak demands, to increase the number of workstations for customer registrations by employees; on the other hand, currently available speech recognition technology is incapable of mastering this task. 
     OBJECT OF THE INVENTION 
     It as an object of the invention to provide a computer system and a program for this purpose which is capable of providing, at a reasonable economic investment, a substantially automated system for processing the placing of bets and requests for winnings in wagerings and games of chance. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In a first aspect of the invention, the object is accomplished by a method which is characterized by the steps of: 
     a) making available in a data base a first limited set of predetermined speech component patterns forming possible spoken bet placements; 
     b) receiving an incoming call by the computer system; 
     c) automatically evaluating the caller identification of the caller including preceding or succeeding 
     d) recognition of the caller&#39;s selection between placing a bet, on the one hand, or requesting a winning on the other hand, and, independently of the recognition, selecting 
     d1) converting one of more bet placements by the caller with the aid of a speech recognition method which performs a comparison against the first set of speech component patterns, to a machine processable set of data and storing the set of data together with the caller identification in the data base; or 
     d2) conveying the call to a listening and speaking terminal in case of a request for a winning. 
     In the present specification the term “bet placement” connotes every kind of participation in wagering, book making, games of chance, lottery or the like whether it be betting, wagering, playing or placing a stake, etc. The term “bet placement” includes all possible variants of participation. 
     In a second aspect of the invention the object is accomplished with a computer system of the kind referred to supra which is characterized by: 
     means (ASR 1 -ASR N ) for evaluating the caller identification of a caller; 
     a number N of speech recognition modules (ASR1-ASR N ) connected to N second processing queues (Q) for converting each spoken bet placement of the caller into a machine processessable set of data and storing it, together with the caller identification, in the data base; 
     a selective evaluation device (ASR i , S) connected to the call distribution means (ACD) for controlling, dependent upon the input selection by the caller, the call distribution means (ACD) to direct the call to one of the speech recognition modules (ASR) in case a bet placement has been selected, or to a listening and speaking terminal (P) in case a request for a winning has been selected. 
     The invention proposed an entirely novel approach for automatically processing bets and games of chance over the telephone net: The invention is based upon the surprising recognition of the basic need for distinguishing between game participation over the telephone for placing a bet or to request a winning, and the realization that in the former case speech recognition of the address of a caller is not necessary at all. In this manner, currently available speech recognition technology may be fully utilized, and the number of work-intensive work stations provided with listening and speaking terminals may be reduced by the factor (M+N):M. 
     An especially preferred embodiment of the method in accordance with the invention is characterized by the fact that in step c) a new caller identification is generated and voice-issued in case a caller identification can either not be evaluated or not be found. In this fashion, new customer may immediately participate in a game and make use of the complete utility of the system. 
     In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention the automatic evaluation of the caller identification may proceed on the basis of the caller&#39;s telephone number as transmitted by a public telephone net. If the caller identification is not transmitted by the telephone net or if a permanent association of game participants with defined telephone connections is not desirable, automatic evaluation of the caller identification may be performed by a speech recognition method which performs a comparison with a second limited set of predetermined speech component patterns forming possible spoken caller identities. The caller identification is in any case independent of an address and can, therefore, be evaluated by currently available speech recognition methods. 
     Preferably, for purposes of increasing security, the caller identification includes an account number and a password. 
     A further advantageous embodiment of the invention is characterized by the steps of making available a third limited set of predetermined speech component patterns forming possible spoken credit card charge, bank account deduction transactions or the like, and 
     converting a spoken credit card charge, bank account deduction transaction or the like of the caller&#39;s by means of a speech recognition method which executes a comparison with the third set of speech component patterns, into a machine-processable set of transactions which is stored with the caller identification in a data base. In this manner, crediting and identifying a caller may be automatically performed at the same time so that for the time being an anonymous betting account may be set up for the caller. 
