GB2552849A

GB2552849A - Ticket management method and system

Info

Publication number: GB2552849A
Application number: GB1618926.8A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Badger Thomas; Cook Patrick
Original assignee: B & C Innovative Ltd
Current assignee: B & C Innovative Ltd
Priority date: 2016-08-12
Filing date: 2016-11-09
Publication date: 2018-02-14
Also published as: GB201613836D0

Abstract

A method and system for managing tickets for entry into a designated area comprises; providing one or more options for a person to obtain a ticket following a request; updating a record of the person to indicate that a particular ticket is allocated to the person when that person has obtained the ticket; wherein the updating comprises associating the ticket to a personal identification document registered with the persons record. The personal identification document may be a driving licence, passport or nation identity card and may be registered and verified before allocation of the ticket. The designated area may have eligibility requirements, such as an age limit, and the record of the person may be checked to ensure the requirements are met. This method means that before entry into an event, a ticket can be checked to ensure that it is carried by the person it was allocated to without the person being required to bring identification which may be lost or stolen. The ticket may be a near-field communication (NFC) or radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag or wristband that is read at the event.

Description

(56) Documents Cited:

None (32) 12.08.2016 (33) GB (58) Field of Search:

Other: No search performed: Section 17(5)(b) (71) Applicant(s):

B & C Innovative Ltd

Brian Cook Associates, Marine House,

151 Western Road, Haywards Heath, RH16 3LH, United Kingdom

Patrick Cook

Portsmouth Lane, Lindfield, RH16 1RX, United Kingdom

Thomas Badger

Greenways, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH16 2DT, United Kingdom (72) Inventor(s):

Thomas Badger Patrick Cook (74) Agent and/or Address for Service:

Dehns

St. Bride's House, 10 Salisbury Square, LONDON, EC4Y 8JD, United Kingdom (54) Title of the Invention: Ticket management method and system

Abstract Title: Allocating tickets to people who have pre-registered identification documents (57) A method and system for managing tickets for entry into a designated area comprises; providing one or more options for a person to obtain a ticket following a request; updating a record of the person to indicate that a particular ticket is allocated to the person when that person has obtained the ticket; wherein the updating comprises associating the ticket to a personal identification document registered with the person’s record. The personal identification document may be a driving licence, passport or nation identity card and may be registered and verified before allocation of the ticket. The designated area may have eligibility requirements, such as an age limit, and the record of the person may be checked to ensure the requirements are met. This method means that before entry into an event, a ticket can be checked to ensure that it is carried by the person it was allocated to without the person being required to bring identification which may be lost or stolen. The ticket may be a near-field communication (NFC) or radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag or wristband that is read at the event.

At least one drawing originally filed was informal and the print reproduced here is taken from a later filed formal copy.

1/2 (X) ο

C£

Ο

X

Ο ο

ο <

Ο

CH

Ο |_1_

C£

Ο

Ω

CH ζ>

< X

LU οο ΖLU <ί

Η < < Η Ω Οί CZ LU υ

Ο

C£

Ω

LU

C£

G7

CH

LU

X

CM

Ο < Cd < Η < Ω οο > I— cz < ο_

X QCH

LU >

Ω χΓ ο

Η
X
X
ο
ο
ο
<
<
5		02
KADI		ND0
		LU
00 C£		>
LU		I—
00		LU
χ		u
TO		H
Ω LU		GH
		x
X		o
		C£
Ω		X H
X <		I— X
Ω		LU
R0PPE		PAYM
Ο
ο
I—
ο
X
ο_
Ω

ο_ (Ό

Ο > LU Ω LU I— ο CH I— 00 LU CZ |_1_ ο X ο <c ο

LL

LU >

LU <

<

Ω

G7

LU χ

LO ο

o H	C£ LU 00
Ω	x
LU X LD	o H
co co <	Ω LU X u
co	H
— LU	< o_
	00
o	Ω
H	X
Ω	LU
X	X
<	H
C£	tZ)
LU cd 5	Ω X <
x	cd
X	I—
	co
H X X	C£ 5
O u	O'
u < X LU	LU cd X
>	X
LD	H
tZ)	X X
C£	o
LU	u
00	u
X	<

FIG.

