Patent Application
20240021046
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. Copyright 2022-2023, LNW Gaming, Inc.
The present invention relates generally with gaming devices and gaming systems that use cryptocurrency and related methods.
Various uses of cryptocurrencies are becoming well known; however, current casino gaming machines and systems do not provide for the uses of cryptocurrencies described herein.
Briefly and in general terms, various embodiments are directed towards devices, systems, and methods involving the use of cryptocurrency in player tracking and reward systems. Disclosed are methods of operating a casino gaming system to establish a play session for a player. The player may deposit cryptocurrency into a player account for the purpose of funding casino play. The player may also withdraw funds from the player account in the form of cryptocurrency. In some embodiments, the player may also redeem player loyalty points for cryptocurrency accepted by various merchants. In still other embodiments, the cryptocurrency held by the casino may be maintained on an enterprise blockchain. In some embodiments, the casino's cryptocurrency may be a wrapped version of a public cryptocurrency. In still other embodiments, the casino's cryptocurrency may be, or mimic, a public stablecoin. In further embodiments, multiple casinos may participate in an enterprise blockchain or distributed ledger system, allowing efficient use of a common private cryptocurrency in any of the participating casinos with minimal costs per transaction.
Features of the disclosed embodiments will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail preferred embodiments of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to the embodiments illustrated. For purposes of the present detailed description, the singular includes the plural and vice versa (unless specifically disclaimed); the words “and” and “or” shall be both conjunctive and disjunctive; the word “all” means “any and all”; the word “any” means “any and all”; and the word “including” means “including without limitation.”
For purposes of the present detailed description, the terms “wagering game,” “casino wagering game,” “gambling,” “slot game,” “casino game,” and the like include games in which a player places at risk a sum of money or other representation of value, whether or not redeemable for cash, on an event with an uncertain outcome, including without limitation those having some element of skill. In some embodiments, the wagering game involves wagers of real money, as found with typical land-based or online casino games. In other embodiments, the wagering game additionally, or alternatively, involves wagers of non-cash values, such as virtual currency, and therefore may be considered a social or casual game, such as would be typically available on a social networking web site, other web sites, across computer networks, or applications on smartphones (e.g., phones, tablets, etc.). When provided in a social or casual game format, the wagering game may closely resemble a traditional casino game, or it may take another form that more closely resembles other types of social/casual games. The term “casino” includes land-based casinos, racinos, and any other gaming establishments in which wagering games may be played, as well as online gaming venues such as web sites, social media applications and the like where a player's patronage of wagering games offered therein may be tracked for various purposes.
In various embodiments, one or more electronic gaming machines (EGMs) are in communication with a tracking system component of a casino gaming system that includes one or more servers or databases connected by a network. The player tracking system allows a casino to monitor the gaming activities of various players. Additionally, the player tracking system can store data related to a player's gaming habits. That is, a player can accrue player points that depend upon the amount and frequency of their wagers. Casinos can use these player points to compensate the loyal patronage of players. For example, casinos may award or “comp” free meals, room accommodations, tickets to shows, and invitations to casino events and promotional affairs.
Typically, the player tracking system is operatively connected to one or more input components at the EGMs. These input components include, but are not limited to, a slot for receiving a player tracking card, a keypad or equivalent, an electronic button receptor, a touchscreen, and the like. Biometric data related to an anonymous player who is not, yet a qualified player may be captured with a biometric input device incorporated into the player tracking subsystem of an EGM that the Player wishes to play (“the EGM”). For example, a camera, with or without player consent, may capture an image of the Player's face.
Often, the Player will already be formally enrolled in the player rating or point accruing program as a qualified player. As qualified players are typically issued player cards with magnetic stripes that can be inserted into and read by a card reader to establish a playing session, the establishment of a playing session is commonly known as “carding in.” Likewise, a qualified player terminates a playing session by removing their magnetic card from the card reader (“carding out”). For the purposes of this disclosure, even though the Player may not possess a physical player tracking card, any alternate means of establishing and ending play sessions described herein, for example, as described above or via a Bluetooth pairing of the smartphone with the EGM, will also be termed “card-in” and “card-out” events, respectively.
