HK1192673B - Sms messaging system accommodation variable entries for lotteries - Google Patents

Description

SMS messaging system accommodating variable entries for lottery tickets

Background

1. Field of the invention

The present invention relates to wireless telephone lottery and, more particularly, to messaging for placing variable SMS lottery entries (lottery entries).

2. Description of the related Art

It is well known to play lottery tickets online and via mobile phones. One common way to pay for lottery tickets by mobile phone has been to use text messages, also known as Short Message Service (SMS).

One way to play lottery tickets via SMS messages is for the mobile phone operator to charge the customer account for each message. Each message sent to certain lottery telephone numbers is billed at the set rate. For example, for each message to a lottery or charity, the sender would be charged one dollar ($ 1) on the sender's phone balance. The mobile phone operator will know that each lottery SMS message worth this dollar and will deduct this dollar from the sender's phone balance. The sender will not need to send any money to play the lottery because the sender's telephone balance is charged. The lottery player will transmit her or his number pick selection to the phone number from which the lottery was purchased using an SMS text message. If the lottery player wishes to pay more than one lottery ticket, the player will send more than one text message.

There is a need for an improved method of placing lottery orders by transmitting text messages via a mobile phone.

Brief description of the drawings

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and is not limited by the accompanying figures, in which like references indicate similar elements. Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale.

The details of the preferred embodiments will be more readily understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a system with both a mobile service provider system and a lottery system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic block diagram of the direct integration of the system with both the mobile service provider system and a lottery system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic block diagram of the system indirectly integrated with both the mobile service provider system and a lottery system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of exemplary messages and actions in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart of steps for purchasing a number according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of steps for winning numbers according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a text message format according to the prior art;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a text message format according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of steps for identifying a plurality of lottery entries in one or more SMS messages for processing a lottery game, in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 10 illustrates a flow diagram of various embodiments of steps for parsing to identify lottery entries in an SMS message;

FIG. 11 illustrates a flow diagram for a different embodiment of sending a lottery game request;

FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart of steps for receiving an SMS order and sending a refund request to a mobile account, according to one embodiment; and

fig. 13 illustrates a flow chart of steps for receiving an SMS lottery entry and sending a refund request to a mobile account, according to another embodiment.

Description of The Preferred Embodiment

Fig. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of an SMS lottery platform system with both a mobile phone operator system 145 and a lottery operator system 185 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The mobile phone 110 initiates an SMS message 120 with a plurality of lottery entries. These SMS messages are sent via the wide area network 178 through the phone carrier's antenna 130 and the mobile base station 140 to the SMS transaction gateway server 182. The SMS transaction gateway server 182 parses the SMS message to identify the lottery entries within the message. The plurality of lottery entries are then transmitted to the lottery server 180 for play of a lottery game. The SMS transaction gateway server 182 of this embodiment of the present invention allows more games to be played in one message since multiple lottery entries may be identified in the one message. In the past, mobile phone users were required to send multiple separate SMS messages for multiple single lottery entries.

The SMS transaction gateway server 182 sends a request to the mobile billing platform 150 of the mobile phone operator system to authorize the prepaid or postpaid balance charging of the mobile phone user stored in the mobile billing platform. In this embodiment, the request is sent from the lottery operator system 185 over the wide area network 178. The mobile billing platform 150 can confirm the balance and debit the balance of the mobile subscriber for the lottery transaction requested by the SMS transaction gateway server 182. In one embodiment, the balance of the mobile user is debited by an amount corresponding to the number of game entries in an SMS message. In other embodiments, the user's SMS message may place orders for other products or services in addition to lottery participation, and the SMS transaction gateway server 182 sends a refund request to the mobile billing platform 150 to debit the mobile user's balance by an amount corresponding to the order in the SMS message.

The SMS transaction gateway server 182 sends a message to the mobile phone over the wide area network 178 and the mobile base station 140 and antenna 130 to determine the availability of account balances and participation items and the mobile subscriber's winning amount. The SMS transaction gateway server 182 can send confirmation of the multiple entries parsed from an SMS message to the mobile user of the mobile phone. In the past, the mobile phone user was required to receive a SMS message for each participant.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic block diagram of the system directly integrated with both the mobile phone carrier system 245 and the lottery operator system 285 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The mobile phone 210 communicates with the SMS service center 241 through the antenna 230. The lottery system operator 285 communicates directly with the SMS service center 241, mobile billing platform 250, and subscriber database 259 of the phone operator 245 through a firewall 269. The SMS transaction gateway server 282 communicates with both the lottery server 280 and the lottery database server 281 through a firewall 289. The lottery database server 281 is the lottery system operator database in which lottery game tickets are registered, among other things. The subscriber database server 259 is used to record the subscriber accounts that can send SMS messages. The subscriber database server 259 may also be used to specify which postpaid subscribers participate in any SMS lottery. Prepaid subscribers are typically pre-approved and then the prepaid subscriber needs to be typically approved and selected in.