2/2

ο ο

TICKET MANAGEMENT METHOD AND SYSTEM

The present invention relates to a method for managing tickets for entry into a designated area and a system for implementing the method.

BACKGROUND TO THE PRESENT INVENTION

In the entertainment industry, many events such as performances, concerts, festivals, etc. require a participant to produce a ticket for entry into the venue and a physical form of identification such as a driving licence to verify ownership of the ticket. The ticket may take a physical form as a paper ticket, or in an electronic form such as an email or an app accessible on a smart phone. Ownership of the ticket may then be verified by checking the name of the ticket with a form of photographic identification such as a driving licence provided by the participant.

The need to produce a ticket and a form of identification at the event leads to the possibility of them being lost or stolen. Moreover, conventional ticketing systems are prone to fraud as inspection of tickets by staff at the venue may not be sufficient to determine the authenticity of the tickets. In addition, fraudulent activities may also take place in the reselling of tickets as it may not be possible to authenticate a ticket prior to payment.

It is therefore desirable to provide an improved ticketing system.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

An aspect of a preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a method for managing tickets for entry into a designated area. The method comprises providing, upon request by a person to obtain a ticket, one or more options for the person to obtain a ticket, and updating, when the person has obtained a ticket, a record of the person to indicate that the ticket is allocated to the person, wherein the updating comprises associating the ticket to a personal identification document registered with the record of the person.

Another aspect of the preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a system for managing tickets for entry into a designated area. The system comprises storage module configured to store a record of a person and a personal identification document registered with the record of the person, and processing module configured to provide, upon request by the person to obtain a ticket, one or more options for the person to obtain a ticket, and update, when the person has obtained a ticket, the record of the person to indicate that the ticket is allocated to the person by associating the ticket to the personal identification document registered with the record of the person.

- 2In an example of the preferred embodiment, a person may make a request to obtain a ticket for entry into a designate area, e.g. a venue for a concert. One or more options for the person to obtain a ticket may then be presented, for example tickets at different prices or for different dates. The person may then select to obtain the desired ticket. The ticket may be obtained in one of many ways, for example online over the Internet. In this example, the person may be redirected to a log-in page of a personal account and the ticket is obtained through the personal account. The personal account may comprise personal details of the person including the name and address of the person, and a personal identification document may be registered with the personal account. Once the desired ticket has been obtained, the personal account may be updated to indicate that the ticket is now allocated to the person by associating the ticket to the personal identification document that is registered with the personal account.

According to the preferred embodiment, the allocated ticket is associated with the personal identification document that has been registered with the record of the person (e.g. a personal online account). Thus, there is no further need to verify the ownership of the ticket by the person after the ticket has been obtained.

In preferred embodiments, the processing module determines if a record of the person already exists, then proceeds to provide the person with one or more options to obtain a ticket when it is determined that a record of the person exists. When it is determined that a record of the person does not exist, the processing module proceeds to request the person to create a record and register a personal identification document. The determination of whether a record of the person exists may simply involve directing the person to a login page of an online account, and allowing the person to select between logging into an existing account or creating a new account.

Preferably, the personal identification document registered with the record of the person is a form of identification document that is universally recognised, and most preferably a government issued form of identification such as a driving licence, passport or national identity card.

Preferably, upon registering a personal identification document, the personal identification document is verified through a third party database to ensure the authenticity of the document provided. For example, if a driving licence is provided as an image by the person the personal identification document, from which data is to be obtained by e.g. an OCR data extraction technique, the image of the driving licence may be verified against a database provided by a government agency responsible for drivers and vehicles licencing. In doing so, it is possible to confidently verify the validity of the registered personal identification document and increase the level of confidence for the authenticity of the record of the person.