Once the Player has carded-in, information in the Player's database record and data collected during play of the EGM may be used in connection with issuing awards, bonuses, or services to the Player. That is, information collected during the playing session are added to the Player's player record. For example, the Player's average wager size, amounts of wins and losses, time spent on the gaming device and the like may be collected and stored. If this is not the first playing session established for the Player, any new information may be combined with stored information from the Player's previous playing sessions.
The combined information may be used by one or more of the servers of the system to restrict the activities of recognized anonymous problem gamblers or banned players, to restrict illegal activities such as, but not limited to, money laundering, counterfeiting, or underage gambling, or to authenticate or provide additional security measures for electronic funds transfer authorization, transaction auditing, or account-based gaming. The information may also be used to authenticate or provide additional security measures for electronic funds transfer authorization, transaction auditing, or account-based gaming.
In accordance with some embodiments, the Player may elect to move their game credits/cash from EGM to EGM without using vouchers or tickets. For example, the Player may use a funds transfer feature of an e-wallet, such as a Unified Wallet by SG Gaming, Inc., integrated into their smartphone application. Additionally, the Player may be able to transfer cash, credit, bonus cash, bonus credits, bonus points, or restricted credits from EGM to EGM. In accordance with one or more embodiments of this disclosure, the Player may also be able to transfer cryptocurrency to, from and within the casino system. In some embodiments, the player may also be able to transfer cryptocurrency from one casino account to another casino account.
Further details related to bonusing systems including a rewards server, a gaming or slot accounting server, and player tracking systems and servers are included in U.S. Pat. No. 9,466,170, entitled “NETWORKED GAMING SYSTEM COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS AND METHODS,” fully incorporated herein by explicit reference.
The above embodiments and others are illustrated and described herein, by way of example only, and not by way of limitation. Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to
In one embodiment, the various components of the system component panel 102 are mounted on a metal bracket (not shown) that may be fixed to the EGM. As shown in
The EGM processing board 208 is in communication with an audio amplifier/mixer 226 (which, in turn, is in communication with speakers 228), and one or more servers in the gaming network via an Ethernet switch 230. Additionally, as shown in
As shown in
The various components of the system component panel may have USB, serial, parallel, RS485, or Ethernet connections to the system components in the gaming cabinet or these components may be directly IP addressable on the gaming network. The GMU may have a connection to the base game through a serial SAS connection or optional G2S classes over Ethernet. The system components in the gaming cabinet may be connected to various servers using HTTPS over Ethernet. Firmware, media, operating systems, and configurations may be downloaded to the system components from the servers. Generally, this data is authenticated prior to installation on the system components.
In one embodiment, the system components in the electronic gaming machines 200 are connected to the servers via HTTPS over Ethernet. In other embodiments, the system components are connected to the servers by any connections known or developed in the art. Firmware, media, operating systems, and configurations may be downloaded to the system components from one or more servers in the gaming system 300. Again, downloaded data is typically authenticated prior to installation on the system components.
As shown in
In one embodiment, the Player downloads the mobile application (SG Universe) and registers through the mobile application. A player ID is generated and associated with the Player. For example, a mapping between this player ID and the Player's smartphone is kept in a record in the player tracking database. The data may be stored in encrypted format to enhance security. The Player may also be asked to supply a username and PIN associated with the new record. In one or more embodiments, the Player may elect to provide a cryptocurrency address associated with a cryptocurrency wallet and the Player ID may be associated with this address. In some embodiments, the Player may similarly register at a casino desk or kiosk. Further details related to wireless pairing of the Player's smartphone and an EGM for the purposes of establishing a playing session, funds transfers to and from the EGM and the like, including hardware and software details of electronic gaming machines, player tracking systems, applications and systems capable of supporting the various embodiments described above, are included in U.S. Pat. Publication 2016/0093166A1, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR WIRELESS CARD-IN AND CARD-OUT,” fully incorporated herein by explicit reference.
