WO1999015246A1

WO1999015246A1 - A gaming system

Info

Publication number: WO1999015246A1
Application number: PCT/AU1998/000781
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jack Zdzislaw Silber
Original assignee: Jack Zdzislaw Silber
Priority date: 1997-09-19
Filing date: 1998-09-21
Publication date: 1999-04-01
Also published as: AU688257B3

Abstract

A method of conducting a gaming system which has at least one prize, the method comprising providing at least one game sponsor, the sponsor having customers which receive periodic invoices from the sponsor for goods or services provided by the sponsor to the customers, whereby payment of the invoices within the time required by the sponsor makes a said customer eligible to participate in the gaming system, a portion of the invoice amount from each eligible customer being pooled to form at least part of the gaming system prize.

Description

A GAMING SYSTEM

This invention relates to a novel gaming system which may overcome some disadvantages with existing gaming systems. The invention also includes a gaming system which can be played by selected customers. In the commercial marketplace, there is fierce competition between competing providers of goods or services. Thus, there is competition between banks and other financial institutions, insurance companies, telephone companies, professional service providers, and the like.

In order for these organisations to maintain and grow their customer or client base, it has been necessary to introduce world-best practices.

More recently, in a further attempt to maintain and grow the customer or client base, various customer loyalty schemes have been introduced. One type of customer loyalty scheme involves Frequent Flyer Points, or similar provision of free flights upon purchase of goods or services from the particular organisation. However, it is being found that existing customer loyalty programs are not particularly effective as most organisations now have identical or similar programs, it is possible for a customer to switch between organisations without any real loss of privileges.

Another concern for commercial organisations is payment of invoices rendered for goods or services. These invoices can include membership policy fees, subscription fees, professional organisation registration fees, as well as payment of the purchase or use of goods or services such as telephone bills, insurance bills, mortgage repayments and the like. Thus the term invoice should be construed broadly to include payment of any type of bill or account by a customer for provision of goods or services by an organisation.

Collecting payments can be a time consuming and difficult task, and small, medium and large organisations must incur considerable costs in policing and recovering outstanding payments.

Some organisations will provide a small discount if payment of an invoice is completed within a period of time, but this is not found to be particularly effective and results in a loss of income to the organisation.

Existing gaming systems such as lotteries and the like suffer from a number of disadvantages. One disadvantage is the large cost involved in advertising the lottery through the print and electronic media to maintain a high profile and awareness of the lottery. The high cost of marketing is necessary as the lottery needs to be played by as many players as possible in order to make the lottery successful. Another disadvantage is that the lottery numbers are randomly selected by a player and it is often difficult if not impossible to remember the lottery numbers. A typical lottery requires eight or more numbers to be remembered and many customers find this inconvenient. Another disadvantage with existing lottery systems or gaming systems is that large expenditure must be incurred to print or provide the necessary lottery tickets or forms to enable a customer to lodge a bet with the relevant gaming authority. Tickets or forms (or more recently electronic lodgement devices) must be distributed widely throughout the country or region where the game is being played and this incurs enormous cost to the gaming authority. Another disadvantage with existing gaming systems is the negative social consequences in a person gambling too much on a particular game. Existing gaming systems have no limit on the amount that can be played (this being done deliberately), but this in turn creates negative social consequences. Some gaming systems will provide a set amount of money to a approved charity. However, the charity is chosen by the gaming system and the playing customer has no input into the charity.

The present invention is directed to a gaming system which can overcome many of the abovementioned problems or disadvantages.

The gaming system of the invention ties in a number of sponsor organisations (such as banks, insurance companies, telephone companies, professional service organisations and the like), uses the existing correspondence issued by these organisations to their customer or client base (thereby minimising printing and distribution costs and also marketing costs), and allows the customer base of the sponsor organisation to participate in the game system thereby providing a very beneficial customer loyalty program. Usually, the customer is required to be up-to-date with payment of invoices from the sponsor organisation in order for the customer to be eligible to enter into the game system, and this can substantially minimise the cost in policing overdue accounts The customer can be limited to a preset amount thereby making it difficult if not impossible to over gamble in the gaming system which is the subject of the present invention In one form, the invention resides in a method of conducting a gaming system which has at least one prize, the method comprising providing at least one game sponsor, the sponsor having customers which receive periodic invoices from the sponsor for goods or services provided by the sponsor to the customers, whereby payment of the invoices within the time required by the sponsor makes a said customer eligible to participate in the gaming system, a portion of the invoice amount from each eligible customer being pooled to form at least part of the gaming system prize