     Crediting the betting account may also take place by debiting a bank account, payment through a telephone or electricity bill, automatic bank payment, electronic species, customer cards, value cards, vouchers etc. In the present specification the terms “credit card, bank account or the like”, “credit card issuer, bank, or the like” include all these variants. 
     To increase security for the operator, the sets of transactions in the data base are preferably examined for credit worthiness by way of a credit card and bank account verification terminals or the like. 
     There are two preferred variants for recognizing the caller&#39;s selection in step d). On the one hand, the selection may take place by a telephone dialing number determined by the telephone net and which presents itself to the caller in the manner of an extension, so that the caller may make his basic selection between placing a bet and requesting a winning as soon as he places a call to the system. On the other hand, the selection in step d) may take place by voice command and speech recognition, so that the system presents itself to the outside by a telephone number followed by voice control. 
     Other objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL DRAWINGS 
     The novel features which are considered to be characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, in respect of its structure, construction and lay-out as well as manufacturing techniques, together with other objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of preferred embodiments when read in connection with the appended drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a telephone assisted betting game or game of chance according to the prior art; 
     FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the system in accordance with the invention; 
     FIGS. 3 a  to  3   c  are flow diagrams of the method in accordance with the invention; 
     FIG. 4 a  is a block diagram of a speech recognition method known per se; 
     FIG. 4 b  is a flow diagram of the speech recognition method practiced by the invention; and 
     FIG. 5 is the block diagram of a practical form of executing the computer system in accordance with the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In the drawings reference characters are used which in part serve as direct abbreviations of the functions executed by the thus labeled components. Appendix 2 contains a list of the used abbreviations. 
     FIG. 1 schematically depicts the structure of a known computer-assisted system for processing bets or games of chance over the telephone. Call distribution means ACD are connected to the public telephone net PSTN by way of K official lines A. In the case shown, the call distribution means ACD are composed of a branch or extension device PBX and an interactive voice response module IVT which issues speech menus and messages and which may optionally be controlled by push button inputs of a caller A i . The call distribution means ACD distributes incoming calls to a number K of listening and speaking terminals P 1  to P K , three of which have been shown by way of example. 
     Employees at the work stations P 1  receive calls and input data in, or read data from, data stations T 1  to T K . The data stations T 1  to T K  are connected to a data base DB. The call distribution means ACD may also be connected to the data base, for instance for distributing calls to the listening and speaking terminals P 1  to P K  in accordance with predetermined priorities. 
     The configuration of FIG. 1 as a computer-assisted call center architecture is known and requires K occupied work stations. 
     FIG. 2 depicts the computer system in accordance with the invention. Here, too, the call distribution means ACD is connected to the public telephone net (not shown) by way of K official lines A 1  to A K . The call distribution means distributes incoming calls in a controlled manner to be described in detail to K processing queues Q 1  to Q K . The call distribution means ACD makes the basic decision of whether to direct calls to a set A of M listening and speaking terminals P 1  to P M  or to a set B of N speech recognition modules ASR 1  to ASR N . 
     The processing queues Q 1  to Q K  may be holding or waiting queues operating on a stack reduction principle, e.g. first in—first out, or merely connection channels in which case the call distribution means ACD operates as a branch or extension unit. 
     The number of outgoing queues or channels Q 1  to Q K  need not be the same as the number of incoming official lines A 1  to A K , but it may, for instance, be less so that more than one caller may be in any one processing queue. 
     The control of the call distribution means ACD in respect of calls directed to set A or set B depends upon an automatic evaluation of a selection made by the caller, that is to say whether he wishes to place a bet (set B) or whether he is requesting a winning (set A). 
