Universal game server

• US 20050221898A1
• Filed: 05/16/2005
• Published: 10/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: Cyberview Technology, Inc. (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Gatto, Jean-Marie, Brunet de Courssou, Thierry, Beney, Pierre-Jean
• Granted Patent: US 8,864,576 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3223 Architectural aspects of a gaming system, e.g. internal configuration, master/slave, wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3225 Data transfer within a gaming system, e.g. data sent between gaming machines and users
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3241 Security aspects of a gaming system, e.g. detecting cheating, device integrity, surveillance computer security G06F21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes

Abstract

A trusted disaster tolerant system architecture supporting concurrently a number of distributed online gaming operations such as slip-scan lottery, video lottery, fixed odd betting terminals, Internet gaming, and interactive TV. A personality front end resolves the peculiarities of the various client systems before submitting the relevant transactional payload to a trusted transactional cache. A universal game random generator may be used either at the central game server or at each individual gaming machine, thus conferring a significant trust to the entire estate of gaming machines fitted with the game random generator. An auditable trusted log allows to rapidly resolve any dispute. The instant-draw model and the differed-draw model are supported. The system may advantageously be used in casino environments.

Claims

1-55. -55. (canceled)

56. A gaming system comprising:

a communication network;

at least one central web server, each of the at least one central web server being coupled to the network,

at least one central transaction server, each of the at least one central transaction server being coupled to the network and,

at least one web browser based gaming machine coupled to the communication network, each of the at least one web browser based gaming machine comprising;

a standard web browser being configured to display rich page content and animations of the games produced by the at least one central web server, and

a plug-in for the standard web browser, the plug-in being configured to carry out a game transaction for each game played and to commit each game transaction to the at least one central transaction server.

57. A gaming system according to claim 56 wherein the communication network includes the Internet.

58. A gaming system according to claim 56, wherein the plug-in is configured to complete the game transaction upon receipt of a validation transaction from the at least one central transaction server.

59. A gaming system according to claim 56, wherein the committed game transaction includes an inbound game payload comprising at least one of a gaming machine ID, a user/player ID, a transaction GUID, a gaming machine originating/return address, a game ID, a game bet, and an amount wagered.

60. A gaming system according to claim 59 whereby the validation transaction from the at least one central transaction server includes an outbound packet comprising at least one of a gaming machine ID, a user/player ID, a transaction GUID, and an outcome of the game.

61. A gaming system according to claim 56, wherein the plug-in is further configured to commit each game transaction to each of the at least one central transaction servers.

62. (canceled)