- 3Before providing one or more options for the person to obtain a ticket, it may be desirable to determine if the person is eligible for entry into the designated area, and only allow the person to obtain a ticket when it is determined that the person is eligible. When it is determined that the person is not eligible for entry into the designated area, the request by the person to obtain a ticket may be refused. Eligibility of the person for entry into the designated area may for example be determined by retrieving the record of the person and verifying that personal information obtained from the personal identification document registered with the record of the person meet one or more predetermined criteria.

The predetermined criteria may for example include an age limit. It is then possible to prevent an underage person from entering, whether intentionally or accidentally, a venue for an age-restricted event by preventing the underage person from obtaining a ticket in the first place.

Eligibility of the person for entry into the designated area may additionally or alternatively be determined by checking whether the record ofthe person includes additional information relevant to the eligibility of the person. The additional information may for example be the inclusion of the person in one or more blacklists. Such blacklists may for example be compiled by event organisers and/or based on official records such as police records. It is then possible to exclude any person previously identified as being undesirable at certain events, for example due to drug use or violent behaviour.

At the designated area, for example the venue of an event, the record of the person may be retrieve by staff at the entrance to verify if the person has been allocated a ticket.

This may be done by providing one or more portable devices to the ticket management system, wherein the or each of the one or more portable devices is configured to store information identifying the record ofthe person. Further, a reading module may be provided to the ticket management system, which is configured to read the information identifying the record of the person on the or each of the one or more portable devices so as to retrieve the record of the person from the storage module. Thus, at the entrance of a venue, a member of staff may use a reading module, such as an electronic scanner, to read the information identifying the record of the person off a portable device that belongs to the person, retrieve the record of the person and verify whether the person has been allocated a ticket for entry.

The one or more portable devices may be in any suitable and desirable form. For example, a portable device may be a device (e.g. an electronic device) having a unique identifier that uniquely identifies the device. Thus, the unique identifier of the device functions as the information identifying the record of the person, which is associated with the record of the person and can be used to retrieve the record. In some embodiments, the portable devices may include near-field communication (NFC) devices, each having a

- 4device identification number that is associated with the record of the person, and which can be used to identify the record of the person. Thus, the reading module, such as an NFC scanner, may scan an NFC device to obtain the device identification number of the NFC device, which is associated with the record of the person. The record of the person may then be retrieved using the device identification number and the member of staff may verify from the record of the person whether the person has been allocated a ticket.

The NFC device may be provided in any suitable and desirable form. For example in a smartphone or a wearable device (e.g. a wrist band, a watch, etc.), which improves convenience for the person.

The one or more portable devices may also be provided as radio-frequency identification (RFID) devices coupled with an RFID scanner.

Once a member of staff has verified that a ticket is allocated to the person, for example by scanning a portable device belonging to the person, the person may be allowed entry into the designated area. Otherwise, if the member of staff has verified that a ticket is not allocated to the person, the person is denied entry.

The verification procedure may be performed in any suitable way. For example, the verification procedure may involve comparing the person with a photograph retrieved from the record of the person and verifying whether there is a match. This may be performed either by inspection by a member of staff, or by a facial recognition technology. The personal identification document that is registered with the record of the person may include a photographic identification document, such as driving licence, a passport or a national identity card, and the photograph retrieved from the record of the person may be obtained from the photographic identification document. It is therefore possible to perform ownership verification without the need for the person to produce an identification document, thus eliminating the risk of the identification document being lost or stolen.

In some embodiments, the record of the person further comprises biometric data of the person, and the verification procedure may further involve obtaining biometric data of the person and comparing the obtained biometric data with the biometric data retrieved from the record of the person. In such embodiments, a biometric reading module may be provided to the ticket management system. Thus, biometric data may be obtained from the person at the designated area using the biometric reading module, and the obtained biometric data may be compared with the stored biometric data from the record of the person, either using suitable pattern recognition technology or manually by a member of staff if appropriate, to verify the identity of the person.

