Server device, information providing method, and program

Abstract

To provide a server device etc. capable of providing more useful information according to a user who purchases a lottery ticket. [Solution] In the sales agency server 300, a registration unit 341 registers the team that each user supports among multiple sports events as the supported team. An acquisition unit 342 acquires the voting contents of like-users whose supported team matches that of the user, among the users who have already voted for the match. A counting unit 343 counts the voting distribution of like-users in the match based on the voting contents acquired by the acquisition unit 342. Then, a provision unit 344 provides the voting distribution counted by the counting unit 343 to the user by including it in guidance information.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a server device, an information providing method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, sports lottery (sports promotion lottery) voting tickets have been sold and have become popular. For example, the sports lottery includes a voting ticket called Toto (registered trademark) that allows users to predict and vote for the results of each match (win or loss of each home team) for a specified number of soccer (J-League) matches held in the same round. Currently, a new sports lottery called WINNER® has been introduced, which allows users to vote for the outcome of a single game. This new sports lottery includes a "single game score selection" betting ticket that allows users to predict the number of points scored by both teams (soccer) or the score difference between the number of points scored by both teams (basketball) in a single soccer or basketball game. These sports lottery tickets can be purchased not only at the nearest store, but also via the Internet from a user's terminal (smartphone, PC, etc.).

[0003] As a prior art for such sports lotteries, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses an invention for an information providing device that makes it easier for users to find games for which they want to bet. In the invention of Patent Document 1, an information providing device estimates the team that a user will support, and displays matches in which the estimated team will participate as voting recommended matches on a user terminal. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-62359 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the invention described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, games of the team that the user supports are displayed as voting recommended games, so that the user can easily find the game for which he or she wants to vote. However, in reality, when trying to vote for such a game, many users are confused about which option to choose. For example, in a single-game score selection sports lottery, users must choose from 18 options for soccer and 16 options for basketball. For this reason, many users wished to refer to the match results predicted by other users.

[0006] In particular, users who have a specific team (favorite team / club) in mind tend to vote for matches that their favorite team will play in. Such users also expressed a desire to refer to the match results predicted by other users who have a deep understanding of the team they support.

[0007] Given this situation, there has been a demand for technology that can provide more useful information to users who purchase lottery tickets.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide a server device, an information providing method, and a program that can provide more useful information depending on the user who purchases a lottery ticket. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] A server device according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises: A server device that provides guidance information regarding a game in which a plurality of athletes participate to a user who wishes to vote for the game, the server device comprising: a registration unit that registers a sports object that each user supports among the plurality of sports objects as a supporting sports object; An acquisition unit that acquires the voting details of users who have already voted for the game and who have the same interest as the user and the supporting sporting entity; a counting unit that counts the vote distribution of the hobby users in the game based on the vote content acquired by the acquisition unit; a providing unit that provides the vote distribution counted by the counting unit to the user by including the vote distribution in the guidance information; The present invention is characterized by comprising:

[0010] In addition, the server device according to the above aspect comprises: A selection unit is further provided which selects a competition object different from the support competition object registered by the user as a comparison competition object from among the plurality of competition objects; The acquisition unit further acquires the voting details of the comparison users who have registered the comparison competition object as the support competition object among the users who have already voted, The tallying unit further tallys up a voting distribution of the comparison users in the game based on the voting content acquired by the acquisition unit, The providing unit may further include the vote distribution of the comparison user tallied by the counting unit in the guidance information and provide the information to the user.

[0011] In addition, in the server device according to the above aspect, The selection unit may select a game object that satisfies a predetermined frequency condition based on the contents of votes cast by the user in the past as the game object to be compared.

[0012] In addition, in the server device according to the above aspect, The acquisition unit further acquires voting contents made by the already-voted users excluding the similar-interest users, The tallying unit further tallys up each of the vote distributions of the voted users classified into different cheering competition entities based on the vote content acquired by the acquisition unit, The providing unit may further include in the guidance information the voting distribution that is most different from the voting distribution of the like-user among the voting distributions tallied by the counting unit for each of the cheering competition entities, and provide this to the user.

[0013] In addition, in the server device according to the above aspect, The tallying section may tally the vote distribution, which is made up of a predetermined number of options with the most votes and the percentages of those options.

[0014] In addition, in the server device according to the above aspect, The providing unit may, when providing the user with a voting screen that accepts votes for the match, change a size of an operation object for designating options on the voting screen in accordance with the vote distribution.

[0015] An information providing method according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises: 1. An information providing method executed by a server device that provides guidance information regarding a game to a user who wishes to vote for a game in which multiple athletes participate, the method comprising: a registration step of registering a sports object that each user supports among the plurality of sports objects as a support sports object; An acquisition step of acquiring the voting details of users who have already voted for the game and who have the same interest as the user and the supporting sporting entity; a counting step of counting the vote distribution of the like-users in the game based on the vote contents acquired in the acquisition step; a providing step of including the vote distribution counted in the counting step in the guidance information and providing the information to the user; The present invention is characterized by comprising:

[0016] A program according to a third aspect of the present invention comprises: A computer that provides guidance information regarding a game in which a plurality of athletes participate to a user who wishes to vote for the game, a registration step of registering a sports object that each user supports among the plurality of sports objects as a supporting sports object; an acquisition step of acquiring the voting details of users who have already voted for the game and who share the same interest as the user and the supporting sporting entity; a counting step of counting the vote distribution of the like-users in the game based on the vote contents acquired in the acquisition step; a providing step of including the vote distribution tallied in the tallying step in the guidance information and providing the information to the user; The present invention is characterized in that the above-mentioned is executed.