     In a first variant this selection may be made by the caller by way of push button inputs (MFV or DTMF) which are then evaluated by the call distribution means ACD. The call distribution means ACD may evaluate, for example, the final digits of a telephone number dialed by the caller, in the manner of direct dialing of an extension. 
     In a second variant, the selection is made by the caller by way of a voice command. For this purpose, special speech recognition modules (not shown) may be used which are provided in the call distribution means ACD. However, preference is given to those speech recognition modules ASR 1 -ASR N  which are also utilized for conversion of spoken bet placements to be described. In cooperation with a control S and one or more speech recognition modules VR connected to the call distribution means ACD, the caller may, for instance, be requested to input a selection. 
     It will be understood that the arrangement of the control is but exemplary; the control S may also be arranged in one of the components ACD, ASR, DB or VR, or it may be distributed over all of them as is well-known in computer technology. 
     The speech recognition modules ASR i  of set B convert bet placements spoken by the caller into machine processable sets of data and store them in a data base DB. The spoken bet placements may be present in a single uninterrupted speech string or—by appropriate request from the speech response module VR—in several individual speech strings. 
     Each bet placement includes at least one caller identification and an identification of the selected game. In the case of wagering, the bet placement further includes the wagering bet and the size of the bet. 
     The spoken bet placements are detected in each speech recognition module ASR i  by comparison with one or more sets V of predetermined speech component patterns such as phonemena, syllables, words etc. fed to the speech recognition modules ASR i . 
     FIG. 4 a  schematically depicts the sequence of a speech recognition method known per se. In a first step  41  significant characteristics are extracted from digital speech data  40 , for instance by division into frames, sectional Fourier transformation and subsequent extraction of predetermined speech-relevant frequencies. The characteristics of a frame constitute a characteristic vector. 
     In a second step  42  the characteristic vectors of the speech frames are classified, for instance, in accordance with phonemena by recourse to predetermined sets V of speech component patterns. 
     In a third step  43  there will take place a propability evaluation of possible word strings. Here, too, recourse is had to the stored sets of speach component patterns V. The Hidden-Markov-Model is a known model of propability evaluation. The N probable word strings are available at the end of the process. 
     Reference may be had to Shaughnessy, O.: Speech Communication, Human and Machine, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass., 1990 and Schukat-Talamazini, E. G.: Automatische Spracherkennung-Grundlagen, statistische Modelle und effiziente Algorithmen, Vieweg, Braunschweig, 1995 for a detailed summaries of processes and methods of speech recognition. 
     The recognition rate of the method may be further enhanced by correlation of N best lists of neighboring words by comparision with predetermined possibilities of word combinations. This method is described in greater detail on the basis of the example of FIG. 4 b  relative to the voice input “Bayern gegen Stuttgart” (“Bavaria v. Stuttgart”). 
     The speech recognition method isolates the two team words and returns a N best list of the recognized teams, sorted on the basis of the possibilities of hits. Unclear or dialect-laden pronunciation or the uncertainty of speech recognition in general may lead to one or both teams not being placed in the top position of the column. For optimization, the list from the data bank of all offered games is referred to. The recognition rate can be markedly improved by this correlation evaluation as compared to the sole recognition of individual words. 
     The scores of games of chance or wagerings are recorded in the data base by terminals (not shown), and they are linked to the mentioned data sets for calculation of corresponding winnings. The scores and winnings may be requested by the caller over the same system. 
     By way of terminals (not shown) the contents of the data bank DB are also available at the listening and speaking terminals P 1  to P M  for the verification of winning requests, addition of addresses to the data bank, and for causing payments to be made or to be authorized. Payments may thereafter be made in any desired manner, such as, for example, by way of an online connection between a network of local business centers with the data base. Alternatively, the computer system could execute credit card, bank account and similar transactions. 
     A concrete embodiment of the method in accordance with the invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 3 a  to  3   c . FIG. 3 a  essentially depicts the first voice menu section for processing the application in the system; FIG. 3 b  depicts the voice menu for managing the betting account by the user, and FIG. 3 c  depicts the voice menu of bet placement. 