After obtaining a ticket, the person may wish to release the ticket for allocation to another person, for example the ticket may be bought for another person or the person may wish to

- 5resell the ticket. Thus, upon request by the person to release a ticket for allocation, the ticket may be authenticated prior to releasing the authenticated ticket for allocation.

Once the ticket has been released for allocation, the released ticket may be included in the options to obtain a ticket upon request for a ticket by another person. Since the released ticket has been authenticated, it is not essential to disclose any information regarding the person who released the ticket. Thus, the identity of the person who released the ticket may be protected if desired.

Alternative or additionally, in a case where for example the ticket was purchased for another person, the person who released the ticket may simply request to allocate the released ticket to the other person, and the ticket management system may then associate the released ticket to a personal identification document registered with the record of the other person.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 shows a method for obtaining a ticket according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

Fig. 2 shows a method for gaining entry into an event according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As discussed above, the present disclosure relates to methods and systems for managing tickets for entry into a designated area such as the venue of an event, a concert or the like.

In preferred embodiments, a person who requests a ticket, for example via an online ticket vendor, is provided with one or more options for obtaining a ticket. The person then selects the desired ticket. In an embodiment, the person is redirected to a login page of an online account, to either log into an existing account or create a new account, in order to obtain the desired ticket. In a preferred embodiment, the online account of the person is validated by registering a personal identification document verified through a third party database. Once the desired ticket is obtained, the online account of the person is updated to indicate that the ticket is now allocated to the person, and the ticket is associated with the personal identification document that is registered with the personal account.

- 6According to the preferred embodiment, the allocated ticket is associated with the personal identification document that has been registered with the record of the person at the point of the person obtaining the ticket. Thus, there is no further need to verify the ownership of the ticket by the person by inspection of a personal identification document after the ticket has been obtained.

An example of the procedure to obtain a ticket according to an embodiment is shown in FIG. 1.

The procedure begins at block 101, at which a user of the service provided by the ticket management system is redirected from a ticket vendor (e.g. an online ticket vendor) to a website maintained by the ticket management system. The user is prompted to create an account by providing an image of a government-issued personal identification document (e.g. driving licence, passport). The ticket management system uses an OCR data extraction technique to extract personal information of the user for verification. Optionally, the user may be provided with an option to log into an existing account if the user has previously created an account. Optionally, the user may be provided with an option to create an account by manually inputting the relevant information.

At block 102, the ticket management system verifies the personal identification document provided by the user through a third party database plugged into the application program interface of the ticket management system. Alternatively, the ticket management system may forward the image of the personal identification document to a third party for verification.

If the event for which a user is obtaining a ticket has an age restriction, at block 103, the ticket management system verifies the age of the user based on the personal information extracted from the personal identification document registered with the user account.

At block 104, the ticket management system determines whether the personal identification document provided by the user is valid, and whether the age of the user is verified as meeting the age restriction of the event.

If the personal identification document provided by the user cannot be verified, and/or the age of the user does not meet the age restriction of the event, at block 105, the request by the user to obtain a ticket is denied. Optionally, the user may be prompted to provide another personal identification document.

If the personal identification document provided by the user is verified, and the age of the user meet the age restriction of the event, at block 106, a photograph is extracted from the personal identification document and linked to the user account.

- 7At block 107, the user is provided with an option to make a payment to the ticket vendor for the ticket.

At block 108, the user is given an account identification number, and the ticket management system associates the purchased ticket to the account identification number. In preferred embodiments, the account identification number is stored in a portable device such as a near-field communication (NFC) device, for example in the form of a wrist band or smartphone. In embodiments where a wrist band is used, the wrist band is dispatched to the user. The portable device may be scanned to obtain the account identification number so as to retrieve the user account.

An example of the procedure to gain entry into an event according to an embodiment is shown in FIG. 2.