[0017] The above program may be distributed or sold via a computer communication network independently of the computer on which the program is executed. Furthermore, the information recording medium on which the above-mentioned program is recorded is a non-transitory recording medium, and can be distributed and sold independently of a computer. Here, the non-transitory recording medium refers to a tangible recording medium. Examples of non-transitory recording media include compact discs, flexible disks, hard disks, magneto-optical disks, digital video disks, magnetic tapes, and semiconductor memories. Also, the transitory recording medium refers to the transmission medium (propagation signal) itself. Examples of the transitory recording medium include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. In addition, the temporary storage area refers to an area for temporarily storing data and programs, and is, for example, a volatile memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory). Effect of the Invention

[0018] According to the present invention, more useful information can be provided depending on the user who purchases the lottery ticket. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1]1 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a voting system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a typical information processing device in which a server device or the like according to an embodiment of the present invention is realized; [Diagram 3] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a server device according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining user management information. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram for explaining purchase information. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a voting screen according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of another voting screen. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of another voting screen. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of another voting screen. [Figure 10] 4 is a flowchart for explaining an information providing process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a server device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining purchase history information. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a voting screen according to the second embodiment. [Figure 14] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an information providing process according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the embodiment of the present invention, as an example of a sports lottery (sports promotion lottery), a voting system in which a single-game score selection type voting ticket for predicting and voting on the result of a single game can be purchased from a user terminal will be described, but the present invention can also be applied to voting systems in which other types of voting tickets can be purchased. For example, the present invention can also be applied to a voting system in which a multiple-game winning team selection type voting ticket for predicting the winning team for each of a predetermined number of games (for example, 13 games or 5 games) can be purchased. In addition to such sports lotteries, the present invention can also be applied to betting systems that allow the purchase of betting tickets for public races such as bicycle racing, horse racing, and boat racing. In other words, the following embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the scope of the present invention. Therefore, a person skilled in the art can adopt embodiments in which each or all of these elements are replaced with equivalents, and these embodiments are also included in the scope of the present invention.

[0021] (Overall composition) 1, a voting system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a host server 200, a sales agent server 300, and a user terminal 400. The host server 200, the sales agent server 300, and the user terminal 400 are communicatively connected via the Internet 900. The host server 200 and the sales agent server 300 may be communicatively connected via a dedicated line, a VPN (Virtual Private Network), or the like. Also, although FIG. 1 shows only a few user terminals 400, this is for ease of understanding the invention, and in reality, a huge number of user terminals 400 will be included depending on the number of users using the voting system 100.

[0022] The organizer server 200 is, for example, a server device installed by the organizer of a sports lottery, and manages various information related to voting in a single game score selection method in which a single game result is predicted and voted for. Note that, as a specific example, voting in a single game score selection method for soccer will be described below, but voting in a single game score selection method for basketball may also be used.

[0023] In the single soccer match score selection method, users will vote for the result of the match in 90 minutes, excluding extra time, by selecting from the 18 options shown below. <Home victory> 1. 1-0 2. 2-0 3. 2-1 4. 3-0 5. 3-1 6. 3-2 7. Other home wins <Draw> 8. 0-0 9. 1-1 10. 2-2 11. Other Draws <Away victory> 12. 0-1 13. 0-2 14. 1-2 15. 0-3 16. 1-3 17. 2-3 18. Other away wins

[0024] As an example, such a single-game score selection method is an odds format, where the odds for each of the 18 available options change sequentially depending on the voting status, and the odds are finalized after the voting deadline. If the voting content of the voting ticket purchased by the user matches the actual game result (the finalized game result), the winning amount according to the finalized odds is paid out.

[0025] Therefore, the organizer server 200 manages team information, match schedule information, voting information, odds information, result information, etc. of each team participating in the match that is the subject of voting, and provides this information to the sales agent server 300 as appropriate.

[0026] The sales agent server 300 is, for example, a server device that sells betting tickets to users on behalf of the organizer of a sports lottery. The sales agent server 300 provides information about the games to be bet on, received from the organizer server 200, to the user terminal 400. The sales agency server 300 is capable of selling all types of sports lottery betting tickets to users, but to make the invention easier to understand, an example will be described in which a single-match score selection type betting ticket for soccer is sold to a user.

[0027] In addition, the sales agency server 300 registers the team (favorite team / favorite club) that each user supports, and provides guidance information including the vote distribution of like-minded users who support the same team to users who are trying to purchase a voting ticket.

[0028] The user terminal 400 is, for example, a smartphone or a personal computer, and is operated by each user who wishes to purchase a betting ticket. In response to a user's operation, the user terminal 400 accesses the sales agent server 300, receives information about the game to be voted on, and displays various screens. For example, on the user terminal 400 of a user who has registered a support team, guidance information including the vote distribution of like-users who support the same team is displayed on a voting screen for purchasing voting tickets for a game in which the support team will participate. Then, when the user performs the operation required for voting on the user terminal 400 on which the voting screen is displayed, the user terminal 400 transmits the voting details to the sales agent server 300.

