Tournament-style parimutuel wagering system

#The present invention relates generally to wagering, and more particularly to a method of wagering and a system to implement the wagering method.

#Wagering generally relates to the placement of monetarily based bets on a game of chance. However, wagering can be structured in a variety of manners. One of the more well-known versions of wagering is betting against “the house” (i.e., the organization facilitating or conducting the game). This type of wagering is very typical in casino environments where a player is placing a bet against the casino on a slot machine or at a table game, such as Blackjack. An equally common form of wagering involves betting among a group of people where all entry money is awarded in prizes. This style of wagering accounts for friendly games of poker, small sport betting pools (e.g., office pools), and even simple outcome based wagers between two or more people. Another type of wagering that combines elements of each of these betting styles is parimutuel (or pari-mutuel) wagering.

#In parimutuel wagering, a plurality of individuals are grouped together and each place wagers on the outcome of an event. Typically, each of the individuals pays an entry fee to join the group. These entry fees are combined and a percentage of the total is taken out by a “house” for management and/or administration of the wagering activity (i.e., “house take”). The remainder of the entry fees is designated as an award pool that is split up among the members of the group who most correctly predict the outcome of the event. Thus, the individuals of the group are playing against each other instead of a “house,” although a management entity is present to organize the parimutuel group and provide administration of the wagering activities. This type of wagering is often associated with race-based events where there are a plurality of contestants and a ranked finishing order. Unlike typical casino betting where the odds and payout amounts (paytable) are typically known before a bet is placed, the final odds in parimutuel wagering events usually are not calculated until the group of individuals (or pool) is closed (that is, not accepting any additional participants). However, even though the final odds are not know until the pool closes, the administration agencies often times provide approximate odds and/or payouts should no more bets be made at the time.

#FIG. 1A is a flow diagram of a wagering system according to embodiments of the invention.

#FIG. 1B is a flow diagram of a wagering system according to embodiments of the invention.

#FIG. 2A is a flow diagram of a portion of the wagering system illustrated in FIG. 1A.

#FIG. 1A is a flow diagram of a wagering system according to embodiments of the invention.

#Referring to FIG. 1A, a tournament style parimutuel wagering system is set up surrounding a plurality of events. These events are typically races that have a ranked finishing order. Races may include horse races, greyhound races, jai alai, human track races, or any other sporting event where the racers finish in a ranked order. In some embodiments, the plurality of events may only include two events. However, it is generally preferred to include at least three events to allow the participants to use their handicapping skills over a larger scope of events with more variations present.

#Once a set of events is selected for a tournament and the tournament is opened up to participants, participants are received and distributed a fantasy bankroll to use during the tournament (110). In some embodiments, each of the participants is allowed to enter upon payment of an entry fee. This entry fee may be used to fund the award pool after a house take is removed as discussed below. In other embodiments, an entry fee may not be required. The fantasy bank roll may also not correspond to the amount of the entry fee. That is, the fantasy bankroll may preferably be a higher number than the entry fee so that larger amounts of fantasy money may be wagered instead of fractions of a dollar. For example, each participant may be given a fantasy bankroll of $100.00 for a $10.00 entry fee. In this example, some wagers would be $5.00 wagers (of fantasy money) rather than $0.50 wagers (of real money), which may reduce the amount of rounding for payouts. Additionally, each participant is usually given the same fantasy bankroll at the tournament start to even the playing field. This way, each player will have the same starting fantasy bankroll and the competition will focus solely on the handicapping skills of the players without introducing any variables related to starting bankroll amounts. Nevertheless, in some embodiments, different fantasy bankrolls may be given depending on the size of the entry fee paid, the player's status in the tournament, or based off a separate wagering event.