Fig. 3 illustrates a schematic block diagram of the indirect integration of the system with both a mobile phone operator system 345 and a lottery operator system 385 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The SMS gateway 343 implements an API (application programming interface) for communication between the lottery operator system 385 and the mobile phone carrier system 345. Mobile phone 310 communicates with SMS service center 341 through antenna 330. The lottery system operator 385 indirectly communicates with the SMS service center 341, mobile billing platform 350, and the subscriber database 359 of the telephone operator 345 through the SMS gateway 343 and firewall 369. The SMS transaction gateway server 382 communicates with both the lottery server 380 and the lottery database 381 through a firewall 389. A server requires a central processor and memory and network interfaces and typically runs one or more services to meet the needs of other services or servers.

FIG. 4 sets forth a flow chart illustrating exemplary messages and actions according to embodiments of the present invention. In step 410, the user of the mobile phone service sends an SMS message containing a plurality of SMS lottery entries to the mobile base station 140. In step 415, the SMS transaction gateway server 182 receives the one SMS message from the mobile base station 140 over the wide area network 178. At step 420, the SMS transaction gateway server 182 parses the one SMS message to identify a plurality of lottery entries.

In one embodiment, these multiple lottery entries may contain multiple picks for the game and perhaps an indication of the game category. In another embodiment, the SMS message may also contain a number indicating bets or entries, a multiplier for score bets. In a further embodiment, the SMS message further comprises a plurality of participant items, each participant item being separated from the other participant items by a delimiter. An example syntax for a prior art SMS lottery message will be described later with reference to fig. 7. An example syntax of an SMS lottery message for an embodiment of the present invention will be described later with reference to fig. 8.

In the past, telecom operators were reluctant to provide SMS lottery systems that could handle multiple (either the same or different) entries in a message, in part because the telecom operator hardware was set up to charge the operator for an additional charge for sending each SMS message to purchase a lottery. The operator does not interpret the content of the SMS lottery message, only interprets the address or destination, and therefore charges only once per message. The SMS lottery platform system of the present invention is provided at a lottery center so that each SMS message accommodates multiple wagers and charges the prepaid or postpaid balance of the telephone subscriber for those wagers.

In step 420, the SMS transaction gateway server 182 parses an SMS message from the mobile subscriber to identify a plurality of 'X' lottery entries. At step 430, the SMS transaction gateway server 182 sends a message to the mobile billing platform 150 at the telephone carrier to determine that the telephone subscriber has a balance to purchase 'X' lottery entries. The mobile billing platform 150 verifies the X entries for the user balance at step 431 and sends an authorization decision at step 433. These 'X' lottery entries, as well as any picks, are sent to the lottery server 180 of the lottery service center in step 423. The authorization and other messages set forth herein are effectively sent on behalf of the lottery server 180, and the SMS transaction gateway server 182 acts as a broker; thus, in some embodiments, two virtual servers may run on one unified server hardware.

The lottery game is played at step 440. In step 450, a refund request is sent from the SMS transaction gateway server 182 to the mobile billing platform 150. At step 453, the mobile billing platform 150 deducts an amount corresponding to ' X ' lottery entries from the balance of the user's prepaid or postpaid balance. An SMS message is sent through the SMS transaction gateway server 182 to inform the user of the lottery game outcome at step 441 and the base station sends the SMS message to the phone at step 442. In an alternative embodiment, the return of the won amount to the user's balance is accomplished by sending a message to the mobile billing platform 150 at step 460.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of the steps for purchasing a number, according to an embodiment of the present invention. In step 510, the mobile user sends an SMS message containing one or more numbers for one or more games using a standard SMS application on the mobile phone or a dedicated application developed for the phone. In step 520, the dynamic SMS lottery system receives an SMS message from the telephone carrier and parses the SMS message to determine what numbers and games the user is attempting to purchase. Based on the information in this one SMS message, the dynamic SMS lottery system knows how much to charge the subscriber. The price of the fee is based on the content within the SMS message. Thus, the price per SMS is not a fixed price. Step 527 determines whether the SMS message is a valid message. If the information in the SMS message is not valid (e.g., no prescribed format is used), then an SMS message is sent to the user in step 513 explaining the reason for the invalid format of the SMS message. If the information in the SMS message is valid, step 515 checks the user's account type and proceeds to step 520 to check the prepaid account type and step 530 to check the postpaid account type.

Step 520 checks whether the user has a sufficient balance/airtime in his/her account. If not, an SMS message is sent in step 521 explaining the reason for the unsuccessful transaction. If so, the user has a sufficient balance to purchase the lottery ticket and the system will create a lottery ticket and deduct the balance based on the amount of the amount purchased in the SMS in step 523. In step 525, the user receives a confirmation SMS message containing a lottery ticket with a unique transaction ID.