[0029] (General configuration of information processing device) A typical information processing device 500 in which the sales agent server 300 according to this embodiment is realized will be described.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 2, the information processing device 500 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 501, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 502, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 503, a NIC (Network Interface Card) 504, an image processing unit 505, an audio processing unit 506, an auxiliary memory unit 507, an interface 508, an operation unit 509, and a display unit 510.

[0031] A CPU 501 controls the overall operation of the information processing device 500, and is connected to each component to exchange control signals and data.

[0032] ROM 502 records an IPL (Initial Program Loader) that is executed immediately after power is turned on. When this IPL is executed, a program stored in auxiliary memory unit 507 is read into RAM 503 and execution of the program by CPU 501 begins.

[0033] The RAM 503 is for temporarily storing data and programs, and holds programs and data read from the auxiliary storage unit 507, as well as other data necessary for communication.

[0034] The NIC 504 is used to connect the information processing device 500 to a computer communication network such as the Internet, and may be configured as a 10BASE-T / 100BASE-T standard used in constructing a LAN (Local Area Network), an analog modem for connecting to the Internet using a telephone line, an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) modem, an ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) modem, a cable modem for connecting to the Internet using a cable television line, or the like.

[0035] The image processing unit 505 processes image data read from the auxiliary storage unit 507 or the like using an image calculation processor (not shown) provided in the CPU 501 or the image processing unit 505, and then records the processed image data in a frame memory (not shown) provided in the image processing unit 505. The image information recorded in the frame memory is converted into a video signal at a predetermined synchronous timing, and output to the display unit 510 via the interface 508 or the like. In other words, under the control of the CPU 501, the image processing unit 505 generates images required in the progress of processing performed by the information processing device 500, and causes the display unit 510 to display the images.

[0036] The audio processing unit 506 converts audio data read from the auxiliary storage unit 507 or the like into an audio signal and outputs it to, for example, an external speaker. In other words, under the control of the CPU 501, the audio processing unit 506 generates audio to be generated during the progress of processing performed by the information processing device 500, and outputs the audio from the speaker.

[0037] The auxiliary storage unit 507 is a hard disk or the like, and stores various programs and various data necessary for controlling the operation of the entire information processing device 500. For example, the auxiliary storage unit 507 stores a program for realizing the sales agency server 300 according to this embodiment. Then, under the control of the CPU 501, the auxiliary storage unit 507 appropriately reads out the stored programs and data, and temporarily stores them in the RAM 503 or the like.

[0038] An operation unit 509 and a display unit 510 are connected to the interface 508. Note that the interface 508 may also transmit and receive necessary information to and from other connected external devices.

[0039] The operation unit 509 accepts operation inputs from an operator or the like who uses the information processing device 500 .

[0040] The display unit 510 renders an image according to the image data output by the image processing unit 505 , and displays it to an operator or the like who uses the information processing device 500 .

[0041] Additionally, the information processing device 500 may include a drive unit such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM instead of the auxiliary storage unit 507. In this case, the information processing device 500 reads out programs and data from a DVD-ROM or the like that is loaded into the drive unit, and operates in the same manner as described above.

[0042] (Embodiment 1) Hereinafter, the functional configuration of the sales agency server 300 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3 to Fig. 9. This sales agency server 300 is realized by the above-mentioned information processing device 500. For example, when the information processing device 500 is powered on, a program that causes it to function as the sales agency server 300 is executed, and the sales agency server 300 according to the first embodiment is realized. The organizer server 200 and the user terminal 400 are also realized by an information processing device 500, but a description of these will be omitted and the following will describe the sales agent server 300, which is the most characteristic feature of the first embodiment.

[0043] (Functional configuration of the sales agent server according to the first embodiment) 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the sales agent server 300 according to embodiment 1. As shown in the figure, the sales agent server 300 includes a receiving unit 310, a transmitting unit 320, a storage unit 330, and a control unit 340.

[0044] The receiving unit 310 receives various information sent from the organizer server 200 or the user terminal 400 . For example, the receiving unit 310 receives information about the match sent from the organizer server 200. The receiving unit 310 also receives voting details and the like sent from the user terminal 400. In addition, the receiving unit 310 also receives information for registering a support team sent from the user terminal 400.

[0045] The above-mentioned NIC 504 or the like can function as such a receiving unit 310.

[0046] The transmitting unit 320 is controlled by the control unit 340 and transmits necessary information to the organizer server 200 or the user terminal 400 . For example, the transmission unit 320 transmits a selection screen for selecting a match to bet on, a voting screen for voting for the selected match, and the like to the user terminal 400. Then, when the user performs the operation required for voting on the voting screen, the transmission unit 320 transmits request information to the organizer server 200 to request the purchase of a voting ticket according to the voting content.

[0047] The above-mentioned NIC 504 or the like can function as such a transmission unit 320.

[0048] The storage unit 330 stores various information required for selling betting tickets to users. For example, the storage unit 330 stores user management information 331 for managing each user, and sales information 332 indicating the contents of the betting tickets sold to each user.

