Secure offline interactive gambling

• US 20050107157A1
• Filed: 12/27/2002
• Published: 05/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Synamedia Limited
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wachtfogel, David Mordechai, Wachtfogel, Reuven
• Granted Patent: US 8,721,457 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/29
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3232 wherein the operator is informed
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3288 Betting, e.g. on live events, bookmaking

Abstract

A secure offline interactive gambling system includes a subscriber unit operative, through interaction with a user, to execute an offline interactive gambling application, a secure processor operatively associated with the subscriber unit and a central gambling facility. The secure processor includes a random gambling input generator operative to randomly or pseudo-randomly generate gambling input to the offline interactive gambling application during execution of the offline interactive gambling application, and a secure memory operatively associated with the random gambling input generator and operative to securely store information related to the execution of the offline interactive gambling application. The information, that is securely stored and the user cannot modify, typically includes the gambling input and user selections made in response to the gambling input and can be used to derive at least one result of the offline interactive gambling application. The information is transmitted to the central gambling facility that re-executes the offline interactive gambling application with the information replacing the gambling input actually generated and the user selections actually entered. By re-executing the offline interactive gambling application at the central gambling facility the at least one result is derived and validated and the user may be credited or debited based on the at least one result. Related apparatus and method are also described.

Claims

1-64. -64. (canceled)

65. A secure offline interactive gambling system comprising:

a subscriber unit operative, through interaction with a user, to execute an offline interactive gambling application;

a secure processor operatively associated with the subscriber unit and comprising;

a random gambling input generator operative to at least one of randomly and pseudo-randomly generate gambling input to the offline interactive gambling application during execution of the offline interactive gambling application, and

a secure memory operatively associated with the random gambling input generator and operative to securely store information related to the execution of the offline interactive gambling application, said information comprising information from which at least one result of the offline interactive gambling application can be derived; and

a central gambling facility operative to receive said information from the secure processor, to check said information and to decide said at least one result of the offline interactive gambling application.

66. :

The system according to claim 65 and wherein said information related to the execution of the offline interactive gambling application comprises a log of at least some user selections made in response to said gambling input during execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

67. :

The system according to claim 65 and wherein said information related to the execution of the offline interactive gambling application comprises a log of all user selections made in response to said gambling input during execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

68. :

The system according to claim 65 and wherein said information related to the execution of the offline interactive gambling application comprises a log of at least some of the gambling input generated by the random gambling input generator during execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

69. :

The system according to claim 65 and wherein said information related to the execution of the offline interactive gambling application comprises a log of all the gambling input generated by the random gambling input generator during execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

70. :

The system according to claim 65 and also comprising a communication interface operatively associated with the subscriber unit and the secure processor and operative to securely transmit said information related to the execution of the offline interactive gambling application to said central gambling facility.

71. :

The system according to claim 70 and wherein said communication interface is also operative to receive indications of at least one of credit and debit.

72. :

The system according to claim 65 and wherein the subscriber unit comprises a set-top box (STB) and the secure processor is comprised in a removable security element.

73. :

The system according to claim 72 and wherein the removable security element comprises a smart card.

74. :

The system according to claim 65 and wherein the offline interactive gambling application comprises a game that is at least partially based on chance.

75. :

The system according to claim 74 and wherein the game comprises at least one of the following;

a game of Poker;

a game of Blackjack; and

a Roulette game.

76. :

The system according to claim 65 and wherein said central gambling facility is comprised in a headend.

77. :

The system according to claim 65 and wherein said central gambling facility is operative to check said information and to decide said at least one result by re-executing the offline interactive gambling application with said information replacing said gambling input and user selections made in response to said gambling input.

78. :

The system according to claim 77 and wherein said central gambling facility re-executes the offline interactive gambling application by performing at least one of the following;

a repeated execution of a portion of the offline interactive gambling application;

a repeated execution of the entire offline interactive gambling application; and

execution of a corresponding verification application that provides results substantially identical to results obtained by execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

79. :

The system according to claim 77 and wherein said central gambling facility re-executes the offline interactive gambling application in a secure mode.

80. :

A central gambling facility in a gambling system, the central gambling facility comprising;

a central gambling facility communication interface operative to receive from a secure processor associated with a subscriber unit of the gambling system information comprising the following;

gambling input which is at least one of randomly and pseudo-randomly generated for an offline interactive gambling application during execution of said offline interactive gambling application, and

user selections made by a user in response to said gambling input during execution of the offline interactive gambling application; and

a processing unit operatively associated with the central gambling facility communication interface and operative to check said information and to derive from said information at least one result of the offline interactive gambling application.

81. :

The central gambling facility according to claim 80 and wherein said processing unit is operative to check said information and to derive said at least one result by re-executing the offline interactive gambling application with said information replacing said gambling input and said user selections.