The procedure beings at block 201, at which a person presents a portable device to be read by a mobile reader. In preferred embodiments, the portable device may be a wrist band or a smartphone, comprising for example an NFC tag, and a member of staff at the entrance of an event scan the NFC tag using a mobile reader to obtain the tag number of the NFC tag.

In preferred embodiments, the NFC tag number is associated with the user account of the person or the account identification number of the user account. Thus, at block 202, the mobile reader obtains the account identification number using the NFC tag number and retrieves the user account.

At block 203, it is determined whether a valid ticket is allocated to the retrieved user account. This may be performed in any suitable way, for example, automatically by suitably configured software on the mobile reader or by visual inspection of the user account by the member of staff.

If it is determined that no valid ticket is allocated to the user account, at block 204, the person is denied entry into the event.

If it is determined that a valid ticket is allocated to the user account, at block 205, the photograph extracted from the personal identification document and linked to the user account is retrieved from the user account and presented to the member of staff for inspection.

At block 206, the member of staff visually verifies if the person requesting entry matches the retrieved photograph. In other embodiments, a match between the person and the retrieved photograph may be determined by a facial recognition software either on the mobile reader or on a separate device linked to the mobile reader.

- 8If it is determined that the retrieved photograph does not match the person, the person is denied entry, block 204.

If it is determined that the retrieved photograph matches the person, then at block 208, the person is granted entry.

A preferred embodiment of the ticket management system will now be described in detail.

Online platform

The ticket management system requires an online presence in order to facilitate some of the services that it offers. These services are discussed in later sections.

The Ticket management system website is an access point for users where they may login securely and view what tickets are linked to their user account, and use services such as ticket resale and distribution. The online platform also serves as a point where a user can access the ticket marketplace.

Ticket purchase

System portal

The system portal is a redirect from a ticket seller's website. A user will be redirected if either the ticket seller can only process sales using the present ticket management system, or the user wishes to use the present ticket management system to purchase their ticket. The system portal requires an account number in order to proceed with the purchase.

User account

A person who wishes to use the present ticket management system to obtain a ticket is required to create an account. An account may be created using any suitable methods such as any conventional online account creation method. The present ticket management system differs from conventional system in that, in the present embodiment, a user is required to provide and image of a recognised form of government identification documents using, for example, an app associated with the present ticket management system. For examples, acceptable identification documents may include driving license and passport. Using OCR technology, the ID is verified using a third party database or via a third party to ensure the validity of the documents provided. If the document is verified then the

- 9app software crops the photograph from the ID and link it to the thus created user account. When tickets are purchased using the user account, the ticket number is associated with the user account.

Ticket purchase

The present ticket management system enables a user to associate or link a purchased ticket to the user’s account using the system portal. The system portal redirects the user from the ticket vendors website to a login page of the ticket management system. Upon the user entering their account number and password, the ticket is linked to their user account.

Event entry

Wrist band/app

In preferred embodiments, portable devices such as wristbands are preferably provided to the ticket management system, which implements NFC technologies for entry. For example, a rubber wristband with an NFC tag embedded therein may be used. Such a portable device may be sent out to users of the ticket management system upon creation of a new account. Alternatively an app configured to cooperate with the ticket management system may be accessible through a portable electronic device with both internet access and NFC capabilities, for example a smartphone. In both cases, the NFC tag number is associated with a user account number, and the only information available to be read by an electronic reader (e.g. an NFC scanner) at an event is the NFC tag number.

Event database

In preferred embodiments, an event ticket database comprises:

1. User account numbers;

2. Ticket numbers associated with each respective user account number; and

3. Photograph of a user obtained from the personal identification document registered with the respective user account number.

This information can either be stored locally at an event using on-site servers or in an onsite data centre. The on-site data centre method may require a form of remote connection

- 10so the above information can be accessed at the event location. Local storage may be available on electronic tablets held by event staff.