Step 530 checks whether the POST-PAID account POST PAID account of the user has some restrictions that the pre-PAID account does not have, so it is necessary to check with the phone operator whether they are allowed to participate. If the user is not allowed to purchase in step 531, step 533 sends an SMS message explaining why the transaction was unsuccessful. If the user is allowed to purchase lottery tickets, the system will request a refund based on the amount of the quantity requested in the SMS message in step 535. In step 537, a certain SMS message containing a lottery ticket with a unique transaction ID is sent to the user.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of the steps for winning numbers according to an embodiment of the present invention. The winning numbers are entered into the lottery system in step 610. Step 620 checks the winning combination of numbers. The dynamic SMS lottery system searches for tickets of the winning number combination. Step 630 checks the winning ticket. If the user does not have these winning numbers, an SMS message is sent informing them of the lack of a prize or learning from the dynamic SMS lottery system and telling them to participate in the non-winner campaign. If the user has the winning combination, step 650 sends an SMS message congratulating them and telling them the amount they won. The SMS message will contain a transaction ID and information on how to collect the prize value. In step 660, the winning user may collect the winning amount by presenting their winning SMS message determination ticket to the lottery provider. If the user does not receive the SMS message to confirm the ticket due to a network error, the lottery provider can still see if the mobile phone has a winning ticket. The user may receive or select to receive the amount awarded as airtime added to the prepaid balance, cash or transfer to a bank account.

For an amount corresponding to the order against the mobile phone balance of the telephone subscriber, the mobile billing platform sends a refund request indicating the identified order from the SMS transaction gateway server to the mobile billing platform server corresponding to the telephone service belonging to the telephone subscriber over the wide area network.

Mobile charging platforms typically handle both prepaid and postpaid mobile phone user accounts and may be referred to as prepaid postpaid charging platforms, for example. Mobile billing platforms typically authorize mobile phone services for a user based on his or her account. The mobile billing platform in some embodiments is at or remote from the operator's premises of the telephone service provider. Examples of mobile billing platforms are provided by the companies commonseone and logic. An authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) or Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS) server in some embodiments may serve as a mobile accounting platform.

Fig. 7 illustrates an example of a text message format 700 according to the prior art. A text message format 700 is presented for an SMS message participant. The SMS message 710 contains '2021' and the individual participant for the game category specified by the address to which the SMS message was sent indicates the option of '2021'.

Fig. 8 illustrates examples of text message formats 800 that contain multiple participants within a message, according to embodiments of the invention. Text message format 800 is shown for two alternative SMS messages.

In a first example message, an SMS message 810 contains 'C6272, C0282'. In this example, the category 'C' game is played once with the pick '6272' and a second time with the pick '0282'. While commas are used as delimiters between multiple participants within an SMS message, other symbols may be allowed, such as spaces, periods, or semicolons.

In a second example message, another SMS message 860 contains 'C7353X 3'. In this second example, category 'C' games are played a number of '3' times with pick '7353'. Here, the same short code is used for all games and all amounts. Alternative symbols may be used to designate such asterisks ' as multipliers, e.g. ' C7353x3 '. If the lottery system allows this, the resolver for non-integer incremental wagers may allow the score.

Because each SMS text message has a fixed price, placing multiple lottery entries becomes a practical hassle. For example, if an end user wants to purchase ten different combinations of numbers, the end user would have to send ten different SMS text messages. Thus, this is not actually an alternative way to purchase lottery tickets, but is merely a way to purchase some numbers you forget to purchase. As the user will not send a message for each lottery combination.

SMS lottery tickets are more cost effective (end-user).

Some systems will use premium SMS services, but since mobile service providers (also known as telephone operators) typically want to hold a large share of the transaction amount, in order to earn money they will have to sell lottery tickets at about twice the traditional price. Thus, if one ticket costs $1, and you buy the ticket via SMS, it will cost you about $ 2. Thus making it virtually an alternative way to purchase lottery tickets.

Telephone operators do not appreciate the advantages of the present invention because they traditionally adhere to Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) requirements. Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) is the average revenue generated by each customer of an operator or service provider. ARPU may be expressed monthly or yearly. Operators, service providers and financial analysts commonly use the term ARPU to estimate the return on investment for network infrastructure and end-user service investment. When a user purchases prepaid card/call time, the telephone operator views it as money in his pocket, since the user can only use it to obtain telephone operator services like voice and data. Then have a premium SMS service where you can use this to conduct an election campaign with a third party. Thus, the telephone operator may allow third parties to sell services using their mobile billing platform, but at a fixed fee. Such as to send a SMS to the number 1234, but you will have the possibility of winning a ticket to a warm holiday spent on the island of aluba. In this case, the third party will receive about 30% to 40% of the revenue. Thus, the telephone operator will try to earn most of the money, since it is already in his pocket and is the reason for sharing with third parties.

For lotteries this will not work, since most lotteries have a payout percentage of 50% and above, obtaining only 30% to 40% of the revenue will not make the lottery using premium SMS a choice as a payment method, since it will not even be sufficient to pay the price, let alone to gain any profit.