     In the ensuing description “inputs” will be understood to be voice inputs, except were stated otherwise, and “outputs” or “requests” always refers to voice outputs. 
     The basic decision between directing the call to one of the listening and speaking terminals P i  of set A in case of a request for a winning or to one of the speech recognition modules of set B in case of placing a bet, is made by the main menu  301  and by option 3 of the account menu  302  (FIG. 3 b ): Following a preceding optional logon operation, FIG. 3 a , the caller selects between placing his bet (option 1 of the main menu  301 ) and requesting a winning (option 2 of the main menu  301  as well as option 3 of the account menu  302 ). In the first case a connection is made to the bet placements (FIG. 3 c ); in the second case connection is made to the listening and speaking terminal P i . 
     Beginning at FIG. 3 a , upon receipt of a call, an examination will be made in block  303  for determining whether a caller identification (CLID) transmitted by the public telephone net is available and registered. In the affirmative, the caller is requested in block  304  to input a password (PIN), and in block  305  the authenticity of the completed caller identification consisting of CLID, which hereafter will also be used as an account number, and password (PIN) is examined. If affirmative, a connection will be established to the main menu  301 . 
     If block  305  rejects the caller identification, two renewed admission attempts will be permitted in a queue by way of the blocks  306 ,  307  and  304 , block  306  counting the number of attempts and block  307  allowing the explicit input of an account number instead of the CLID. After three invalid admission attempts block  306  directs the call to an employee at a listening and speaking terminal P i . 
     In case block  303  determines that no CLID is available or registered, blocks  308  and  309  issue an input menu stating available options 1=logon, 2=new customer registration, 3=explanation and 4=employee. Option 1 of the menu leads to block  307 , and option 2 leads to blocks  311  to  318  for generating a new caller identification. 
     Following an introductory explanation in block  311 , the generation of a new caller identification is incumbent upon selecting a currency in block  312 , statement of age in block  313  and upon checking the age in block  314 ; in the case of minors the call will be terminated. Otherwise, a new account number and a new password (PIN) will be generated in block  315 , issued in block  316 , and, in block  317 , the question is asked if the issuance has been understood. If affirmative, the caller may leave additional information in block  318 ; this is recorded as a voice message without further processing. Thereafter, connection is established to the CLID or account number input  307 . 
     Following a successful application in the system continuation takes place at the main menu  301  of FIG. 3 b . Option 1 of the menu  301  is the selection “bet placement” and initially connects to a block  320  which checks whether the betting account of the caller has a credit balance. In case of no credit balance, a warning will issue in block  321  to the effect that no bets may be placed. However, in order to give new customers the possibility of becoming familiar with the system before making a deposit one may nevertheless proceed to the betting menu of FIG. 3 c . In that case, the actual placing of a bet remains blocked, however. 
     If there is a credit balance, the state of the account will be indicated in block  322 , and the system proceeds to the betting menu of FIG. 3 c.    
     If the caller selects option 2=account management from the main menu  301  the system branches off to the account menu  302 . This offers options 1=identify account balance (by way of block  323 ), 2=actualize account (see supra), 3=debit account or request for payment of winning (see supra), 4=issue account statement and 5=identify condition of last transaction. 
     Once the time period of interest has been entered in block  324 , option 4 provides an activity report of the account in block  325 . 
     The account may be actualized in option 2 by a charge to a credit card, bank transfer or the like. Following indication of the state of the account in block  326 , there is a possibility of entering a credit card or bank account number or the like (e.g. value card dates, voucher numbers, identification for a electronic species, etc.) after verifying ( 328 ) of an amount to be debited in block  331 . After renewed verification ( 332 ) the entire transaction is repeated in block  333 , reconfirmation is expected in block  334 , and the transaction is executed in block  335 . 
     Every credit card charge, bank account deduction transaction or the like is stored in the data base. A credit card, bank account or the like gateway connected to the data base will, either by request or regularly (polling), check all pending transactions waiting to be validated for their credit worthiness by interaction with a credit card issuer, bank or the like, as is well known to technology. 