In the method, the term invoices is meant to be construed broadly and is meant to include membership policy fees, subscription fees, as well as debit notes, accounts, and the like

The method preferably includes a number of game sponsors in order to increase the prize pool If a number of game sponsors are provided, the method preferably requires the game sponsors to be non-competing in the marketplace For instance, the method can include a first game sponsor being a major bank, a second game sponsor being a telephone company, a third game sponsor being an insurance company The number of game sponsors can vary and are usually between 4 to 10 sponsors

Each game sponsor should be large enough to have a considerable customer or client base The sponsor (for instance a major telephone company) has existing accounts with its customers and has the business infrastructure in place to issue accounts on a periodic basis These accounts (or invoices), can form the application form for playing the gaming system Thus, an invoice can have a section on it inviting the customer to play the gaming system with the condition that the full invoice amount is paid within time and that the customer adds a small extra amount (usually $1 00 or only a few dollars) to be eligible to enter into the game

The game money is collected from the playing customers and the game money from the various game sponsors is pooled together to form at least part of the gaming system prize.

Thus, the method while being simple in concept, provides a large number of advantages. Firstly, a game sponsor can be guaranteed that no other game sponsor will be an organisation that competes. Thus, if a game sponsor is a bank, no other game sponsor will be a bank. This provides a substantial competitive advantage to the eligible game sponsor by providing a customer loyalty scheme which cannot be or is difficult for a competitor organisation to duplicate. By linking playing of the game to payment of the account, the game sponsor has a significant reduction in expenditure relating to payment of outstanding accounts. If the game application forms part of the game sponsors existing invoices, no additional paperwork, or very little additional paperwork is required. The game sponsor can market the game directly to its customer base and does not need to incur the enormous expense in general print and electronic advertising.

In another form, the invention resides in a method of conducting a gaming system which has at least one prize, comprising providing at least one game sponsor, the sponsor having customers which receive periodic invoices from the sponsor for goods or services provided by the sponsor to the customers, whereby payment of the invoices within the time required by the sponsor makes a said customer eligible to participate in the gaming system, a portion of the invoice amount from each eligible customer being pooled to form at least part of the gaming system prize, each said invoice allowing the customer to participate a set amount in the gaming system. This method is sensitive to the negative effects of overgambling by limiting the customer to a certain dollar value. Thus, a customer is unable to put in multiple entries as the entry comprises an invoice which is issued only once by the game sponsor.

In a broad form, the gaming system is a new means for large companies (game sponsors) to attract new clients; the system is a customer loyalty program; the system is a debit management scheme; the system is a source of government revenue; the system is a source of charity revenue; and the system can be seen as a lottery.

To be eligible to play the gaming system, each player should be of minimum legal age and must be a current customer of the game sponsor, and preferably must have all fees and charges owing to the game sponsor paid up to date. The player can include individuals, companies and organisations.

To minimise overgambling, it is preferred that only one entry per invoice per player is permitted. In an example, a family of four with one health insurance policy with a game sponsor would only be eligible to enter the game once. If the game sponsors include a bank, a health insurance company and a telephone company, and a customer is a customer of each of the game sponsors, then the customer can be eligible to enter once for each game sponsor (that is three times in the game). Of course, a game sponsor may allow a customer to play more than once if desired. Another advantage with the gaming system according to the present invention is that the customer or client can be given a unique number which includes personal details which are easily remembered.

Thus, in another form, the invention resides in a method of conducting a gaming system which involves players comprising using personal data of the players to provide an identification for each player in the system, the data including at least one item selected from birth dates and contact address. For instance, the unique number can include a) the date of birth (1 to 31) b) the month of the birth c) the last digit of the year of birth (1 to 0) d) the last digit of the postal address (1 to 0) e) the last digit of the postcode (1 to 0) f) the last digit of a number peculiar to the particular sponsor company. The available prizes can vary and a number of prizes can be given. For instance, a second prize could be given to players matching criteria a) to e), a third prize can be given to players matching criteria a) to c), a fourth prize can be given for players matching criteria d) to f). Other combinations are also available.

It can be seen that a number of the available combinations (65,000 in total) are impossible. For example, some dates, months and year combinations are impossible (for instance 31 February). If any such combination occurs, then the prize division which is affected by such an event can be automatically jackpot.