This is why all SMS tickets are paying prices (winners) in money using their own payment method. As it does not have to pay any commission to the lottery on the transaction. This would mean that the end-user would have to do something special like registering online with a credit card or purchasing a dedicated lottery prepaid card in order to purchase lottery tickets via SMS. This is not really appealing because the user cannot use their money already on their phone to purchase a lottery ticket. However, in the case of dynamic SMS lottery, we can show the phone operator that the user will purchase even more prepaid cards only to play the lottery, so the ARPU is not actually affected and the operator only earns one transaction fee per ticket, still more than any traditional competitive campaign the phone operator will do daily using standard premium SMS service. Thus, the telephone operator becomes like a reseller of lottery tickets. The user does not have to do anything special to purchase the lottery ticket, but only has to have a sufficient balance on his phone. Thus, it is convenient to use the phone operator's own mobile billing platform since the end-user does not need to do anything special to purchase the lottery. Thus, it is a practical challenge for telephone operators to believe that it is only by doing small transactions on each ticket. However, it has been found that users purchase much more prepaid cards only for playing lottery tickets. Thus, the present invention places more of the front into the telephone carrier's pocket than previously.

In the past, operators only charged a flat rate per SMS message or code embedded within an SMS message for lottery participation. When a customer wants to purchase more than one lottery entry at a time, it needs to send multiple messages, thereby limiting the customer's willingness to consume. Point purchases were not possible in the past.

Target of SMS platform system

The goal of the SMS platform system is to provide users (i.e., licensees) with the ability to operate a lottery system that has the ability to control or be able to operate lottery tickets and increase profit margins, to monitor sales of the system, and to increase sales through direct competitive activities.

For the end user (i.e., customer), the goal is to allow the end user to purchase lottery tickets without having to leave their home or place of work or even be abroad, while having the following comfort: tickets are purchased and notified of any winning numbers without having to go to the web or look up winning numbers on a conventional medium.

Note that the SMS platform system does not require the customer to perform a login procedure in order to participate in the lottery nor does the lottery operator (or any third party) open an account. This allows for maximum popularity of the mobile market and allows customers to be diverted from the traditional approach of purchasing lottery tickets to the SMS platform.

Example program for purchasing on an SMS platform System

1 an end user wishes to purchase one or more tickets simultaneously, creates a text message and sends it to a dedicated number, usually a "short code", i.e. 777

The system receives the request and sends a request for confirmation of eligibility and authorization for purchase

3 end user providing authorization by returned SMS

The 4 system verifies that the end user has a sufficient balance on his mobile phone account to make a purchase. If not, the transaction is terminated due to the insufficient balance. If so, the transaction continues and the end user obtains an SMS determination

The winning ticket 5 will receive a winning message notification immediately or via the registered mobile terminal user address if the address is known to the mobile phone operator. (the latter is not possible with prepaid phones because the mobile phone operator does not know the address unless the end user registers a physical address with his phone number at registration time.)

6 the end user will choose to collect cash or apply for a winning amount on their mobile phone account, allowing them to purchase larger amounts or place a regular phone or settle their account;

examples of ways to purchase numbers

SELECT 4, SELECT 3, AND SELECT 2-DYNAMIC SMS lottery tickets

The dynamic SMS lottery is unique in that the price of each SMS is based on the content of the message rather than on the message itself as in a traditional SMS lottery.

To make this possible, we have our own unique format for each message.

We have multiple games and to identify each game we use the letters that use them before the desired number.

The games available are:

curacao = C or K

2. Smart game (SmartPlay) = S

3. Daily Numbers (Daily Numbers) = D

The following are different ways in which a person can purchase their numbers.

1. To purchase only one number for Curacao, 7353, requires that a $1 user will send C7353 or K7353 or 7353 (if there are no letters, the system will make letters for Curacao)

2. To purchase only one number 7353 for Curacao, a $ 2 user would be required to send C7353X 2 or C7353X 2 (the user could use X or X to indicate the amount of each number)

3. It is desirable to purchase two numbers for Curacao, 6272 and 0282

The user will send C6272, C0282 or C6272C0822 (the user can separate the numbers using spaces or commas)

4. Want to purchase 6345 for Curacao and for SmartPlay

The user will send C6345, S6345 (since the user does not define the amount, the price per number is $1 by default)

5. Want to purchase 6345 for Curacao and SmartPlay, and $ 2 per number

The user will send C6345 × 2, S6345 × 2 or C6345 × 2, S6345 × 2

If a user wants to purchase for a different game, the user may use the letters corresponding to the game. By using this format, the user can purchase multiple numbers and also place different bets for each number.

Other options for SMS platform system

By developing a database of participating mobile numbers, users may offer lottery sales, contests, promotions, elections, questions, surveys, and intelligent advertising by themselves or with other partners. For many products and services, it can be used to place orders and manage chargebacks.

The above embodiments show examples of novel SMS message formats for playing 4, 3 and 2 lottery games. These novel formats are similar to the traditional lotto games in the united states called pick4 and pick3.