Ticket scanning

Ticket scanning is performed at the event entrance using existing NFC scanners. The entrance gates may be manned by staff using electronic tablets. A scanner reads the user account number of an NFC device, which is compared with the user account numbers known to have valid tickets on the event database using a suitable computational techniques.

When a match is found a photograph from the personal identification document registered with the user account is retrieved and brought up on the electronic tablet of the event staff. A visual inspection is performed to ensure the user of the account is the person who is requesting entry into the event. In some embodiments, this verification step may be implemented using facial recognition technologies.

Process

1. Ticket holder using the ticket management system possesses an associated NFC device.

2. NFC scanner reads device number of the NFC device.

3. NFC device number read off device is matched with the user account associated with the device.

4. Visual inspection at event entrant by staff using photograph displayed on electronic tablet retrieved from the user account.

Ticket resale and distribution

Online marketplace

In preferred embodiments, the ticket management comprises an online marketplace. The online marketplace serve as a medium for ticket resale to occur. The present ticket management system may have its own marketplace or integrate with an existing platform. The marketplace may be configured to only be accessible with a user account and through the online platform associated with the ticket management system. Each ticket that is posted on the marketplace may have its ticket number verified to ensure its authenticity. A

- 11 fixed or percentage fee may be charged to a seller for selling their tickets through the marketplace. This generates a revenue stream for the ticket management system and/ or the original ticket vendors. When a user wants to purchase a verified ticket on the marketplace, their ID information registered with their user account may be checked to ensure they are eligible. When a ticket is purchased on the marketplace the ticket number is simply transferred from the user account of the seller and allocated to the user account of the buyer.

Distribution

If a user account holder is purchasing tickets for others the tickets may be transferred. In preferred embodiments, the user enters the user account number of the person to whom they want to distribute the ticket. Before transfer can occur the ID information of the recipient is verified to ensure that they are eligible to attend the event. A transfer fee may also be imposed at this point if desired. This service may be accessed through the online platform of the ticket management system.

Process

Resale process

1. User with valid a ticket allocated to their user account enters the ticket marketplace.

2. Tickets are verified before they are released for distribution.

3. New buyer enters the marketplace.

4. New buyer details verified and ticket purchased.

5. Seller is charged a fee.

6. Ticket number transferred from seller user account to buyer user account.

Distribution process

1. User account holder enters user account number of a person to whom they want to transfer the ticket.

2. The information of the recipient is verified to ensure eligibility.

3. Transfer fee is charged.

4. Ticket numbers transferred from distributor user account to recipient user account.

Data collection

- 12Event demographic

Through using government ID as a form of verification, the identity of users who have purchased tickets through the present ticket management system are known. Such data may be collected to produce event demographics that may be sold to event organizers to e.g. enable them to adjust their marketing strategy to increase revenue stream. By selling this data a revenue stream is also generated for the present ticket management system and/or the original ticket vendors. For reason of security it is preferable to configure such function of the ticket management system such that personal information of the users are not available for purchase with the demographic data. The demographic data may instead be provided in the form of figures. For example Of all ticket sales 75% were purchased by the 18-21 age group.

Blacklist

The Blacklist is a separate database built up of users that have caused trouble at events in the past. The user accounts of these users are flagged. User accounts of users who were previously banned from a certain event are flagged, which prevents these users from purchasing a ticket during the verification process, as such they are prevented from attending future events. If a user has been caught in possession of drugs and/or alcohol, they may still be able to purchase a ticket. However, their user account may be flagged accordingly such that, during the ticket scanning process, the member of staff is alerted and/or prompted to perform additional searching. As it may take time to build up a large enough database for it to be effective, an option may be to implement police databases to boost the starting blacklist size.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the accompanying claims.

