Gaming management system

• US 20060205496A1
• Filed: 03/10/2006
• Published: 09/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Aruze Corp.
• Original Assignee: Aruze Corp.
• Inventors: Fujimoto, Jun
• Application Number:
  US11/372,088
• Publication Number:
  US 20060205496A1
• 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 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes

Abstract

A gaming management system is established by means of interconnecting a plurality of gaming machines, each of which is provided with a card unit, a member management server, and an insurance management server. An ID number of a membership card read by means of a reader/writer of the card unit is transmitted from the gaming machine to the insurance management server. Moreover, the insurance management server determines whether or not coincidence exists between a security code transmitted from the gaming machine by means of buttons of the card unit and the security code that has been read from information about details of insurance stored in the insurance management server by reference to the ID number, to thus determine whether or not a person who has inserted the membership card into a card slot of the card unit is a insurant of the game insurance.

Claims

1. A gaming management system comprising:

a gaming machine that provides a game to a player;

a member management server that is connected to the gaming machine through a computer network; and

an insurance management server that is connected to the gaming machine and the member management server through the computer network,

wherein the gaming machine comprises;

a card unit that reads an ID number of a membership card;

an authorization unit that permits playing of the game on the gaming machine when the card unit detects the membership card;

a generation unit that generates game information pertaining to a result of the game; and

an input unit that is provided on the card unit,

wherein the member management server comprises a member management storage unit that stores member information associated with the ID number read by the card unit, and

wherein the insurance management server comprises;

an insurance management storage unit that stores insurance information and player identification information, which are associated with the player as an insurant of a game insurance;

a player identification unit that identifies the player as the insurant of the game insurance by determining whether of not information input through the input unit coincides with the player identification information stored in the insurance management unit;

a specifying unit that specifies the insurant based on the member information stored in the member management storage unit and the ID number read by the card unit, when the player identification unit identifies the player as the insurant; and

a game insurance payout determination unit that determines whether or not to pay the insurance coverage of the game insurance to the insurant specified by the specifying unit based on the game information generated by the generation unit and the insurance information stored in the insurance management storage unit.

2. A gaming management system comprising:

a gaming machine that provides a game to a player;

a member management server that is connected to the gaming machine through a computer network; and

an insurance management server that is connected to the gaming machine and the member management server through the computer network,

wherein the gaming machine comprises;

a game processing unit that provides the game to the player;

a card unit that reads identification information stored in a membership card, the identification information being set unique to each of the membership cards;

a generation unit that generates game information pertaining to a result of the game; and

an input unit that allows the player to input a command and information,

wherein the member management server comprises a member management storage unit that stores member information for identifying the player, the member information being associated with the identification information,

wherein the insurance management server comprises;

an insurance management storage unit that stores insurance information for the player as an insurant of a game insurance;

a specifying unit that specifies the insurant based on the member information and the identification information; and

a game insurance payout determination unit that determines whether or not to pay the insurance coverage of the game insurance to the insurant specified by the specifying unit based on the game information generated by the generation unit and the insurance information stored in the insurance management storage unit,

wherein the gaming management system further comprises a player identification unit that identifies the player as the insurant of the game insurance by determining whether of not the information input through the input unit coincides with a player identification information previously registered, and

wherein the specifying unit specifies the insurant when the player identification unit identifies the player as the insurant.

3. The gaming management system according to claim 2, wherein the player identification unit is provided in the insurance management server.

4. The gaming management system according to claim 2, wherein the player identification unit is provided in the gaming machine.

5. The gaming management system according to claim 2, wherein the player identification information is stored in the insurance management storage unit.

6. The gaming management system according to claim 2, wherein the player identification information is stored in the membership card.

7. The gaming management system according to claim 2, wherein the card unit allows the game processing unit to provide the game to the player when the identification information is read from the membership card.

8. The gaming management system according to claim 2, wherein the game processing unit provides the game in a state in which covered by the game insurance when the player is specified as the insurant by the specifying unit, and provides the game in a state in which uncovered by the game insurance when the player is not specified as the insurant by the specifying unit.

9. The gaming management system according to claim 2, wherein the card unit reads the identification information when the membership card is inserted into the card unit.

10. The gaming management system according to claim 9, wherein the card unit retains the membership card in the card unit during the game processing unit providing the game.

11. The gaming management system according to claim 10, wherein the card unit ejects the membership card when a command to eject the membership card is input through the input unit.