Referring to
As shown in
The Player's mobile wallet may be under control of a digital unified wallet manager, which is a combined interface exposed by multiple services aggregated into a single virtual service. The unified wallet manager provides a secure, auditable, scalable gaming wallet capable of managing real money, with multiple currency support, bonus points or promotions, loyalty points, virtual credits, and play or virtual money for multiple vertical gaming systems, an example of which is Unified Wallet by SG Gaming, Inc. Further details related to unified digital wallets are included in U.S. Pat. No. 10,607,442, entitled “A UNIFIED DIGITAL WALLET,” fully incorporated herein by explicit reference. In some embodiments, access to the unified wallet manager may be incorporated into the Player's mobile application (e.g., SG Universe).
In one or more embodiments, application program interfaces (API's) support a “bridge” capability that applies current exchange rates to the cryptocurrencies being converted to and from cash in the Player's unified wallet account with the casino. The API's may be provided by a business to business (B2B) partner, for example, Mena Software LLC, whose product CryptoAPIs may perform functions such as, but not limited to, handling blockchain transactions between the Player's crypto exchange wallet and a “transfer wallet” associated with the Player's unified wallet and between the Player's crypto wallet and a casino-managed “main wallet.” The API's may further set transaction limits, provide deposit call backs to enable the unified wallet to add converted cryptocurrency to its balance, provide authorization functions to ensure secure communication between the unified wallet and the APIs, and provide high availability of interactions with the public blockchains. The API's may also support Know Your Customer (KYC) analysis of crypto addresses to block transactions of potential bad actors. Further, the API's may ensure the possibility of high transaction volumes, provide an interface to the crypto exchanges via REST and web sockets, provide competitive exchange rates (0.015%-0.1%), support potentially hundreds of different cryptocurrencies, support 2FA verification, provide Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insured balances for cryptocurrencies such as Binance US, and provide different types of order transactions such as limit orders, market orders, stop-limit orders, etc.
As shown in
In
In the example, while the “receiving” blockchain address of the transfer wallet is known, the Player's crypto exchange “sending” blockchain address is not known to the mobile application. The Player is asked to enter the blockchain address assigned to the Player by the crypto exchange wallet associated with Bitcoin. As illustrated in
In
In alternate embodiments, the Player's mobile application and the APIs are not used to transfer the cryptocurrency from the crypto exchange wallet to the transfer wallet. Instead, Player identifies the “receiving” blockchain address of the transfer wallet to the crypto exchange wallet and uses the crypto exchange wallet application to move the desired amount of cryptocurrency to the transfer wallet.
The casino system monitors the balance of each player's transfer wallet. When cryptocurrency appears in the Player's transfer wallet, a “bridge” service (
Similarly, the Player may issue a request from the mobile application to the system to withdraw funds from their unified wallet into cryptocurrency. As illustrated by
As in the deposit process, the Player selects “Withdraw Crypto” from the menu screen depicted in
In the example shown, the mobile application does not control the cryptocurrency withdrawal process. Rather, the system decrements the Player's unified wallet cash balance and, if not already known by the mobile application, provides the main wallet's blockchain “sending” address to the mobile application, which may then forward it to the crypto exchange wallet. In
In still other embodiments, as illustrated by
In accordance with one or more embodiments, to further encourage acceptance from regulatory bodies and players, when cryptocurrency is transferred from the Player's transfer wallet into the casino main wallet, it may be converted by the bridge service into a cryptocurrency that is a stablecoin. If the Player deposits stablecoin into the transfer wallet, no conversion may be necessary. Stablecoins offer many benefits that other cryptocurrencies provide, with one essential difference: they are stable. In a market where the price of the assets one holds may be changing dramatically, the option to use cryptocurrency in a way that limits volatility is an important consideration for a regulated casino.