Select 4= http:// www.state.nj.us/http/games/1-4-1 _ pick4

3= http:// www.state.nj.us/http/games/1-5-1 _ pick3

Safety feature

To maximize the security and integrity of the application, the security level may be monitored internally and checked internally. In addition, the service of a separate third security routeman can verify the robustness of the security level of these applications. The data of the implementation program and the verification of the used third-party independent safety channel arrangement engineer can verify the safety of the financial transaction, and under the condition that the proper law is ensured in place, the software can be tested by other safety channel arrangement engineers for the purpose of safety.

Integration with secure lottery systems and methods; SMS ticket sales including data entry, merging with lottery game pools

The SMS platform system can be implemented at intervals that allow the winning numbers to be synchronized with the SMS platform and the data entered through the SMS platform to be synchronized with the current lottery system.

Player registration and loyalty programs should address player database management, special reporting, promotions, animated game presentations, graphics, or winning player publication, prize fulfillment, and any opportunity to service lottery prize gifts.

As outlined above, player registration occurs when a purchase is desired. The SMS platform provides a series of standard reports and customizable reports for reporting purposes. Accounting data may also be output into the lottery operator accounting system or accounting data may generate accounting reports in a spreadsheet format. The above resolves the winning notification.

Mobile phones should also address opt-in text messaging, promotion updates, coupon distribution, and advertising.

End users who wish to opt-in to text messaging, promotion updates, coupon distribution, and advertising may do so by passing through the text messaging application. The system may also generate and send a "Reminder to purchase" message to the (selected) end user. The operator may also conduct regular premium SMS campaigns via mediums such as newspapers, radio, cable, and the internet for promotion, coupon, or advertising (typically) through separate modules integrated into the system.

The SMS transaction gateway is a man-in-the-middle server between a mobile service provider (also known as telecommunications) and a third party. The mobile service provider will use this SMS transaction gateway to prevent the lottery service center or other providers of all purchased products or services from directly integrating with either the mobile service provider's Short Message Service Center (SMSC) and the mobile billing platform. When using an SMS transaction gateway, the third party will only contact the SMS transaction gateway, which will then contact the mobile service provider's internal systems. Also, many times the SMSC will have a different protocol, thus making integration difficult, so the SMS transaction gateway can offer those third parties a standard protocol, and the SMS transaction gateway will handle all these different protocols for you. Thus, integration with third parties is made much easier.

The lottery server is a system at a lottery service center that checks various criteria before creating a lottery ticket. The lottery database is where the lottery is stored, storing all transaction information. The subscriber database is a database of all of the mobile service providers' mobile subscriber accounts. The mobile billing platform is the mobile service provider billing system. In the case of prepaid subscribers, this is a system that knows how much account balance or money is deposited.

The SMS transaction gateway server may be located at the lottery service center. Which preferably contains an SMS message parser and interpreter to make the system successful. A very intelligent interpreter can be used because novice users tend to enter a lot of things or use sentences, believing they are chatting with some real person on the other end, so we must create an intelligent parser that will try to understand what the user is trying to buy.

Fig. 9 illustrates a flowchart of steps for identifying a plurality of lottery entries in one or more SMS messages for processing a lottery game, according to one embodiment.

Step 910 illustrates receiving an SMS message from a mobile phone over a wide area network in an SMS transaction gateway server. Step 920 illustrates parsing the SMS message within the SMS transaction gateway server to identify lottery game entries therein that include one or more associated picks. Step 930 illustrates sending the identified game entries from the SMS transaction gateway server to a lottery server for playing lottery games based thereon. Step 940 illustrates that the SMS transaction gateway can also send an SMS message over the wide area network from the SMS transaction gateway server to the mobile phone including confirmation of the plurality of lottery game entries.

Fig. 10 illustrates a flowchart of a different embodiment of step 930 of fig. 9 for parsing to identify multiple lottery entries in an SMS message.

Step 1010 illustrates finding a number and an associated pick, the number indicating the number of the plurality of entries. Step 1020 illustrates an alternative embodiment of identifying a number in a syntax that indicates wagers. Step 1030 illustrates an alternative embodiment of finding a multiplication delimiter that is adjacent to a number and is selected from the group consisting of an 'x' symbol or an asterisk symbol. Step 1040 illustrates an alternative embodiment of finding each of the plurality of participants spaced apart by a delimiter selected from the group consisting of a space symbol and a comma symbol. Step 1050 illustrates an alternative embodiment of parsing the SMS message to identify a game category and identifying letters for the game category. Step 1060 illustrates an alternative embodiment of identifying a number for multiple bets. The number may be an integer or alternatively a fractional bet. This is a number that may be a score bet of greater than 1 or some amount. Step 1070 illustrates an alternative embodiment of identifying a number in the syntax of each participant item that indicates the wager amount for each participant item.