82. :

The central gambling facility according to claim 81 and wherein said processing unit re-executes the offline interactive gambling application by performing at least one of the following;

a repeated execution of a portion of the offline interactive gambling application;

a repeated execution of the entire offline interactive gambling application; and

execution of a corresponding verification application that provides results substantially identical to results obtained by execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

83. :

The central gambling facility according to claim 81 and wherein said processing unit re-executes the offline interactive gambling application in a secure mode.

84. :

The central gambling facility according to claim 80 and wherein said processing unit is also operative to determine at least one of winnings and losses of the user resulting from execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

85. :

The central gambling facility according to claim 84 and wherein the processing unit is also operative to generate indications of at least one of credit and debit for the user in response to a determination of the at least one of winnings and losses respectively.

86. :

The central gambling facility according to claim 85 and wherein the processing unit is operative to respectively provide said indications of at least one of credit and debit to the secure processor.

87. :

A secure offline interactive gambling method comprising;

executing an offline interactive gambling application;

at least one of randomly and pseudo-randomly generating gambling input to the offline interactive gambling application during execution of the offline interactive gambling application;

securely storing information related to the execution of the offline interactive gambling application, said information comprising information from which at least one result of the offline interactive gambling application can be derived;

securely transmitting said information related to the execution of the offline interactive gambling application to a central gambling facility;

checking said information at said central gambling facility; and

deciding, at said central gambling facility, said at least one result of the offline interactive gambling application based on said checking.

88. :

The method according to claim 87 and wherein said checking and said deciding comprise re-executing the offline interactive gambling application with said information replacing said gambling input and user selections made in response to said gambling input.

89. :

The method according to claim 88 and wherein said re-executing comprises at least one of the following;

repeating execution of a portion of the offline interactive gambling application;

repeating execution of the entire offline interactive gambling application; and

executing a corresponding verification application that provides results substantially identical to results obtained by execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

90. :

The method according to claim 88 and wherein said re-executing comprises re-executing the offline interactive gambling application in a secure mode.

91. :

The method according to claim 87 and wherein said securely storing comprises securely storing a log of some user selections made in response to said gambling input during execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

92. :

The method according to claim 87 and wherein said securely storing comprises securely storing a log of all user selections made in response to said gambling input during execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

93. :

The method according to claim 87 and wherein said securely storing comprises securely storing a log of some of the gambling input generated during execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

94. :

The method according to claim 87 and wherein said securely storing comprises securely storing a log of all the gambling input generated during execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

95. :

The method according to claim 87 and also comprising determining at the central gambling facility, based on the at least one result, at least one of winnings and losses of a user resulting from execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

96. :

The method according to claim 95 and also comprising generating indications of at least one of credit and debit for the user in response to a determination of said at least one of winnings and losses respectively.

97. :

The method according to claim 96 and also comprising transmitting said indications of at least one of credit and debit to the user.

98. :

The method according to claim 91 and also comprising statistically analyzing said log to identify improbable winning rates indicating fraud in the execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

99. :

The method according to claim 98 and wherein said statistically analyzing comprises checking to identify a spike in winning rate of at least one of a single user and a plurality of users.

100. :

The method according to claim 91 and wherein said log is a fixed-length log, said information cannot be comprised in a single log, and the method also comprises opening a new log when a preceding log associated with the offline interactive gambling application reaches its end, the new log having a log identity which is identical to a log identity of the preceding log.

101. :

A secure offline interactive gambling system comprising;

a subscriber unit operative to insecurely store an offline interactive gambling application including all rules governing execution of the offline interactive gambling application, and, through interaction with a user, to execute the offline interactive gambling application; and

a secure processor operatively associated with the subscriber unit and comprising;

a random gambling input generator operative to at least one of randomly and pseudo-randomly generate gambling input to the offline interactive gambling application during execution of the offline interactive gambling application, and

a secure memory operatively associated with the random gambling input generator and operative to securely store information related to the execution of the offline interactive gambling application, said information comprising information from which at least one result of the offline interactive gambling application can be derived.

102. :

The system according to claim 101 and wherein said information related to the execution of the offline interactive gambling application comprises a log of at least some user selections made in response to said gambling input during execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

103. :

The system according to claim 101 and wherein said information related to the execution of the offline interactive gambling application comprises a log of all user selections made in response to said gambling input during execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

104. :

The system according to claim 101 and wherein said information related to the execution of the offline interactive gambling application comprises a log of at least some of the gambling input generated by the random gambling input generator during execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

105. :

The system according to claim 101 and wherein said information related to the execution of the offline interactive gambling application comprises a log of all the gambling input generated by the random gambling input generator during execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

106. :

The system according to claim 101 and also comprising a communication interface operatively associated with the subscriber unit and the secure processor and operative to securely transmit said information related to the execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

107. :

The system according to claim 106 and wherein said communication interface is also operative to receive indications of at least one of credit and debit.

