Mechanical Ball Draw Machine for Fixed Odds Betting
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing random number generator mechanism used to determine the outcome of electronic games is not permissible in all jurisdictions, leading to regulatory issues and increased costs, while mechanical ball draw machines are considered less susceptible to tampering and subject to less stringent regulations.
Innovation Solution
A mechanical ball draw device is configured to draw balls from subsets with varying numbers, allowing fixed odds betting by identifying the subset identity of drawn balls, with a game controlling device managing the ball machine to determine the game result, and incorporating backup ball machines for reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a random number generator is used to determine the outcome of an electronic game, then the game can be played and results determined, but the game becomes subject to complicated and costly regulatory schemes or is not permissible in some jurisdictions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the electronic random number generator with a mechanical ball draw machine. This substitution uses physical mechanical components (balls, draw machine) instead of electronic software-based random number generation, thereby eliminating the regulatory issues associated with RNG in certain jurisdictions while maintaining the core function of determining game outcomes.
2Adaptability or versatility
If subsets with different numbers of balls are used to determine fixed odds, then fixed odds betting can be enabled, but the ball distribution becomes more complex to manage
Solution Approach 1:
The set of balls is segmented into multiple subsets, where each subset contains a specific number of balls corresponding to different participants or outcomes. This segmentation allows for fixed odds betting by assigning different probabilities to different outcomes based on the number of balls in each subset, while the mechanical draw machine handles the complexity of managing these distributions.
Solution Approach 2:
Different subsets of balls have different local qualities in terms of their quantity, which directly corresponds to different odds. Each subset is locally optimized to represent specific betting options with predetermined probabilities, allowing players to place bets on outcomes with known fixed odds based on the ball distribution in each subset.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple balls are drawn to determine multiple positions, then more betting options become available, but the time to determine results increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical ball draw machine is pre-configured with all balls in their respective subsets before the game begins. This preliminary arrangement allows for rapid sequential drawing of multiple balls to determine multiple positions (first, second, third place) without requiring complex real-time calculations or reconfiguration, thereby providing various betting options while minimizing result determination time.
Data Source
AI summary
There is disclosed a method of determining a result of an electronic game in order to allow fixed odds betting on the result. The method comprises providing a mechanical ball draw machine (3) configured to draw one ball at a time from a set of balls also provided to said mechanical ball machine (3). The set of balls consists of a plurality of subsets of one or more balls, at least some of the subsets having different numbers of balls and each ball being identifiable as belonging to a subset, whereby the relative numbers of balls in the subsets determine the likelihood of a ball from a subset being drawn thus allowing fixed odds betting to be carried out on a result is determined on the basis of subset identity. The method further comprises drawing a ball or balls using the mechanical ball machine (3) until sufficient balls have been drawn to enable a result to be determined, identifying the subset to which each said ball or balls belongs, and determining the result of the electronic game from the identified subset or subsets.