Interactive wagering system with wireless wagering capabilities

Abstract

An interactive wagering application is provided that allows users to place wagers wirelessly. Users may use wireless user devices in the home to communicate with in-home user equipment such as a set-top box or personal computer. Wagers may be created using the wireless user devices and submitted to computer equipment for processing over a wireless link with the in-home user equipment and a communications network. The system may support multiple users. Users may use wireless user equipment that communicates with the communications network. The wireless user equipment may use protocols such as the wireless application protocol to allow the users to submit wagers.

1 . A method for submitting electronic wagers on races that are to be run to computer equipment over a communications network using an interactive wagering application that is implemented on in-home user equipment and at least one wireless portable computing device with a display that is in two-way wireless communications with the in-home user equipment, the method comprising: 
 providing a user at the wireless portable computing device with on-screen options on the display of the wireless portable computing device that allow the user to create a wager for a given race to be run, wherein the on-screen options are based at least in part on information received over a wireless communications path between the wireless portable computing device and the in-home user equipment, and wherein the information is based at least in part on racing data received by the in-home user equipment from the communications network;    wirelessly transmitting the wager from the wireless portable computing device to the in-home user equipment over the wireless communications path in response to user input to submit the wager for processing; and    transmitting the wager from the in-home user equipment to the computer equipment over the communications network for processing.