Fig. 11 shows a flowchart of a different embodiment of the step 940 of fig. 9 for sending a lottery game request. Step 1110 illustrates an alternative embodiment of sending the identified number of bets and the associated picks for the plurality of game entries. Step 1120 illustrates an alternative embodiment of transmitting the identified category of game and the associated picks for each of the plurality of game entries. Step 1130 illustrates an alternative embodiment of sending the identified number of bets with the category of game and the associated picks for the plurality of game entries. Step 1140 illustrates an alternative embodiment of sending the identified wager amount and the associated pick for the game play item.

FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart of steps for receiving an SMS order and sending a refund request from a mobile account, according to one embodiment. Step 1210 illustrates receiving an SMS message over a wide area network from a mobile phone of a telephone subscriber to a telephone service in an SMS transaction gateway server. Step 1220 illustrates parsing the received SMS message in the SMS transaction gateway server to identify the telephone subscriber's order. Step 1230 illustrates sending a refund request indicating the identified order from the SMS transaction gateway server to a mobile billing platform server corresponding to a telephone service belonging to the telephone subscriber over the wide area network for an amount corresponding to the order compared to the mobile phone balance of the telephone subscriber. Step 1240 illustrates receiving a refund determination or denial over the wide area network in the SMS transaction gateway server from the mobile billing platform server corresponding to the telephony service belonging to the telephony user. Step 1250 illustrates the fulfillment of the order beginning when a chargeback determination is received from the mobile billing platform server corresponding to the telephony service belonging to the telephone user. Step 1260 illustrates sending a second chargeback request indicative of the fulfilled order over the wide area network to the mobile billing platform server corresponding to the telephone service belonging to the telephone subscriber after determining fulfillment of the order has begun, to deduct an amount corresponding to the order from the mobile phone balance of the telephone subscriber. Step 1270 illustrates deducting an amount corresponding to the identified order from one of a prepaid mobile phone balance and a postpaid mobile phone balance corresponding to telephone services belonging to the telephone subscriber in the mobile billing platform server.

Fig. 13 illustrates a flow chart of steps for receiving an SMS lottery entry and sending a refund request from a mobile account according to another embodiment. Step 1310 illustrates receiving an SMS message over a wide area network from a mobile phone of a telephone subscriber to a telephone service in an SMS transaction gateway server.

Step 1320 illustrates parsing the received SMS message in the SMS transaction gateway server to identify a lottery game entry containing one or more associated picks for the telephone user. Step 1330 illustrates sending a refund request from the SMS transaction gateway server to the mobile billing platform server corresponding to the telephone service belonging to the telephone subscriber requesting an amount corresponding to the lottery game entry from the telephone subscriber's mobile phone balance for an amount corresponding to the lottery game entry compared to the mobile phone balance of the telephone subscriber over the wide area network. Step 1340 illustrates receiving a refund determination or denial over the wide area network in the SMS transaction gateway server from the mobile billing platform server corresponding to the telephone service belonging to the telephone subscriber.

Step 1350 illustrates initiating fulfillment of the lottery game entry by sending the lottery game entry when a chargeback determination is received from the mobile billing platform server corresponding to the telephone service belonging to the telephone subscriber. It may be desirable to wait until a second chargeback request indicative of the fulfilled game entry is sent to the mobile billing platform server corresponding to the telephone service belonging to the telephone subscriber after it is determined that fulfillment of the lottery game entry has begun and over the wide area network to deduct an amount corresponding to the lottery game entry from the mobile phone balance of the telephone subscriber. This is illustrated in step 1260 of fig. 12.

Step 1360 illustrates deducting an amount corresponding to the identified lottery game entry from one of the prepaid mobile phone balance and the postpaid mobile phone balance corresponding to the telephone service belonging to the telephone subscriber in the mobile billing platform server.

Step 1370 illustrates receiving a lottery result notification from the lottery server at the lottery service center.

Step 1380 illustrates sending another refund request indicating a winning amount from the SMS transaction gateway server over a wide area network to a mobile billing platform server corresponding to a telephone service belonging to the telephone subscriber to add an amount corresponding to the winning amount to the telephone subscriber's mobile phone balance when a lottery result notification from the lottery server indicates that the subscriber won a lottery game.

Although the steps of the embodiment of fig. 13 are shown as placing orders for lottery entries, the steps may be used to place orders for processing products or services other than lottery entries. The step of parsing the SMS message for the game entry will parse the message for the ordered product or service. The quantity and type will be determined and a refund request will be established. While the telephone operator may use the system to deduct a dollar amount from the user's prepaid or postpaid wireless telephone balance, alternatively the system may deduct call time instead.

Any letter used to label the steps of any of the method claims, such as (a) or (b), identifies the step header applied here for ease of reading and not for the purpose of explaining the order or processing order of the method steps as required. Any method claims reciting a particular order or sequence of processing will do so using their literal rather than alphabetical designation.

Unless otherwise stated, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to arbitrarily distinguish between the elements such terms describe. Thus, these terms are not necessarily intended to indicate temporal or other prioritization of such elements.