The date of birth can be the date of birth of the player as it appears on the account policy or membership that they have with the game sponsor. If the player is a company the date could be the incorporation date of the company. The month of birth of the player can also be as it appears on the account policy or membership that they have with the sponsor. Again, in the case of a company, the month can be the incorporation month of the company.

Similarly, the last digit of the year of birth can be as it appears on the account, policy or membership and similarly for company players it can be the year of incorporation of the company.

The last digit of the street number or postal address can be as it appears on the account, policy or membership. For instance, if the street number is 40, the last digit is 0. The last digit of the postcode can be the players billing address as it appears on the account, policy or membership.

The digit given by the sponsor company is nominated by the sponsor company and is unique to their account.

It can be seen that this arrangement allows a unique number to be readily remembered by all players thereby overcoming one of the disadvantages of existing lottery or gaming systems.

To be eligible to enter into the gaming system, there is no need to attend a lottery office, a newsagent where lottery entries can be made, and there is no need to contact anybody by telephone. In a preferred form, a customer of the sponsor can be eligible merely by filling out and returning a section on the existing account or statement that is already mailed out by the sponsor. Of course, if desired, a separate application can be made. In one form, to be eligible to be entered into the gaming system, the outstanding account or existing account or invoice must be paid, and this overcomes another major problem with many large companies being collection of outstanding accounts. To be eligible for the gaming system, the customer must add a small amount to the account (typically $1.00 or a few dollars), and this can overcome another disadvantage with some companies which use a discount policy to entice customers to pay bills in time (but which results in loss of revenue to the company). Also by being able to only play once on each account, the ability to overgamble is substantially reduced or eliminated. The unique number given to the customer can be readily determined by the sponsor as the sponsor should have the required personal information already in its records (this being date of birth, postal address, postcode and the like).

Another advantage with the gaming system according to the invention is that in one form the account can include options for payment to charity organisations. To date, existing lottery systems, if they pay an amount to charity organisations, pay to an organisation selected by the lottery company and not by the customer or player.

The gaming system can be held from time to time for instance as a television show. Major winners can be notified by phone and mail.

The gaming system according to the invention will be promoted by the game sponsors and possibly government bodies having statutory authority to run gaming systems. The game sponsors can conduct all promotions and collect all entry fees from the players when the players make their regular account policy or membership payments. The game sponsors do not hold the fees, do not determine the distribution of the winning prizes and do not act as arbitrators in any disputes. Typically, the relevant government lottery office will supervise all aspects of the competition. An advantage of this is that the relevant government lottery office does not have to spend large resources in collecting entries, as the sponsor companies will do so as agents.

An embodiment of the system will be described below.

Players will be given the opportunity to participate in the system in a special section which will appear on their regular accounts. If they choose to play, $1.00 will be added to their account for each week of the period for which they enter.

As examples: a monthly loan account would attract a $4.00 or $5.00 system entry fee (depending on which day the final payment fee and the date of the next draw). A quarterly phone account would attract a $13.00 system entry fee. A half yearly insurance premium would attract a $26.00 system entry fee.

Game Sponsor Companies may offer discounts to certain customers, say $20.00 for a one off half yearly payment, however the difference between the discounted total and the correct total ($26.00) must be paid into the prize pool by the Game Sponsor Company.

Complete waiving of the entry fee may also be applied at the discretion of the Game Sponsor Company to players of its choice, say, as an incentive to attract new clients, as a thank you to long term clients, or as a goodwill gesture to pensioners or other low income groups, but the full fee for each entrant must still be paid into the prize pool by the Game Sponsor Company.

All entries will close at the end of normal trading hours of the Game Sponsor Company each Friday. All monies held for entry into that week's competition will be transferred electronically to the system administration office by midnight that Friday. All entries and entry fees may be monitored by the governing lottery office by way of a linked computer system.

The draws will take place in front of a live studio audience, and be telecast on national television once a week. The winning combinations will result from a game played by contestants who elect to go into a draw to appear on the show. Each week's players will be selected at the end of the previous week's show. The entire operation will be supervised by the governing lottery office and in accordance with all laws pertaining to games of chance. The key number issued by any Game Sponsor Company must be the same for all players in that Game Sponsor Company's system. For example, if the Game Sponsor Company is a telephone company and its key number is the client's telephone number, it must use the telephone number as its key number for all players, even if their account numbers or customer numbers vary.

The post code digit refers to the post code of the player's billing address as held on file with the Game Sponsor Company at the close of trade on the Friday prior to the draw. Note: it is the player's billing address post code which counts if that differs from the post cost of the player's street address. Any change of billing address must be notified to the Game Sponsor Company immediately. Failure to do so may void an entry.

