Importance

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Abstract

A telephone network is modified so that callers making telephone calls can engage in a game of chance to win a prize without having had to specially dial the game processor, i.e., the telephone numbers of the telephone calls are independent of the game processor. In one embodiment of the invention, the game processor is part of the switch that processes calls through a telecommunications network. Upon conclusion of the game, the caller is supplied with an indication as to whether or not he is a winner and will receive a prize. The determination that a caller is a winner need be made only if the call was successfully completed, that is, routed to a destination at which the call is answered. Advantageously, a) games of chance are attractive to people, especially when it costs nothing to enter, b) the determination that a caller is a winner can be immediately conveyed to him, and c) by proper selection of the odds of winning and the value of prizes, the game can be arranged so that its cost to a telecommunications carder is less than that carrier's present discounting program.

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First Claim