Any trademark listed herein is the property of its respective owner, and references to such trademarks herein are generally intended to indicate the source of a particular product or service.

Although the present invention has been described and illustrated in the foregoing description and drawings, it is to be understood that the present description is illustrative only and that numerous changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. For example, although embodiments of the present invention process SMS text messages, future and subsequent modes of sending text messages may be implemented and considered within the scope of SMS messages. Although the examples in the drawings depict only example constructions and embodiments, alternative embodiments are available in view of the teachings of this patent disclosure.

Claims (24)

1. A method of processing an SMS lottery message, comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving an SMS message over a wide area network from a mobile telephone of a telephone subscriber subscribing to a telephone service at an SMS transaction gateway server;

(b) parsing in the SMS transaction gateway server the one SMS message received in said step (a) to identify lottery game entries in the one SMS message by finding a multiplier number within a syntax indicating a number of lottery game entries, the lottery game entries including one or more associated picks for each lottery game entry;

(c) sending a request from the SMS transaction gateway server to a billing platform server corresponding to telephone service belonging to the telephone subscriber for an amount corresponding to the lottery game entries identified in said step (b) over a wide area network;

(d) receiving a confirmation or denial from the billing platform server over a wide area network in the SMS transaction gateway server; and is

(e) Sending the plurality of lottery game entries identified in said step (b) from the SMS transaction gateway server to a lottery server upon receipt of the determination or rejection to play a lottery game on the basis thereof.

2. A method of processing an SMS lottery message according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(f) sending an SMS message from the SMS transaction gateway server to the mobile phone over the wide area network, the SMS message including content confirming the lottery game entries identified in said step (b).

3. A method of processing an SMS lottery message according to claim 1, wherein said step (b) of parsing in the SMS transaction gateway server finds a number and one or more associated picks, the number indicating the number of the plurality of lottery game entries.

4. A method of processing an SMS lottery message according to claim 1, wherein said step (e) of sending further comprises the sub-steps of:

(e1) sending the number of lottery game entries identified in said step (b) and the associated picks for the plurality of lottery game entries from the SMS transaction gateway server to a lottery server for playing the lottery game at a lottery service center on the basis thereof.

5. A method of processing an SMS lottery message according to claim 4, wherein said step (b) of identifying a multiplier number in a syntax includes the sub-step of finding a multiplier delimiter (b1) adjacent to a number and selected from the group consisting of an 'x' symbol or an asterisk symbol.

6. A method of processing an SMS lottery message according to claim 1, wherein said step (b) of parsing finds each of the plurality of lottery game entries with a delimiter therebetween, the delimiter selected from the group consisting of a space symbol and a comma symbol.

7. A method of processing an SMS lottery message according to claim 1,

wherein said step (b) of parsing includes the sub-step (b1) of parsing the SMS message to identify a game category; and is

Wherein said step (e) of transmitting includes the sub-step (e1) of transmitting the game category identified in said sub-step (b1) and the associated picks for each of the plurality of lottery game entries from the SMS transaction gateway server to a lottery server for playing the lottery game at a lottery service center on the basis thereof.

8. A method of processing an SMS lottery message according to claim 7, wherein said sub-step (b1) of parsing the SMS message to identify a game category further comprises the steps of:

(b1i) identifying a letter for the game category; and is

(b1ii) identifying a number for the number of lottery game entries.

9. A method of processing an SMS lottery message according to claim 8, wherein said sub-step (e1) of transmitting the game category further comprises the sub-steps of:

(e1i) sending the number of lottery game entries identified in said step (b1ii) from the SMS transaction gateway server to a lottery server, together with the game category and the associated picks for the plurality of lottery game entries, for playing the lottery game at a lottery service center on this basis.

10. A method of processing an SMS lottery message according to claim 1,

wherein said step (e) of sending further comprises the sub-step (e1) of sending the wager amount and associated picks for lottery game entries from the SMS transaction gateway server to a lottery server for playing the lottery game at a lottery service center based thereon.

11. A method of processing an SMS lottery message according to claim 1,

wherein the step (c) of sending a request further comprises the step (c1) of sending a refund request from the SMS transaction gateway server to a mobile billing platform server corresponding to the telephone service belonging to the telephone subscriber indicating the lottery game entries identified in said step (b) over a wide area network for an amount corresponding to the order against a mobile phone balance of the telephone subscriber;

wherein the step (d) of receiving a refund determination in the SMS transaction gateway server further comprises the step (d1) of receiving a refund determination or denial over a wide area network in the SMS transaction gateway server from the mobile billing platform server corresponding to the telephone service belonging to the telephone subscriber; and is

Wherein step (e) of transmitting the plurality of lottery game entries further comprises the step (e1) of transmitting the plurality of lottery game entries identified in said step (b) from the SMS transaction gateway server to a lottery server to start a lottery game on the basis thereof when the refund determination is received in said step (d) from the mobile billing platform server corresponding to the telephone service belonging to the telephone subscriber.