Centralized stablecoins backed by fiat are backed 1:1 by fiat currencies, which are stored in bank accounts. In most cases, stablecoins are pegged to widely used fiat currencies such as the U.S. Dollar or the Euro. Examples include Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), and Gemini USD (GUSD). Some are pegged to commodities, such as gold. They are centralized stablecoins because they are controlled by a central organization, which may be a company, a bank, or a government. Decentralized stablecoins backed by crypto do not have a central operator, but are governed by a consensus of the users who take part in the network. An example is Maker DAO's stablecoin, DAI. Users can lock up a certain amount of cryptocurrency, such as Ethers, as collateral for borrowing DAI, which is pegged to the U.S. Dollar. Decentralized algorithmic stablecoins do not have any collateral backing their system, and they rely on algorithms to get their price in order to remain stable. As each casino entity may select the types of stablecoin it prefers to use internally, any and all types of stablecoins fall within the scope of the various embodiments of the invention.
An example of a casino-preferred stablecoin might be an ERC-20 Token on the Ethereum blockchain that is pegged against a fiat currency. Players might prefer knowing that their cryptocurrency deposited with the casino (and converted to a cash equivalent in their unified wallet) is unlikely to fluctuate in value when they withdraw the cryptocurrency back out of their account. Similarly, a merchant accepting cryptocurrency from the Player's merchandise wallet might prefer that the cryptocurrency be a stablecoin. It is believed that a stablecoin used as the casino's internally held cryptocurrency would be more likely to receive regulatory approvals and be able to meet any compliance and financial auditing requirements.
In accordance with one or more alternate embodiments, the bridge service does not convert the cryptocurrency to a cash equivalent in the unified wallet and does not deposit the cryptocurrency into the casino main wallet. Rather, the cryptocurrency is placed into a crypto currency wallet that is part of the Player's unified wallet. In some embodiments, the only balance maintained by the unified wallet is a cryptocurrency balance. Cash deposited into the unified wallet is converted into the appropriate amount of the casino cryptocurrency, as are player loyalty points. The casino's cryptocurrency, in effect, becomes the unified wallet currency.
In some embodiments, the bridge service may “wrap” the cryptocurrency it stores in the Player's unified wallet. Blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum have different protocols and functionalities, and due to the fundamental difference in their algorithms, they cannot talk to each other. While this independence preserves individual blockchains' sovereignty and security, it also challenges the existence of an interoperable ecosystem where data and information can be easily exchanged. Where an efficient, smooth, and fast movement of funds is crucial, wrapped crypto tokens find a valid application. Wrapped crypto tokens are cryptocurrencies pegged to the value of another original cryptocurrency. The original asset is ‘wrapped’ into a digital vault, such as the casino main wallet, on the public blockchain. A newly minted token of corresponding value is then created on the enterprise blockchain for use with the various casino platforms, and the wrapped cryptocurrency token is stored in the Player's unified wallet.
Wrapped tokens allow non-native assets to be used on the casino blockchain. Since wrapped tokens are pegged to another asset, they necessarily need to be managed by a custodian entity, for example, the casino, which wraps and unwraps the asset. The custodian mints a token on a given platform, such as Ethereum, in an amount corresponding to the current value of the original incoming cryptocurrency. By a similar process, when the wrapped token needs to be converted back into the original asset (a coin like Ethereum or Bitcoin), the system will request the casino to release the original token from the main wallet for transfer to the Player's crypto exchange wallet and the wrapped token is destroyed. These transactions are typically controlled by smart contracts.
In accordance with one or more embodiments, the wrapped cryptocurrency may be maintained on an “enterprise blockchain” independent of the public blockchains. An enterprise blockchain is a type of permissioned blockchain that can be used to streamline business processes at scale. Corporations may believe this type suits their needs better than a public blockchain network, such as Bitcoin, because the visibility of their data can be restricted to a select group of parties. While there are different types of blockchains, they are all essentially digital records of financial transactions and data that are shared among a group of entities. They also use cryptography to make it difficult for malicious agents to manipulate the history of previous transactions. A vast majority of enterprise blockchains are “permissioned blockchains,” meaning only companies involved in the enterprise blockchain have direct control over them. For instance, they can block transactions that do not comply with their rules, or if law enforcement asks them to do so. In the example embodiments, the enterprise blockchain may be controlled, for example, by a casino, a casino brand, a manufacturer of a casino's player tracking system or some combination thereof.
