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Interactive wagering systems and methods for recording wagering events

Interactive wagering systems and methods for recording wagering events description/claims

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 60/142,174, filed Jul. 1, 1999; which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

This invention relates to interactive wagering systems and methods, and particularly to wagering systems and methods that allow users to place wagers on live wagering events, such as thoroughbred races, harness races, dog races, etc., at locations remote from the locations where the wagering events take place, such as the users' homes. More particularly, this invention relates to wagering systems and methods that allow users to conveniently record wagering events based on the wagers placed by the users.

Wagering on live events, such as thoroughbred races, harness races, dog races, etc., is an exciting and increasingly popular leisure activity. However, for many racing enthusiasts, it is difficult or inconvenient to attend wagering events in person. Although off-track betting establishments provide greater access to wagering opportunities, they are still inconvenient in that the users must spend time locating and traveling to such establishments in order to place wagers.

The above-described difficulties that faced wagering enthusiasts were addressed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,068 (“the '068 patent”) of Brenner et al. entitled “Interactive Wagering Systems And Processes,” which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The '068 patent discloses interactive wagering systems and processes that allow wagering enthusiasts to place wagers on live wagering events, such as horse races, from the convenience of their homes through the use of an in-home wagering terminal. The systems and processes of the '068 patent allow users to place electronic wagers on horse races. It is an object of the invention to provide ways in which to automatically record wagering events based on which wagers are placed by the user.

It is also an object of the invention to provide an improved user interface for accessing and viewing stored videos.

It is another object of the invention to provide systems and methods for allowing a user to search for desired racing videos from a racing archive.

An interactive wagering system is provided that checks to determine if an event on which a user has placed a wager has an associated video that is scheduled to be broadcast. This determination may be made by comparing the selected event to a database of upcoming wagering events. If the interactive wagering system determines that the selected wagering event is scheduled for broadcast, the system may ask the user to decide whether or not the selected event should be recorded. If the user chooses to record the event, the interactive wagering system may direct a recording device to record the selected event at the appropriate time. If desired, the interactive wagering system may actuate the recording device at the appropriate time.

This invention may be used with any suitable recording devices, including analog and digital videotape recorders, optical media recorders, and magnetic media recorders.

The user may set a system parameter in the interactive wagering system that causes the system to record all events the user places wagers on that are broadcast. This approach avoids the need for the user to respond to a prompt after the wager has been created or placed.

The manner by which the interactive wagering system effectuates control over the recording device may be determined in accordance with the particular user's hardware configuration. For example, if the wagering system is implemented in a set-top box, the system may control the recording device through a hard-wired, wireless, or infrared link. Alternatively, the interactive wagering system may be implemented using the same hardware that performs the recording function (e.g., a personal computer), in which case the interactive wagering system can directly control recording of selected wagering events without a data connection to a peripheral device.

If desired, the interactive wagering system may allow the user to easily access the user's stored racing videos. The racing videos may be stored in a personal archive. The user may be able to view or delete any of the stored or saved videos. The user may access lists of the videos that are organized according to criteria such as the track, race number, and date of each race.

The interactive wagering system may include a racing video archive located remotely from the user equipment. The system may allow the user to search the racing archive for desired races. For example, the user may be able to search for desired races based on user-specified criteria such as track, horse, track conditions, trainer, jockey, and weather. Upon completion of the search, the user may be presented with a number of matches. The user may view one or more of the matches or may save one of more of them in the user's personal archive.

The foregoing embodiments may be implemented using user television equipment, user computer equipment, user telephone equipment, or any other suitable platform.

Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative interactive wagering system in accordance with the present invention.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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