Claims

Claims

1. A method for managing tickets for entry into a designated area, comprising: providing, upon request by a person to obtain a ticket, one or more options for the person to obtain a ticket; and updating, when the person has obtained a ticket, a record of the person to indicate that the ticket is allocated to the person, wherein the updating comprises associating the ticket to a personal identification document registered with the record of the person.
2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising determining if a record of the person exists, and, when it is determined that a record of the person does not exist, requesting the person to create a record and register a personal identification document.
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising verifying the personal identification document registered with the record of the person through a third party database.
4. The method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, further comprising determining, before providing one or more options for the person to obtain a ticket, if the person is eligible for entry into the designated area.
5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising refusing the request by the person to obtain a ticket when it is determined that the person is not eligible for entry into the designated area.
6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the determining comprises retrieving the record of the person and verifying that personal information obtained from the personal identification document registered with the record of the person meet one or more predetermined criteria.
7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the one or more predetermined criteria comprise an age limit.
8. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the determining further comprises checking whether the record of the person includes additional information relevant to the eligibility of the person.
9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the additional information comprises inclusion of the person in one or more blacklists.

- 1410. The method according to any preceding claim, further comprising, at the designated area, retrieving the record of the person and verifying if a ticket is allocated to the person.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

allowing entry by the person into the designated area when it is verified that a ticket is allocated to the person; or denying entry when it is verified that a ticket is not allocated to the person.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the personal identification document registered with the record of the person comprises a photographic identification document, and the verifying if a ticket is allocated to the person comprises comparing the person with a photograph retrieved from the photographic identification document.

13. The method according to claim 10, 11 or 12, wherein the record ofthe person further comprises biometric data of the person, and the verifying if a ticket is allocated to the person comprises obtaining biometric data of the person and comparing the obtained biometric data with the biometric data retrieved from the record of the person.

14. The method according to any preceding claim, further comprising authenticating the ticket upon request by the person to release for allocation a ticket indicated in the record of the person as being allocated to the person, and releasing the authenticated ticket for allocation.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising, upon request by another person to obtain a ticket, including the released ticket in one or more options for the another person to obtain a ticket.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, further comprising associating the released ticket to a personal identification document registered with the record of another person upon request by the person to allocate the released ticket to the another person.

- 1517. A system for managing tickets for entry into a designated area, comprising: storage module configured to store a record of a person and a personal identification document registered with the record of the person; and processing module configured to:

provide, upon request by the person to obtain a ticket, one or more options for the person to obtain a ticket; and update, when the person has obtained a ticket, the record of the person to indicate that the ticket is allocated to the person by associating the ticket to the personal identification document registered with the record of the person.

18. The system according to claim 17, further comprising:

at least one portable device configured to store information identifying the record of the person; and a reading module configured to read the information identifying the record of the person on the at least one portable device so as to retrieve the record of the person from the storage module.

19. The system according to claim 18, wherein the information identifying the record of the person comprises an identifier unique to the respective at least one portable device.

20. The system according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the at least one portable device comprises an near-field communication device having a device identification number, wherein the information identifying the record of the person comprises the device identification number of the NFC device.

21. The system according to claim 18, 19 or 20, wherein the at least one portable device comprises a radio-frequency identification device.

22. The system according to any one of claims 18 to 21, wherein the record of the person further comprises biometric data of the person, and the system further comprises a biometric reading module configured to obtain biometric data of the person to verify the identity of the person by comparing the obtained biometric data with the record of the person.

23. A method according to any one of claim 1 to 16 or a system according to any one of claim 17 to 22, wherein the personal identification document comprises one or more of a driving licence, a passport or a national identity card.

Amendments to the Claims have been filed as follows:Claims

1. A method for managing tickets for entry into a designated area, comprising: providing, upon request by a person to obtain a ticket, one or more options for the person to obtain a ticket;

updating, when the person has obtained a ticket, a record of the person to indicate that the ticket is allocated to the person; and retrieving, at the designated area, the record of the person and verifying if a ticket is allocated to the person, wherein the record of the person is linked to a personal identification document, and the updating comprises associating the ticket to the personal identification document through the record of the person.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising determining if a record of the person exists, and, when it is determined that a record of the person does not exist, requesting the person to create a record and register a personal identification document.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising verifying the personal identification document registered with the record of the person through a third party database.