     In block  336 , the caller is offered the possibility of waiting or not waiting for the validation. If he waits, the queue  337 - 338  will remain open until the transaction has been verified or validated. In case the validation is positive, block  339  connects to block  341  where the new state of the account is indicated; otherwise connection is made with block  340  for an error message and for redirecting the call to a work station P i . 
     Option 5 enables subsequent checking of the state of the transaction; blocks  342  to  345  essentially correspond to blocks  337  to  341 . 
     FIG. 3 c  depicts the sequence of placing a bet, beginning with the bet placement menu  346 . In the bet placement menu  346  the type of bet, game of chance or lottery may be selected as a first step. The example shows several kinds of sports bets, that is to say, option 1=soccer betting; option 2=automobile race betting, etc. 
     Soccer bet option 1 is depicted in greater detail and branches off to a soccer betting menu  347 . These are different types of bets, namely a single bet option 1, a combination bet option 2 and a goal bet option 3. 
     In block  348 , the single bet option 1 requests entry of the desired game; this speech input has already been described supra with reference to FIG. 4 b . Thereafter, the odds of winning will be indicated in block  349 , and in block  350  a request is issued for inputting the desired bet 1, 0 or 2. 
     The combination bet in blocks  351  to  355  consists of the successive inputs of several single bets, blocks  351  to  353  corresponding to blocks  348  to  350  of the single bet; queue control is exercised by blocks  354  and  355 . 
     The goal bet  356  also request input of the desired game, analoguously to block  248 , and the desired bet may be inputted in block  357 . 
     After a combination bet or a goal bet, the odds are indicated in block  358 . 
     All three options lead to block  359  which checks whether entered credit card charge, bank account transfer or the like has been validated. In the affirmative, the system proceeds to block  360  where the status of the transaction is indicated. In case of a negative result, block  361  diverts the call to a work station P i . Otherwise, or if no transaction was pending, a request for placing a bet is issued in block  362 . 
     Block  363  checks whether the bet is within predetermined limits. If it is not, the minimum and maximum bets are indicated in block  364  and a renewed request for placing a bet will be issued. 
     Otherwise block  364 ′ checks if the stake is covered by the bet account. If this is not the case, block  365  will issue a warning and establish a renewed connection to block  362 . 
     If the result of the check is positive, blocks  366  and  367  again request confirmation. If the confirmation is given, block  368  stores the placed bet as a set of data in the data base. 
     FIG. 5 depicts a practical form of realization of the system. A telecommunications device, type Alcatel 4400, is connected to the public telephone net PSNT, and acts as call distribution means ADS, by way of three ISDN basic connections A which include 30 official lines each. 
     Two IVR master servers  511  and  512  are connected to the ACD for performing interactive speech response functions and implementing the functions of modules VR and S of FIG.  2 . These servers may also perform simple speech recognition methods such as the recognition of individual numbers or letters. 
     The IVR master servers  511  and  512  as well as the call distribution means ACD are connected to each other and to other components of the system by way of a LAN. These include a management terminal  501  for managing as well as an applications terminal  502  for programming the system. 
     Complex and calculation-intensive speech recognition methods of the kinds performed by blocks  348 ,  351  and  356  are moved to slave server clusters  521  and  522 . This allows simple scaling of the calculation power. 
     The system may also be connected to the internet by way of a firewall hub  503 . 
     The work stations of the employees or call agents are also connected to the LAN, each including a terminal T i  and a listening and speaking terminal P i . The data base is implemented by an SQL server  504 . A gateway server  505  constitutes the gateway for validating credit card charge, bank account deduction transactions or the like and is connected to one or more credit card issuers, banks or the like by a connection (not shown). 
     Programming of the entire system is done modularly, for instance, by way of graphic development tools for setting up IVR applications, such as, for instance, the AVIOLA application generator software available from Alcatel. The speech recognition software used in the slave server clusters  521  is the software-based product L&amp;H ASR 1500/TSO of Lernout and Houspie. This p[roduct is capable of speaker-independ recognition of an active vocabulary of about 500 words in six different languages at a recognition rate of 95%. 
     The SQL data base managed by the SQL server  504  is based upon the 6.5 SQL server of Microsoft. In order to abstract access of the described programs on the data base the functions listed in the following Table 1 were defined as interfaces to the data base and implemented as stored procedures. 
     