Some of the main characteristics of enterprise blockchains include accountability, that they are permissioned, that they are mutable and that they are scalable.
Accountability: Each node in the network—which each holds a copy of the transaction history—is known and can be held accountable for its actions. For example, often enterprise blockchains are shared by a few companies or financial entities in a cooperative format. In the example embodiments, the casino, multiple casinos within the casinos brand and merchants offering merchandise in exchange for the casino's cryptocurrency would be examples of entities each having a node on the enterprise blockchain.
Permissioned: Only users who have permission can use the blockchain. The network owner(s) can choose who is allowed to use it and who is not.
Mutable: Unlike in a public blockchain, if all entities managing the network agree, the data can be changed.
Scalability: Because enterprise blockchains are typically not as decentralized as a public blockchain, for example, Bitcoin, they can easily support more transactions at the base layer.
In some embodiments, the enterprise blockchain may not actually include a blockchain, but instead be based on a distributed ledger technology (DLT). For example, R3's Corda is a scalable, permissioned peer-to-peer (P2P) distributed ledger technology platform that enables the building of applications that foster and deliver digital trust between parties in regulated markets. For the purposes of this disclosure, the term “enterprise blockchain” includes both enterprise blockchains and such DLT implementations.
In accordance with one or more embodiments, as illustrated by
While the process of creating and managing an enterprise cryptocurrency based on an enterprise blockchain generally defeats the purpose of an open and decentralized blockchain ecosystem, a casino environment is already a regulated and trusted custodian of player funds. Great advantages are found in rapid and inexpensive processing based on a proof of authority model vs. the expensive and relatively time-consuming public proof of work model found in public blockchains. This may be especially beneficial in cases where the casino maintains all of the player unified wallet balances in the form of the casino's wrapped stablecoin. For example, the posting of accumulated player loyalty points to their unified wallets alone would create a large number of mining transactions that would be cost prohibitive if performed using the cryptocurrency in its unwrapped form on a public blockchain. With proof of authority consensus, the blockchain transactions on the enterprise blockchain blocks can be internally validated and confirmed by trusted nodes controlled by the casino or a similar trusted centralized notary.
While the example embodiments have been described with relation to a gaming environment, specifically a casino, it will also be appreciated that the above concepts can also be used in various other gaming environments. Accordingly, the disclosure should not be limited strictly to gaming casinos, but extended to arcades, portal-based game sites, and social media game sites. The EGM should be considered to be extended to include smartphone and tablet devices, personal digital assistant devices, laptops, personal computers, home game consoles, bar top gaming devices, table gaming devices, surface computing devices, television gaming, or in-room gaming devices.
One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that not all EGMs and gaming systems have all of these components and may have other components in addition to, or in lieu of, those components mentioned here. Furthermore, while these components are viewed and described separately, various components may be integrated into a single unit in some embodiments.
The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, uses specific nomenclature and formula to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosure. It should be apparent to those of skill in the art that the specific details are not required in order to practice the disclosure. The embodiments have been chosen and described to best explain the principles of the disclosure and its practical application, thereby enabling others of skill in the art to utilize the disclosure, and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Thus, the foregoing disclosure is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed, and those of skill in the art recognize that many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings.
Each of these embodiments and obvious variations thereof is contemplated as falling within the spirit and scope of the claimed invention, which is set forth in the following claims. Moreover, the present concepts expressly include any and all combinations and sub combinations of the preceding elements and aspects.
This patent application claims priority benefit to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/388,350 filed Jul. 12, 2022. The 63/388,350 Application is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63388350 | Jul 2022 | US |