4. The method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, further comprising determining, before providing one or more options for the person to obtain a ticket, if the person is eligible for entry into the designated area.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising refusing the request by the person to obtain a ticket when it is determined that the person is not eligible for entry into the designated area.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the determining comprises retrieving the record of the person and verifying that personal information obtained from the personal identification document registered with the record of the person meet one or more predetermined criteria.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the one or more predetermined criteria comprise an age limit.

8. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the determining further comprises checking whether the record of the person includes additional information relevant to the eligibility of the person.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the additional information comprises inclusion of the person in one or more blacklists.
10. The method according to any preceding claim, further comprising:

allowing entry by the person into the designated area when it is verified that a ticket is allocated to the person; or denying entry when it is verified that a ticket is not allocated to the person.
11. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the personal identification document registered with the record of the person comprises a photographic identification document, and the verifying if a ticket is allocated to the person comprises comparing the person with a photograph retrieved from the photographic identification document.
12. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the record of the person further comprises biometric data of the person, and the verifying if a ticket is allocated to the person comprises obtaining biometric data of the person and comparing the obtained biometric data with the biometric data retrieved from the record of the person.
13. The method according to any preceding claim, further comprising authenticating the ticket upon request by the person to release for allocation a ticket indicated in the record of the person as being allocated to the person, and releasing the authenticated ticket for allocation.
14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising, upon request by another person to obtain a ticket, including the released ticket in one or more options for the another person to obtain a ticket.
15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, further comprising associating the released ticket to a personal identification document registered with the record of another person upon request by the person to allocate the released ticket to the another person.
16. A system for managing tickets for entry into a designated area, comprising: storage module configured to store a record of a person and a personal identification document registered with the record of the person; and processing module configured to:

provide, upon request by the person to obtain a ticket, one or more options for the person to obtain a ticket;

update, when the person has obtained a ticket, the record of the person to indicate that the ticket is allocated to the person; and retrieve, at the designated area, the record of the person from the storage module and verify if a ticket is allocated to the person, wherein the record of the person is linked to a personal identification document, and the record of the person is updated by associating the ticket to the personal identification document through the record of the person.
17. The system according to claim 16, further comprising:

at least one portable device configured to store information identifying the record of the person; and a reading module configured to read the information identifying the record of the person on the at least one portable device so as to retrieve the record of the person from the storage module and verify if a ticket is allocated to the person.
18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the information identifying the record of the person comprises an identifier unique to the respective at least one portable device.
19. The system according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the at least one portable device comprises an near-field communication device having a device identification number, wherein the information identifying the record of the person comprises the device identification number of the NFC device.
20. The system according to claim 17, 18 or 19, wherein the at least one portable device comprises a radio-frequency identification device.
21. The system according to any one of claims 17 to 20, wherein the record of the person further comprises biometric data of the person, and the system further comprises a biometric reading module configured to obtain biometric data of the person to verify the identity of the person by comparing the obtained biometric data with the record of the person.
22. A method according to any one of claim 1 to 15 or a system according to any one of claim 16 to 21, wherein the personal identification document comprises one or more of a driving licence, a passport or a national identity card.
23. A system for managing tickets for entry into a designated area, comprising: storage module configured to store a record of a person and a personal identification document registered with the record of the person;

at least one portable device configured to store information identifying the record of the person;

a reading module configured to read the information identifying the record of the person on the at least one portable device so as to retrieve the record of the person from the storage module and verify if a ticket is allocated to the person; and processing module in communication with the storage module and the reading module, the processing module being configured to:

provide, upon request by the person to obtain a ticket, one or more options for the person to obtain a ticket; and associate, when the person has obtained a ticket, the ticket to the personal identification document registered with the record of the person,

5 wherein the ticket is associated to the personal identification document by updating the record of the person to indicate that the ticket is allocated to the person.