       
         
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Function 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 SP_GetSpofNoWeek 
                 Furnishes the bet number based on week and 
               
               
                   
                 game number 
               
               
                 SP_GetAccount 
                 Searches the bet account number based on caller 
               
               
                   
                 ID 
               
               
                 SP_Logon 
                 Applying with bet account number and PIN Code 
               
               
                 SP_CreateAccount 
                 Setting up a new bet account for new customers 
               
               
                 SP_GetBalance 
                 Furnishes state of account of a bet account 
               
               
                 SP_PayIn 
                 Deposit to the bet account by credit card 
               
               
                 SP_CheckTrans 
                 Checking a credit card transaction 
               
               
                 SP_GetCBHistory 
                 Furnishes a summary of placed combination bets 
               
               
                 SP_GetSMHistory 
                 Furnishes a summary of placed single bets 
               
               
                 SP_GetPayHistory 
                 Furnishes a summary of deposits and 
               
               
                   
                 disbursements of the bet account 
               
               
                 SP_GetSpofNo 
                 Furnishes bet number based on team name 
               
               
                 SP_GetOdds 
                 Furnishes quota about a bet 
               
               
                 SP_PlaceSMBet 
                 Placing of a single bet 
               
               
                 SP_GetCBOfferNo 
                 Furnishes the bet number of a combination bet 
               
               
                 SP_GetStakeAmt 
                 Furnishes minimum and maximum stakes for a 
               
               
                   
                 bet 
               
               
                 SP_PlaceGoalBet 
                 Placing of a goal bet 
               
               
                 SP_PlaceCBBet 
                 Placing of a combination bet 
               
               
                 SP_GetOpenMatches 
                 Furnishes a list of all open games and teams 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     Access to these function may be established by use of an ODBC driver of almost any system. Such drivers are available for many types of operating systems. The exact specification of the parameters of the procedures listed in Table 1 are listed in Appendix 1. 
     The data base enables complete recording of all user activities. If desired, all incoming calls may be recorded as speech strings in the data base (voice logging). 
     The invention may be used in all types of bets, games of chance, lotteries, telephone games or the like and is, of course, not limited to the embodiments described, but embraces all variants which fall into the scope of the appended claims. 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 APPENDIX 1 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Definition of the Data Base Interface 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 1) SP_GetSpofNoWeek 
                   
               
               
                 Input Parameters 
                 @weekno (int)/@coupmatchno (int) 
               
               
                 Output Parameters 
                 @betofferno (int) 
               
               
                 Return Code 
                 0 = Success/1 = Failure 
               
               
                 Result Set 
                 None 
               
               
                 2) SP_GetAccount 
               
               
                 Input Parameters 
                 @callerid (varchar(30)) 
               
               
                 Output Parameters 
                 @accountno (latest for stated caller id) (int) 
               
               
                 Return Code 
                 0 = Success/1 = Failure 
               
               
                 Result Set 
                 None 
               
               
                 3) SP_Logon 
               
               
                 Input Parameters 
                 @accountno (int)/@pinno (varchar (5)0/ 
               
               
                   
                 @callerid (optional) (varchar (30))/ 
               
               
                 Output Parameters 
                 @language (varchar (8)) (if no account 
               
               
                   
                 exists, return empty string) 
               
               
                 Return Code 
                 0 = Success/1 = Failure 
               
               
                 Result Set 
                 None 
               
               
                 4) Sp_CreateAccount 
               
               
                 Input Parameters 
                 @DOB (varchar (11))/@language (default 
               
               
                   