[0049] Specifically, the storage unit 330 stores user management information 331 as shown in Fig. 4. This user management information 331 includes a user ID 331a, a user name 331b, a supporting team 331c, and a payment method 331d.

[0050] Here, the cheering team 331c indicates which team the user indicated by the user ID 331a is cheering for (which team is registered as a favorite team / favorite club). As an example, the cheering team (favorite team / favorite club) set by the user at the time of user registration or the like is registered in the cheering team 331c. Furthermore, the payment method 331d is a credit card number, bank account number, or the like used when purchasing a betting ticket.

[0051] The storage unit 330 also stores sales information 332 as shown in Fig. 5. The sales information 332 includes a game ID 332a, a purchase date and time 332b, a purchasing user ID 332c, and voting details 332d.

[0052] Here, the game ID 332a is information for identifying a game related to a voting ticket purchased by a user indicated by the purchasing user ID 332c. Note that the game ID 332a includes games for which voting has not yet closed (games for which voting tickets are on sale). Also, the voting content 332d indicates the option voted (purchased) by the user indicated by the purchasing user ID 332c out of 18 options in the single game score selection method. Note that, although only one option is shown in the voting content 332d in Fig. 5, this is only an example, and multiple options may be included, and the number of votes may also be included.

[0053] In addition, the storage unit 330 also stores information about the match that the receiving unit 310 receives from the organizer server 200. For example, the storage unit 330 also stores information about each team participating in the match, the latest odds information, and information about the voting deadline.

[0054] The above-mentioned auxiliary storage unit 507 or the like can function as such a storage unit 330.

[0055] 3, the control unit 340 controls the entire sales agency server 300. The control unit 340 includes, for example, a registration unit 341, an acquisition unit 342, a counting unit 343, a providing unit 344, and a sales unit 345.

[0056] The registration unit 341 registers the team that each user supports among a plurality of teams (competitors) as a supported team (supported competitive entity). For example, the registration unit 341 registers a team that is set as a favorite (preferred) by the user during user registration, etc., as a supported team (preferred team / preferred club). Note that even after a supported team has been registered once, it may be possible to re-register another team as the supported team. That is, the latest supported team is managed as the supported team 331c in the user management information 331 of FIG.

[0057] The acquisition unit 342 acquires the voting details made by like-minded users whose supported team matches that of the user who is about to purchase a voting ticket, among users who have already voted for a match for which voting has not yet closed. For example, when a user logs in to the sales agency server 300 from the user terminal 400, the acquisition unit 342 refers to the user management information 331 shown in Fig. 4 described above to identify the support team of the user (user who is trying to purchase a betting ticket). Then, the acquisition unit 342 acquires the voting details 332d for a match for which voting has not closed and which has been made by a like-fan user, from the sales information 332 in Fig. 5 described above. The purchasing information of each user categorized by supported team may be managed (stored) in the above-mentioned storage unit 330. In this case, the acquisition unit 342 acquires the voting details that are for a match for which voting has not yet closed and that are categorized into the supported team that matches the supported team of the user who is about to purchase the voting ticket.

[0058] The tallying unit 343 tally up the distribution of votes of like-users for matches for which voting has not yet closed, based on the voting details acquired by the acquiring unit 342 described above. For example, the counting unit 343 counts the number of votes for each option for the voting content acquired by the acquisition unit 342, and tally up the vote distribution consisting of a top predetermined number of options (for example, the top three) with the most votes and the percentages accounted for by these options.

[0059] The providing unit 344 provides the vote distribution tabulated by the tabulating unit 343 to the user terminal 400, for example, by including the vote distribution in guide information about the game. For example, when a user who wishes to purchase a voting ticket selects a vote in which the team he or she supports will participate from a selection screen including a list of matches, the providing unit 344 provides guidance information including the vote distribution tallied by the counting unit 343 on the voting screen where the user votes for that match. Specifically, when a user who has registered "Team A" as the team he or she supports wishes to vote for a match in which "Team A" is participating, the provision unit 344 presents the voting distribution of like-users to the user by adding badges BG1 to BG3 of "◎", "○", and "▲" to the top three options SL that have received the most votes from like-users (other users who support "Team A") on the voting screen TG1 as shown in FIG. 6. Note that a symbol other than the badges BG1 to BG3 may be added to the option SL. For example, the providing unit 344 may add the recommendation symbol RC only to the option SL that has received the most votes from similar users among the options SL on the voting screen TG2 as shown in FIG. Besides this, the providing unit 344 may display the top three options with the most votes from similar users in a pie chart PC on a voting screen TG3 as shown in Fig. 8. Note that the pie chart PC is only an example, and the top options may be displayed in other types of graphs. Furthermore, the providing unit 344 may change the size of each option SL (more specifically, the operation object for specifying an option) in accordance with the distribution of votes from similar users on the voting screen TG4 as shown in Fig. 9. In other words, the option SL with a larger number of votes from similar users is drawn larger, and conversely, the option SL with a smaller number of votes from similar users is drawn smaller.

[0060] Note that the voting screens TG1 to TG4 shown in the above-mentioned Figures 6 to 9 are voting screens when the user selects a match in which the user's favorite team will participate, but even if the user selects a different match (a match in which the user's favorite team will not participate), the providing unit 344 may provide the user with a voting screen similar to the voting screens TG1 to TG4.