Any changes to a player's key number or address will be deemed to change for the purposes of the system at the same time that those changes become effective in the player's normal dealings with the Game Sponsor Company.

If the player has more than one address, the address which is the billing address with that particular Game Sponsor Company is the one which will apply to that Game Sponsor Company's system. If a player is eligible to enter in more than one system or eligible to have more than one entry in the same system, it is possible and even likely that the key number will differ.

The player's date of birth, or incorporation date in the case of a company cannot change and proof of same will be required before any prizes are paid. Proof may not be required if this information has been supplied previously to the Game Sponsor Company.

A weekly series of 6 to 10 systems will take place in each of 6 to 10 categories. Some likely categories are: banks, insurance companies, health funds, state auto clubs, credit providers, telephone companies, motor registry offices, local councils, electricity suppliers and cable television companies. Only one Game Sponsor Company in each category would conduct a separate system with separate prize pools, jackpots, and winning combinations.

The game system is suitable for any large company or government body with a very large client base. That is to ensure that enough people have the opportunity to play and that prize pools are sufficiently large to generate interest in the game.

The company or government body should have a modern and efficient computer system to keep its client base and all relevant information up to date.

The company or government body should issue its clients regular (weekly, fornightly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly or half yearly) accounts or statements, and/or issues memberships or policies.

The game system is most suitable for companies in highly competitive fields offering similar products to their competitors, and/or companies or organisations which would like to ensure prompt payment of their accounts.

Only one company from each category (such as banks, insurance companies, etc.) would be selected to run a separate system. Each system would have its own separate prize pool. The exception might be where companies whose services compliment each other, such as an airline, hotel chain and hire car firm choosing to operate a joint system to create a larger prize pool. The other possibility for combined pools would be where two or more non- competing sister organisations form one prize pool, for example, Auto Clubs in different states, or a number of local councils banding together.

Apart from these types of exceptions only one company from each group would be permitted to participate in the system game system. The benefits to the players are: • Small Outlay

• Large prize pools

• Simple to enter. A player receives their entry coupon as part of their regular statement, account, policy or membership renewal from the Game Sponsor Company. • Easy to play. A player need only remember one number: the last digit of their account, the rest of the winning combination will be blatantly obvious to every player.

• Easy to check results. The winning combination will be instantly recognised by the winner. Players won't need to remember which numbers they chose.

• Unique and personal. Because of the way the winners are selected, the system has enormous personal relevance and appeal.

• Nearly everyone can play. The system will be accessible to an extremely large cross section of the population as almost everyone has a telephone or bank account, credit card, some form of insurance or belongs to a health fund or an auto club, registers a car or uses electricity, etc.

• Privacy. The winning combination may be instantly recognised by the winner, yet it will be sufficiently anonymous so as not to create any invasion of privacy. • Confidentiality. A player won't be required to divulge any personal details other than those which they've already supplied to the Game Sponsor Company. The only exception to this may be their date of birth as some Game Sponsor Companies may not have required this information in their normal course of business with the player. Neither the lottery office nor any other authority will have access to any other player information held by the Game Sponsor Company.

• No lost tickets because there are no tickets to lose. And every player is automatically registered. So if a player does win, they will collect their prize!

• No forgotten entries. A player can't forget to play. If they indicate their desire to play the system they will be entered when they pay their account and the entry fee, or they can nominate to be entered in all games automatically and the entry fee will be included in their account. Pay on time, you simply can't miss out!

• None of the money from the entry fee is retained by the Game Sponsor Companies.

• Some of the entry fee does go to charity, but each player gets to nominate which charity.

The benefits to the Game Sponsor Companies are:

• Game Sponsor Companies will be able to use their participation in the system as an incentive for clients with a rival company to switch to the Game Sponsor Company And once a client has been "won over", the system is a great way to keep them • The system is a good alternative to current customer loyalty programmes It's cheaper to run and easier to operate than frequent flyer schemes or other similar promotions And, as the prizes offered are cash, it is far more effective

• Due to its size, popularity and exposure, the system will generate a lot of free publicity for its Game Sponsor

Companies Its unique format and potentially large prize pools will make it big news And because all the Game Sponsor Companies will be actively promoting the system each Game Sponsor Company's individual promotion costs will be lower • As only one Game Sponsor Company from each sector will be allowed to participate, no Game Sponsor Company promoting the system will be competing with any of the other Game Sponsor Companies

• The system is an ideal promotions programme itself, but it can also be used to compliment existing promotions or incorporated in upcoming campaigns

• The system will be extremely effective in reducing the late payment of accounts

The benefits to the government are • A new, unique, previously untapped, yet very significant source of revenue

• The system will not complete with games currently run by lottery offices or other sources of gambling revenue such as TABs, poker machines or casinos • There is no risk if the system fails to become popular as there is no investment required for market research, advertising, promotional costs, new equipment or technology, or any other set up costs, and there are no running costs whatsoever.