                 German) (varchar (8))/@currency 
               
               
                   
                 (char (3))/@caller id (optional) 
               
               
                   
                 (varchar (30)) 
               
               
                 Output Parameters 
                 @accountno (int)/@pinno (char (5)) 
               
               
                 Return Code 
                 0 = Success/1 = Failure 
               
               
                 Result Set 
                 None 
               
               
                 5) SP_GetBalance 
               
               
                 Input Parameters 
                 @accountno (int) 
               
               
                 Output Parameters 
                 @currency (char(3))/@balance (int) 
               
               
                 Return Code 
                 0 Success/1 = Failure 
               
               
                 Result Set 
                 None 
               
               
                 6) SP-PayIn 
               
               
                 Input Parameters 
                 @credcardno (varchar(30))/@expdate (int)/ 
               
               
                 Output Parameters 
                 @transcode (int) 
               
               
                 Return Code 
                 0 = Success/1 = Failure 
               
               
                 Result Set 
                 None 
               
               
                 7) SP_CheckTrans 
               
               
                 Input Parameters 
                 @transcode (int) 
               
               
                 Output Parameters 
                 @state (smallint) 
               
               
                   
                 0 = rejected/invalid card number 
               
               
                   
                 1 = rejected/internal error 
               
               
                   
                 2 = not processed 
               
               
                   
                 3 = successfully processed 
               
               
                 Return Code 
                 0 = Success/1 = Failure 
               
               
                 Result Set 
                 None 
               
               
                 8) SP_GetCBHistory 
               
               
                 Input Parameters 
                 @accountno (int)/@datefr (datetime) 
               
               
                 output Parameters 
                 none 
               
               
                 Return Code 
                 0 = Success/1 = Failure 
               
               
                 Result Set 
                 Details of combination bet as follows: 
               
               
                   
                 Bet number  date  betname 
               
               
                   
                 Stake: stake  Prize: winnings 
               
               
                   
                 Status: state  Result: (correct/false) 
               
               
                   
                 (List of the single bets compounded 
               
               
                   
                 in this list) 
               
               
                   
                 bet number  match name  date 
               
               
                   
                 Bet: option  Chance: odds  Status: state 
               
               
                 9) SP_GetSMHistory 
               
               
                 Einput arameters 
                 @accountno (int)/@datefr (datetime) 
               
               
                 Output parameters 
                 none 
               
               
                 Return Code 
                 0 = Success/1 = Failure 
               
               
                 Result Set 
                 Details of bets as follows: 
               
               
                   
                 Bet number  date  betname 
               
               
                   
                 Bet option  Chance odds  Stake: stake 
               
               
                   
                 Prize: winnings  Status: state 
               
               
                   
                 Result: (correct/false) 
               
               
                 10) Get_PayHistory 
               
               
                 Input Parameters 
                 @accountno (int)/@datefr (datetime) 
               
               
                 Output Parameters 
                 None 
               
               
                 Return Code 
                 0 = Success/1 = Failure 
               
               
                 Result Set 
                 Details of payment as follows: 
               
               
                   
                 date type of payment 
               
               
                   
                 fund  customer balance 
               
               
                 11) SP_GetSpofNo 
               
               
                 Input Parameters 
                 @team1 (varchar (30))/@team2 (optional) 
               
               
                   
                 (varchar (30))/@matchdate (optional) 
               
               
                   
                 (varchar (12)) 
               
               
                 Output Parameters 
                 None 
               
               
                 Return Code 
                 0 = Success/1 = Failure 
               
               
                 Result Set 
                 Details of each game from input 
               
               
                   
                 parameter; 
               
               
                   
                 The details of each game correspond to a 
               
               
                   
                 line in the result set and contain game 
               
               
                   
                 name, bet offer number and game date. 
               