[0061] Returning to FIG. 3, for example, when the voting screens TG1 to TG4 as shown in FIGS. 6 to 9 described above are displayed on the user terminal 400 and the user operates the device to request the purchase of a voting ticket, the sales unit 345 sells the voting ticket for the requested voting content to the user, together with payment of the fee. In more detail, the sales unit 345 transmits request information to the organizer server 200 via the transmission unit 320 to request the purchase of a voting ticket related to the voting content, and confirms the sale of the voting ticket by receiving normal response information from the organizer server 200 via the reception unit 310. When the sale of the ballot ticket is confirmed, the sales unit 345 adds information about the newly sold ballot ticket to the sales information 332 shown in Fig. 5. That is, the sales unit 345 adds information about the game ID 332a, purchase date and time 332b, purchasing user ID 332c, and voting details 332d to the sales information 332.

[0062] The above-mentioned CPU 501 and the like can function as the control unit 340 having such a configuration.

[0063] (Operation of the sales agent server according to the first embodiment) Hereinafter, the operation of the sales agent server 300 according to the first embodiment configured as above will be described with reference to Fig. 10. Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of information provision processing executed by the sales agent server 300. This information provision processing is started, for example, when a user logs in to the sales agent server 300 from the user terminal 400.

[0064] First, the sales agent server 300 determines whether or not the supporting team has been registered (step S11). For example, the control unit 340 refers to the user management information 331 as shown in FIG. 4, and determines whether or not any team is registered as the support team 331c of the target user.

[0065] When the sales agent server 300 determines that the supporting team has already been registered (Step S11; Yes), the sales agent server 300 advances the process to Step S13, which will be described later.

[0066] On the other hand, if it is determined that the supporting team has not been registered (step S11; No), the sales agent server 300 registers the supporting team in accordance with the user's operation (step S12). For example, the control unit 340 (registration unit 341) transmits a registration screen for registering a support team to the user terminal 400, and registers the team designated by the user in the support team 331c of the user management information 331.

[0067] The sales agent server 300 acquires the voting details of the hobby users (step S13). That is, the control unit 340 (acquisition unit 342) acquires the voting details of like-minded users who have already voted for a match for which voting has not yet closed and whose favorite team matches that of the user who is about to purchase a voting ticket. For example, the control unit 340 refers to the user management information 331 shown in FIG. 4 to identify the team the user supports, and then obtains, from the sales information 332 in FIG. 5, voting details 332d for a match for which voting has not yet closed and which have been made by like-minded users.

[0068] The sales agent server 300 tally up the vote distribution of the like-users (step S14). That is, the control unit 340 (counting unit 343) counts up the vote distribution of like-users for matches for which voting has not yet closed, based on the voting details acquired in step S13 above. For example, the control unit 340 counts the number of votes for each option for the voting content acquired in step S13, and tally up a vote distribution consisting of a predetermined number of options with the most votes (for example, the top three) and the percentages accounted for by these options.

[0069] The sales agent server 300 provides the selection screen including the list of games to the user terminal 400 (step S15). For example, the control unit 340 provides the user terminal 400 with a selection screen for selecting a match to bet on.

[0070] The sales agent server 300 determines whether or not the game for which the user is to vote has been selected (step S16). For example, the control unit 340 determines whether any game has been selected from the selection screen provided to the user terminal 400.

[0071] When the sales agency server 300 determines that a game to be bet on has not been selected (step S16; No), it waits until a game is selected.

[0072] On the other hand, if it is determined that the match to be voted for has been selected (step S16; Yes), the sales agent server 300 provides the user terminal 400 with a voting screen including the voting distribution of like-users (step S17). That is, when a user selects from the selection screen to vote for the team the user supports to participate, the control unit 340 (provision unit 344) provides guidance information including the vote distribution tallied in step S14 described above on the voting screen where the user votes for that match. For example, the control unit 340 presents the voting distribution of like-users to the user by adding badges BG1 to BG3 of "◎", "○", and "▲" to the top three options SL that have received the most votes from like-users on a voting screen TG1 as shown in FIG. 6. Note that a symbol other than the badges BG1 to BG3 may be added to the options SL. For example, the control unit 340 may add the recommendation symbol RC only to the option SL that has received the most votes from similar users among the options SL on the voting screen TG2 as shown in FIG. Besides this, the control unit 340 may display the top three options with the most votes from similar users in a pie chart PC on a voting screen TG3 as shown in Fig. 8. Note that the pie chart PC is only an example, and the top options may be displayed in other types of graphs. Furthermore, the control unit 340 may change the size of each option SL (more specifically, the operation object for selecting an option) in accordance with the distribution of votes from similar users on the voting screen TG4 as shown in Fig. 9. In other words, the option SL with a larger number of votes from similar users is drawn larger, and conversely, the option SL with a smaller number of votes from similar users is drawn smaller.

[0073] When the user operates the voting screens TG1 to TG4 as shown in Figures 6 to 9 to be displayed on the user terminal 400 and requests the purchase of a voting ticket, the sales agency server 300 sells the voting ticket for the requested voting content to the user, together with payment of the fee. That is, the control unit 340 (sales unit 345) transmits request information to the organizer server 200 via the transmission unit 320 to request the purchase of a voting ticket related to the voting content, and confirms the sale of the voting ticket by receiving normal response information from the organizer server 200 via the reception unit 310.