• The only expenses which the government will incur will be a) for the lottery authority to monitor the transfer of entry fees, a task easily achieved by aid of state of the art computer technology (which will be supplied free to the governing lottery authority and independently checked and tested) and b) to supervise the draw to ensure that all aspects of it are fair and legal. For performing these functions the lottery authority will usually receive a 2% commission. The benefits to the community are:

• A new source of funds for a number of nominated, registered charities.

• Lower taxes and additional funding for schools, hospitals, transport, etc., as a direct results of the typical 30% government levy on the money invested in the system.

• Better service and lower costs to the public due to increased efficiency and savings incurred as a result of Game Sponsor Companies spending significantly less time, effort and expense chasing overdue accounts. Every single dollar in every system prize pool, in effect, represents one fully paid and up-to-date account, a definite stimulus for the economy in general. The benefits to special interest groups are: Churches, gambling support groups and other concerned bodies may at first be opposed to yet another form of gambling being made available to the public, but the system is very different to all other established forms of gambling:

• Outlay is strictly limited. Players can enter only once a week and only when paying a regular account. Players may be tempted to switch their business to a Game Sponsor Company, but it is highly improbable that people will open new accounts with Game Sponsor Companies simply to be able to enter the system more often. The greatest possible outlay for any one system entry cannot exceed $52.00. And even this would be rare. It would occur only on an annual account such as an insurance policy and even then, only if the player chose to pay for a full year in advance. No Game Sponsor Company which bill clients only on an annual basis will be allowed to participate in the system. The maximum permitted system entry fee on any single account is limited to $26.00. Game Sponsor Companies must offer the option to pay for up to 52 weeks in advance, but a player cannot be billed for any more system entries than would normally occur during the regular billing period of the Game Sponsor Company.

• A player may pay for more entries (up to 52), but only if they elect to do so. Players who nominate to be automatically entered for subsequent systems only register their desire to play the system on a permanent basis. They can't be billed for more entries than they would normally incur on their regular accounts.

• There are no tickets to purchase, (entry is effected on a regular account from the sponsor company). Therefore, at no time will any player be required to enter premises where any other forms of gambling may be on offer to tempt them.

• The entry fee is extremely low. There is virtually zero potential for the system to cause individuals or families financial hardship. For example, it is difficult to envisage anyone who can afford more than one car and/or telephone being severely disadvantaged by the addition of one dollar per week to their multiple phone bills or car registrations. In a worst case scenario, of a struggling family with only one income earner with one car, one phone, personal and property insurance policies, membership to a health fund, and an electricity and bank account. Even if all their accounts were with Game Sponsor Companies and if they entered all seven games, their maximum weekly outlay would still be only $7.00 per week.

• Every player in the system can nominate to be excluded from the competition at any time until the close of trade on the Friday prior to the game. • The system will encourage people to think more about charity organisations and help to widen community awareness of many worthy causes because every player must personally select the charity which will benefit should they win a major prize.

• Small account holders won't be disadvantaged in the system as the size of their accounts or the amount they spend with the

Game Sponsor Companies will not affect their chances of winning. There is absolutely no incentive to spend more (as in Fly-Buys promotions) as this does not improve your chances of winning the game. • There will be a very strong incentive to pay accounts on time as this is an immutable prerequisite for eligibility in all games. This will encourage better community values, keep down the costs of goods and services, and improve the economy with better cash flow and higher productivity. It should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications can be made to the embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method of commerce which comprises a gaming system which has at least one prize, the method comprising providing at least one game sponsor, the sponsor having customers which receive periodic invoices from the sponsor for goods or services provided by the sponsor to the customers, whereby payment of the invoices within the time required by the sponsor makes a said customer eligible to participate in the gaming system, a portion of the invoice amount from each eligible customer being pooled to form at least part of the gaming system prize.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein each said invoice allows the customer to participate a set amount in the gaming system.

3. The method of claim 1 or claim 2 substantially as hereinbefore described.