12. A method of processing an SMS lottery message according to claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

(f) after determining that fulfillment of the lottery game entries has begun, a second chargeback request indicative of the fulfilled lottery game entries is sent over a wide area network to the mobile billing platform server corresponding to the telephone service belonging to the telephone subscriber to deduct an amount corresponding to the lottery game entries from the mobile phone balance of the telephone subscriber.

13. A method of processing an SMS lottery message according to claim 12, wherein said step (f) further comprises the steps of:

(f1) deducting in the mobile billing platform server an amount corresponding to the lottery game entries from one of a prepaid mobile phone balance and a postpaid mobile phone balance corresponding to telephone service belonging to the telephone subscriber.

14. A method of processing an SMS lottery message according to claim 1, wherein said step (c) of sending a request further comprises the substeps of:

(c1) sending a refund request indicative of the lottery game entries over a wide area network to a mobile billing platform server corresponding to the telephone service belonging to the telephone subscriber for an amount corresponding to the lottery game entries; and is

(c2) Deducting in the mobile billing platform server an amount corresponding to the lottery game entries identified in said step (b) from a mobile phone balance for telephone service belonging to the telephone subscriber.

15. A method of processing an SMS lottery message according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(f) receiving a lottery result notification from the lottery server at a lottery service center; and is

(g) When the lottery result notification from the lottery server indicates that the telephone subscriber won a lottery game, another request for lottery winning amounts is sent from the SMS transaction gateway server over a wide area network to the billing platform server corresponding to the telephone service belonging to the telephone subscriber to add an amount corresponding to the lottery winning amounts to a mobile phone balance of the telephone subscriber.

16. A system for processing SMS lottery messages, comprising:

a base station and antenna for receiving a plurality of SMS messages from a mobile telephone of a telephone subscriber;

an SMS lottery gateway server operatively connected to obtain the SMS messages from the base station over a wide area network, wherein the SMS lottery gateway server includes a parser that parses an SMS message to identify lottery game entries in the SMS message by finding a multiplier number within a syntax that indicates a number of lottery game entries and one or more associated picks of the SMS message, each lottery game entry of the lottery game entries including one or more associated picks;

a mobile billing platform server corresponding to telephone services belonging to the telephone subscriber operatively connected over the wide area network to receive a request from the SMS lottery gateway server indicating the identified lottery game entries for an amount corresponding to the number of lottery game entries and to send a confirmation or denial over the wide area network to the SMS lottery gateway server; and

a lottery server operatively connected to the SMS lottery gateway server to receive the lottery game entries and associated picks from the SMS lottery gateway server and play lottery games based thereon upon receiving the determination from the mobile billing platform server.

17. A system for processing an SMS lottery message according to claim 16, wherein the SMS lottery gateway server is operatively connected to send an SMS message from the SMS lottery gateway server to the mobile phone via the base station over the wide area network, the SMS message including content confirming the identified lottery game entries.

18. A system for processing an SMS lottery message according to claim 16, wherein the lottery server receives the number of lottery game entries and the associated selections for the plurality of lottery game entries to a lottery server at a lottery service center for playing the lottery games based thereon.

19. A system for processing an SMS lottery message according to claim 18, wherein the SMS lottery gateway server parses the SMS message by identifying a number within a syntax by finding a multiplier delimiter adjacent to a number and selected from the group consisting of an 'x' symbol or an asterisk symbol.

20. A system for processing an SMS lottery message according to claim 16, wherein the SMS lottery gateway server parses the SMS message by identifying a number within a syntax by looking for each lottery game entry of the plurality of lottery game entries, spacing the lottery game entries therebetween with a delimiter selected from the group consisting of a space symbol and a comma symbol.

21. A system for processing an SMS lottery message according to claim 16,

wherein the SMS lottery gateway server parses the SMS message to identify a game category; and is

Wherein the lottery server receives the game category and the associated picks for the plurality of lottery game entries to a lottery server for playing a lottery game based thereon.

22. A system for processing an SMS lottery message according to claim 16, wherein the lottery server receives the number of lottery game entries and the associated picks from the SMS lottery gateway server for a plurality of lottery game entries and plays the lottery games based thereon.

23. A system for processing an SMS lottery message according to claim 16,

wherein the SMS lottery gateway server sends a chargeback request indicating the identified lottery game entries from the SMS lottery gateway server to the mobile billing platform server corresponding to the telephone service belonging to the telephone subscriber over a wide area network for an amount corresponding to the number of lottery game entries compared to a mobile phone balance of the telephone subscriber.

24. A system for processing an SMS lottery message according to claim 23,

wherein, upon determining that fulfillment of the lottery game entries has begun, the SMS lottery gateway server sends a second chargeback request indicative of the fulfilled lottery game entries over a wide area network to the mobile billing platform server corresponding to the telephone service belonging to the telephone subscriber to deduct an amount corresponding to the number of lottery game entries from the telephone subscriber's mobile phone balance.