[0074] By such information provision processing, a voting screen (voting screens TG1 to TG4 as shown in Figs. 6 to 9) including the vote distribution of hobby users who support the same team is provided to a user who is about to purchase a voting ticket. Therefore, the user can cast his / her vote by referring to the match results predicted by hobby users who have a deep understanding of the team that the user supports.

[0075] As a result, more useful information can be provided depending on the user who purchases the lottery ticket.

[0076] (Embodiment 2) In the above-mentioned first embodiment, the case where only the vote distribution of like-users is displayed on the voting screens TG1 to TG4 as shown in Figs. 6 to 9 has been described, but the vote distribution of users other than like-users may also be displayed together. Hereinafter, a second embodiment will be described which is characterized by also displaying the vote distribution of users other than those with similar preferences.

[0077] (Functional configuration of the sales agent server according to the second embodiment) 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the sales agent server 300 according to embodiment 2. As shown in the figure, the sales agent server 300 includes a receiving unit 310, a transmitting unit 320, a storage unit 350, and a control unit 360. The receiving unit 310 and the transmitting unit 320 have the same configuration as the receiving unit 310 and the transmitting unit 320 shown in FIG.

[0078] The storage unit 350 stores user management information 331, sales information 332, and purchase history information 351 indicating the contents of the betting tickets purchased by each user. The user management information 331 is the same as the user management information 331 shown in Fig. 4. The sales information 332 is the same as the sales information 332 shown in Fig. 5.

[0079] Specifically, the storage unit 350 stores purchase history information 351 as shown in Fig. 12. This purchase history information 351 includes a user ID 351a, a game ID 351b, a purchase date and time 351c, and voting details 351d.

[0080] Here, the game ID 332a is information for identifying a game related to a betting ticket purchased by the user indicated by the user ID 351a. Also, the voting content 351d indicates the option voted (purchased) by the user indicated by the user ID 351a among 18 options in the single game score selection method. Note that, although only one option is shown in the voting content 351d in Fig. 12, this is only an example, and multiple options may be included, and the number of votes may also be included.

[0081] In addition, the storage unit 350 also stores information about the match that the receiving unit 310 receives from the organizer server 200. For example, the storage unit 350 also stores information about each team participating in the match, the latest odds information, and information about the voting deadline.

[0082] The above-mentioned auxiliary storage unit 507 or the like can function as such a storage unit 350.

[0083] Returning to FIG. 11, the control unit 360 includes a registration unit 341 , a selection unit 361 , an acquisition unit 362 , a counting unit 363 , a provision unit 364 , and a sales unit 345 . The registration unit 341 and the sales unit 345 have the same configuration as the registration unit 341 and the sales unit 345 in the control unit 340 shown in FIG.

[0084] The selection unit 361 selects, from among a plurality of teams (competitors), a team different from the cheering team (cheering competitor) registered by the user as a comparison team (competitor). That is, the selection unit 361 selects, as the comparison team, a team that satisfies a predetermined frequency condition from among the voting contents in which the user has voted in the past, excluding the cheering team. For example, the selection unit 361 refers to the voting contents 351d of the target user from the purchase history information 351 as shown in Fig. 12 described above, and selects, as the comparison team, a team that has voted a predetermined number of times or more within a certain period, excluding the cheering team. In addition, when there are multiple teams that have cast a predetermined number of votes or more within a certain period of time, the selection unit 361 may select one team randomly chosen from among them as the comparison team, or may select the team that has cast the most votes from among them as the comparison team.

[0085] The acquisition unit 362 acquires the voting contents of like-users among users who have already voted for a match for which voting has not yet closed, and the voting contents of comparison users who have registered the comparison team as their support team. For example, like the acquisition unit 342 according to the above-described embodiment 1, the acquisition unit 362 acquires, from the sales information 332 in FIG. 5, voting contents 332d for a match for which voting has not closed and which has been made by like-minded users. Furthermore, the acquisition unit 362 acquires, from the sales information 332 in FIG. 5, voting content 332d for a match for which voting has not yet closed, which has been made by a comparison user who has registered the comparison team selected by the selection unit 361 as the support team. The purchasing information of each user categorized by cheering team may be managed (stored) in the above-mentioned storage unit 350. In this case, the acquisition unit 362 acquires voting contents for a match for which voting has not yet closed, and which are categorized as a cheering team that matches the cheering team of the user, and voting contents which are categorized as a cheering team that matches the comparison team selected by the selection unit 361.

[0086] The tallying unit 363 tally up the vote distribution of like-users and the vote distribution of comparison users for matches for which voting has not yet closed, based on the voting details acquired by the acquiring unit 362. For example, the counting unit 363 counts the number of votes for each option for the voting contents of the like-users acquired by the acquisition unit 362, and tally up the voting distribution of the like-users consisting of a top predetermined number of options (for example, the top three) with the most votes and the percentages accounted for by these options. Furthermore, the tallying unit 363 counts the number of votes for each option for the voting contents of the comparison user acquired by the acquisition unit 362, and tallys up the voting distribution of the comparison user consisting of a top predetermined number of options (for example, the top three) with the highest number of votes and the proportions accounted for by these options.