               
                 12) SP_GetOdds 
               
               
                 Input Parameter 
                 @betofferno (int) 
               
               
                 Output Parameter 
                 none 
               
               
                 Return Code 
                 0 = Success/1 = Failure 
               
               
                 Result Set 
                 List of options and odds for the bet offer 
               
               
                   
                 number. Includes goal bets and single 
               
               
                   
                 bets. The columns in the result set are as 
               
               
                   
                 follows: Odds/Option. 
               
               
                 13) SP_PlaceSMBet 
               
               
                 Input Parameter 
                 @betofferno (int)/@optinono (smallint) 
               
               
                   
                 @stake (int)/@accountno (int) 
               
               
                 Output Parameter 
                 @reterncode (smallint) 
               
               
                   
                 1 = bet placed successfully 
               
               
                   
                 2 = Bet closed 
               
               
                 Return Code 
                 0 = Success/1 = Failure 
               
               
                 Result Set 
                 None 
               
               
                 14) SP_GetCBOfferNo 
               
               
                 Input Parameter 
                 none 
               
               
                 Output Parameter 
                 @combobetofferno (int) 
               
               
                 Return Code 
                 0 = Success/1 = Failure 
               
               
                 Result Set 
                 None 
               
               
                 15) SP_GetStakeAmt 
               
               
                 Input Parameter 
                 @spofno (int)/@accountno (int) 
               
               
                 Output Parameter 
                 @maxstake (int)/@minstake (int) 
               
               
                 Return Code 
                 None 
               
               
                 Result Set 
                 0 = Success/1 = Failure 
               
               
                 16) SP_PlaceGoalBet 
               
               
                 Input Parameter 
                 @predictedscore (varchar (30))/ 
               
               
                   
                 @betofferno (int)/@stake (int)/ 
               
               
                   
                 @acctno (int) 
               
               
                 Output Parameter 
                 @returncode (smallint) 
               
               
                   
                 1 = bet successfully placed 
               
               
                   
                 2 = bet closed 
               
               
                 Return Code 
                 0 = Success/1 = Failure 
               
               
                 Result Set 
                 None 
               
               
                 17) SP_PlaceCBBet 
               
               
                 Input Parameter 
                 @cbbetofferno (iinti)/@accountno (int)/ 
               
               
                   
                 @smbetofferno (varchar (50)) (Numbers 
               
               
                   
                 linked by “*”)/@optinos (varchar (20)) 
               
               
                   
                 (linked by “*”)/@stake (int) 
               
               
                 Output Parameter 
                 @returncode (smallint) 
               
               
                   
                 1 = bet placed successfully 
               
               
                   
                 2 = bet closed 
               
               
                 Return Code 
                 0 = Success/1 = Failure 
               
               
                 Result Set 
                 None 
               
               
                 18) SP_GetOpenMatches 
               
               
                 Input Parameter 
                 @fnweek (int) 
               
               
                 Output Parameter 
                 none 
               
               
                 Return Code 
                 0 = Success/1 = Failure 
               
               
                 Result Set 
                 Each line contains match name, team 1 and 
               
               
                   
                 team 2 in this match 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 APPENDIX 2 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 List of Abbreviations 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 ACD 
                 Call distribution means 
               
               
                   
                 ASR 
                 Automatic speech recognition 
               
               
                   
                 CLID 
                 Caller identification 
               
               
                   
                 CSTA 
                 Computer supported telecommunications architecture 
               
               
                   
                 DTMF 
                 Dual tone multiple frequency 
               
               
                   
                 IVR 
                 Interactive voice response 
               
               
                   
                 LAN 
                 Local area network 
               
               
                   
                 ODBC 
                 Open data base connectivity 
               
               
                   
                 PBX 
                 Private branch exchange 
               
               
                   
                 PIN 
                 Personal identification number 
               
               
                   
                 PSTN 
                 Public switched telephone network 
               
               
                   
                 SQL 
                 Structured query language 
               
               
                   
                 VR 
                 Voice response