108. :

The system according to claim 101 and wherein the subscriber unit comprises a set-top box (STB) and the secure processor is comprised in a removable security element.

109. :

The system according to claim 108 and wherein the removable security element comprises a smart card.

110. :

The system according to claim 101 and wherein the offline interactive gambling application comprises a game that is at least partially based on chance.

111. :

The system according to claim 110 and wherein the game comprises at least one of the following;

a game of Poker;

a game of Blackjack; and

a Roulette game.

112. :

The system according to claim 101 and also comprising a central gambling facility operative to check said information and to decide said at least one result of the offline interactive gambling application.

113. :

The system according to claim 112 and wherein said central gambling facility is operative to check said information and to decide said at least one result by re-executing the offline interactive gambling application with said information replacing said gambling input and user selections made in response to said gambling input.

114. :

The system according to claim 113 and wherein said central gambling facility re-executes the offline interactive gambling application by performing at least one of the following;

a repeated execution of a portion of the offline interactive gambling application;

a repeated execution of the entire offline interactive gambling application; and

execution of a corresponding verification application that provides results substantially identical to results obtained by execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

115. :

The system according to claim 113 and wherein said central gambling facility re-executes the offline interactive gambling application in a secure mode.

116. :

A secure offline interactive gambling method comprising;

insecurely storing an offline interactive gambling application including all rules governing execution of the offline interactive gambling application;

executing the offline interactive gambling application through interaction with a user;

at least one of randomly and pseudo-randomly generating gambling input to the offline interactive gambling application during execution of the offline interactive gambling application; and

securely storing information related to the execution of the offline interactive gambling application, said information comprising information from which at least one result of the offline interactive gambling application can be derived.

117. :

The method according to claim 116 and wherein said securely storing comprises securely storing a log of at least some user selections made in response to said gambling input during execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

118. :

The method according to claim 116 and wherein said securely storing comprises securely storing a log of all user selections made in response to said gambling input during execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

119. :

The method according to claim 116 and wherein said securely storing comprises securely storing a log of at least some of the gambling input generated during execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

120. :

The method according to claim 116 and wherein said securely storing comprises securely storing a log of all the gambling input generated during execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

121. :

The method according to claim 116 and also comprising securely transmitting said information related to the execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

122. :

The method according to claim 121 and also comprising receiving indications of at least one of credit and debit.

123. :

The method according to claim 116 and wherein the offline interactive gambling application comprises a game that is at least partially based on chance.

124. :

The method according to claim 123 and wherein the game comprises at least one of the following;

a game of Poker;

a game of Blackjack; and

a Roulette game.

125. :

The method according to claim 116 and also comprising checking said information and deciding said at least one result of the offline interactive gambling application at a central gambling facility.

126. :

The method according to claim 125 and wherein said checking and said deciding comprise re-executing the offline interactive gambling application with said information replacing said gambling input and user selections made in response to said gambling input.

127. :

The method according to claim 126 and wherein said re-executing comprises at least one of the following;

repeating execution of a portion of the offline interactive gambling application;

repeating execution of the entire offline interactive gambling application; and

executing a corresponding verification application that provides results substantially identical to results obtained by execution of the offline interactive gambling application.

128. :

The method according to claim 126 and wherein said re-executing comprises re-executing the offline interactive gambling application in a secure mode.

129. :

A secure offline interactive gambling system comprising;

means for executing an offline interactive gambling application through interaction with a user;

means for securely processing which comprise;

means for at least one of randomly and pseudo-randomly generating gambling input to the offline interactive gambling application during execution of the offline interactive gambling application, and

means for securely storing information related to the execution of the offline interactive gambling application, said information comprising information from which at least one result of the offline interactive gambling application can be derived; and

means for receiving said information from said means for securely processing, for checking said information, and for deciding said at least one result of the offline interactive gambling application.

130. :

A central gambling facility in a gambling system, the central gambling facility comprising;

means for receiving information which comprises;

gambling input which is at least one of randomly and pseudo-randomly generated for an offline interactive gambling application during execution of said offline interactive gambling application, and

user selections made by a user in response to said gambling input during execution of the offline interactive gambling application; and

means for checking said information and for deriving from said information at least one result of the offline interactive gambling application.

131. :

A secure offline interactive gambling system comprising;

means for insecurely storing an offline interactive gambling application including all rules governing execution of the offline interactive gambling application, and for executing the offline interactive gambling application through interaction with a user; and

means for securely processing which comprise;

means for at least one of randomly and pseudo-randomly generating gambling input to the offline interactive gambling application during execution of the offline interactive gambling application, and

means for securely storing information related to the execution of the offline interactive gambling application, said information comprising information from which at least one result of the offline interactive gambling application can be derived.