[0087] The providing unit 364 provides each vote distribution tabulated by the tabulating unit 363 to the user terminal 400, for example, by including the vote distribution in guide information about the game. For example, the providing unit 364 displays the top three options with the most votes from like-users in a pie chart PC1, and displays the top three options with the most votes from comparison users in a pie chart PC2 on a voting screen TG5 as shown in Fig. 13. Note that the pie charts PC1 and PC2 are merely examples, and the top options may be displayed in other types of graphs.

[0088] The above-mentioned CPU 501 and the like can function as the control unit 360 having such a configuration.

[0089] (Operation of the sales agent server according to the second embodiment) Hereinafter, the operation of the sales agent server 300 according to the second embodiment configured as above will be described with reference to Fig. 14. Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing the flow of information provision processing according to the second embodiment. In the information provision process shown in FIG. 14, steps S11, S12, S15, and S16 have the same process contents as those in the information provision process according to the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. Therefore, the processing contents that have already been explained will be explained in a simplified manner below. 14 is also started when the user logs in to the sales agent server 300 from the user terminal 400, for example.

[0090] First, the sales agent server 300 determines whether or not the supporting team has been registered (step S11), and if it determines that the supporting team has been registered (step S11; Yes), the sales agent server 300 proceeds to step S13, which will be described later. On the other hand, if it is determined that the supporting team has not been registered (step S11; No), the sales agent server 300 registers the supporting team in accordance with the user's operation (step S12).

[0091] The sales agent server 300 selects a comparison team (step S21). That is, the control unit 340 (selection unit 361) selects, from among a plurality of teams, a team different from the support team registered by the user as the comparison team. For example, the control unit 360 refers to the voting details 351d of the target user from the purchase history information 351 as shown in FIG. 12, and selects teams that have voted a predetermined number of times or more within a certain period of time, excluding the supported team, as the comparison team.

[0092] The sales agent server 300 acquires the voting contents of the like-users and the voting contents of the comparison users (step S22). That is, the control unit 360 (acquisition unit 362) acquires from the sales information 332 in FIG. 5 the voting details of like-minded users who have already voted for a match for which voting has not yet closed and whose favorite team matches that of the user attempting to purchase a voting ticket. Furthermore, the control unit 360 acquires, from the sales information 332 in FIG. 5, voting contents 332d for a match for which voting has not closed, and which have been made by a comparison user who has registered the comparison team selected in the above step S21 as the support team.

[0093] The sales agent server 300 tally up the vote distribution of the like-interest users and the vote distribution of the comparison users (step S23). For example, the control unit 360 (counting unit 363) counts the number of votes for each option for the voting contents of the like-users acquired in step S22 above, and counts the voting distribution of the like-users consisting of a predetermined number of options with the most votes (for example, the top three) and the percentages accounted for by these options. Furthermore, the control unit 360 counts the number of votes for each option for the voting contents of the comparison user, which were also obtained in step S22, and tally up the voting distribution of the comparison user, which consists of a predetermined number of options with the most votes (for example, the top three) and the percentages accounted for by these options.

[0094] The sales agent server 300 provides a selection screen including a list of games to the user terminal 400 (step S15), and determines whether or not the game to bet on has been selected by the user (step S16). When the sales agency server 300 determines that a game to be bet on has not been selected (step S16; No), it waits until a game is selected.

[0095] On the other hand, if it is determined that the match to be voted for has been selected (step S16; Yes), the sales agent server 300 provides the user terminal 400 with a voting screen including the voting distribution of like-users and the voting distribution of comparison users (step S24). For example, the control unit 360 (providing unit 364) displays the top three options with the most votes from like-users in a pie chart PC1, and displays the top three options with the most votes from comparison users in a pie chart PC2 on a voting screen TG5 as shown in Fig. 13. Note that the pie charts PC1 and PC2 are merely examples, and the top options may be displayed in other types of graphs.

[0096] When the voting screen TG5 as shown in FIG. 13 is displayed on the user terminal 400 and the user requests the purchase of a voting ticket, the sales agency server 300 sells the voting ticket for the requested voting content to the user, together with payment of the fee. That is, the control unit 360 (sales unit 345) transmits request information to the organizer server 200 via the transmission unit 320 to request the purchase of a voting ticket related to the voting content, and confirms the sale of the voting ticket by receiving normal response information from the organizer server 200 via the reception unit 310.

[0097] By such information provision processing, a voting screen (voting screen TG5 as shown in FIG. 13) including the voting distribution of like users and the voting distribution of comparison users is provided to a user who is about to purchase a voting ticket. Therefore, the user can cast his / her vote by referring to not only the match results predicted by like users who have a deep understanding of the team the user supports, but also the match results predicted by other comparison users.

[0098] As a result, more useful information can be provided depending on the user who purchases the lottery ticket.

[0099] (Other embodiments) In the above embodiment 2, a case has been described in which the voting distribution of the comparison users who support the comparison team selected by the selection unit 361 is presented together with the voting distribution of like users. Alternatively, the voting distribution that is most different from the voting distribution of like users among the voting distributions of the users who have already voted and are classified by supported team may be presented together with the voting distribution of like users. For example, the acquisition unit 362 further acquires the voting details of users who have already voted, excluding similar-interest users. In addition, the tallying unit 363 further tally up each of the vote distributions of the already-voted users classified into different supported teams based on the vote contents acquired by the acquisition unit 362. Then, the providing unit 364 presents, among the vote distributions tallied by the counting unit 363 for each supported team, the vote distribution that is most different from the vote distribution of the like-user, together with the vote distribution of the like-user.

[0100] In the above-mentioned first and second embodiments, a voting system in which a single-game score selection voting ticket for predicting and voting on a single game result can be purchased from a user terminal has been described as an example of a sports lottery, but the present invention can be applied to a voting system in which other types of voting tickets can be purchased. For example, the present invention can be applied to a voting system in which a multiple-game winning team selection voting ticket for predicting the winning team for each of a predetermined number of games (for example, 13 games or 5 games) can be purchased. In addition to such sports lotteries, the present invention can also be applied to betting systems that allow the purchase of betting tickets for public races such as bicycle racing, horse racing, and boat racing.

[0101] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a server device, an information providing method, and a program that can provide more useful information depending on the user who purchases a lottery ticket. [Explanation of symbols]

[0102] 100 Voting System 200 Host Server 300 Sales Agent Server 310 Receiving unit 320 Transmitter 330,350 storage section 331 User Management Information 332 Sales Information 351 Purchase History Information 340,360 Control section 341 Registration Department 342,362 Acquisition Department 343,363 Counting Department 344, 364 Providing Department 345 Sales Department 361 Selection Department 400 User terminals 500 Information processing equipment 501 CPU 502 ROM 503 RAM 504 NIC 505 Image Processing Unit 506 Audio Processing Unit 507 Auxiliary storage 508 Interface 509 Operation Unit 510 Display unit 900 Internet

Claims

1. A server device that provides guidance information regarding a game in which a plurality of athletes participate to a user who wishes to vote for the game, the server device comprising: a registration unit that registers a sports object that each user supports among the plurality of sports objects as a supporting sports object; An acquisition unit that acquires the voting details of users who have already voted for the game and who have the same interest as the user and the supporting sporting entity; a counting unit that counts the vote distribution of the hobby users in the game based on the vote content acquired by the acquisition unit; a providing unit that provides the vote distribution counted by the counting unit to the user by including the vote distribution in the guidance information; A selection unit that selects a competition object different from the support competition object registered by the user as a comparison competition object from among the plurality of competition objects, The acquisition unit further acquires the voting details of the comparison users who have registered the comparison competition object as the support competition object among the users who have already voted, The tallying unit further tallys up a voting distribution of the comparison users in the game based on the voting content acquired by the acquisition unit, The providing unit further includes the vote distribution of the comparison user tallied by the counting unit in the guidance information and provides the same to the user. A server device comprising:

2. The selection unit selects a game object that satisfies a predetermined frequency condition as the comparison game object based on the voting contents of the user in the past. The server device according to claim 1 .

3. the tallying unit tallying the vote distribution consisting of a top predetermined number of options with the most votes and the percentages of the options; 3. The server device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. the providing unit, when providing the user with a voting screen that accepts votes for the match, changes a size of an operation object for designating an option on the voting screen in accordance with the vote distribution.

3. The server device according to claim 1 or 2.

5. 1. An information providing method executed by a server device that provides guidance information regarding a game to a user who wishes to vote for a game in which multiple athletes participate, the method comprising: a registration step of registering a sports object that each user supports among the plurality of sports objects as a support sports object; An acquisition step of acquiring the voting details of users who have already voted for the game and who have the same interest as the user and the supporting sporting entity; a counting step of counting the vote distribution of the like-users in the game based on the vote contents acquired in the acquisition step; a providing step of including the vote distribution counted in the counting step in the guidance information and providing the information to the user; A selection step of selecting a competition body different from the support competition body registered by the user as a comparison competition body from among the plurality of competition bodies, In the acquiring step, the voting details of the comparison users who have registered the comparison competition object as the support competition object among the users who have already voted are further acquired, In the tallying step, a voting distribution of the comparison users in the game is further tallied based on the voting contents acquired in the acquiring step; In the providing step, the voting distribution of the comparison user counted in the counting step is further included in the guidance information and provided to the user.

13. An information providing method comprising:

6. A computer that provides guidance information regarding a game in which a plurality of athletes participate to a user who wishes to vote for the game, a registration step of registering a sports object that each user supports among the plurality of sports objects as a supporting sports object; an acquisition step of acquiring the voting details of users who have already voted for the game and who share the same interest as the user and the supporting sporting entity; a counting step of counting the vote distribution of the like-users in the game based on the vote contents acquired in the acquisition step; a providing step of including the vote distribution tallied in the tallying step in the guidance information and providing the information to the user; a selection step of selecting a competition body different from the support competition body registered by the user as a comparison competition body from among the plurality of competition bodies; In the acquiring step, the voting details of the comparison users who have registered the comparison competition object as the support competition object among the users who have already voted are further acquired, In the tallying step, a voting distribution of the comparison users in the game is further tallied based on the voting contents acquired in the acquiring step; In the providing step, the voting distribution of the comparison user counted in the counting step is further included in the guidance information and provided to the user. The program is characterized by causing the program to be executed in such a manner.

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