GAMING SYSTEM FILE AUTHENTICATION

• US 20070021195A1
• Filed: 06/22/2006
• Published: 01/25/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sg Gaming, Inc. (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sg Gaming, Inc. (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Campbell, Steven, Ryan, Chad
• Application Number:
  US11/425,831
• Publication Number:
  US 20070021195A1
• 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 17/323 wherein the player is informed, e.g. advertisements, odds, instructions
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3241 Security aspects of a gaming system, e.g. detecting cheating, device integrity, surveillance computer security G06F21/00

Abstract

A gaming system utilizes watermarks in files to provide file authentication. In one embodiment, the files contain images or video clips. Selected frames of such images or video clips contain a watermark, which is compared to a key stored in the gaming system. The key may be stored in a non-volatile random access memory in the gaming system. In one embodiment, the memory is not modifiable by a customer.

Claims

1. A gaming machine implemented method comprising:

reading a frame from a file;

extracting a watermark from the frame; and

comparing the extracted watermark to a key to authenticate the frame.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the file comprises audio/video information stored on the gaming machine.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein a frame or file contains more than one watermark.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the file comprises multiple audio/video frames, and wherein every nth frame contains a watermark, wherein n ranges between approximately 30 to 50.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein authentication is performed continuously while reading frames from a file.

6. The method of claim 5 and further comprising outputting frames from the files to users of the gaming machine as selected frames are authenticated.

7. The method of claim 1 and further comprising stopping execution of a game when an extracted watermark does not successfully compare to a corresponding key.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein a small percentage of files are authenticated during a boot of the gaming machine.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one frame from each file is authenticated on boot or continuous running of the gaming machine.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the location of a watermark in a file is randomized from file to file.

11. A method of authenticating a file in a gaming system, the method comprising:

reading multiple frames from the file;

extracting a watermark from one of the frames;

comparing the extracted watermark to a key stored on the gaming system to authenticate the frame.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein a watermark is stored in one of approximately thirty consecutive frames.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein frames have different watermarks.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the different watermarks comprise a sequence of different watermarks that are repeated.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein the watermark is encrypted, and wherein extracting the watermark further comprises decrypting the watermark.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein the key is stored on a memory device that is not accessible to users of the gaming system.

17. A computer readable medium having instructions encoded thereon for execution by a gaming machine for implementing a method comprising:

reading a frame from a file;

extracting a watermark from the frame; and

comparing the extracted watermark to a key to authenticate the frame.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein a file contains multiple frames, and wherein a watermark is stored in one of approximately thirty consecutive frames.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the watermark is encrypted, and wherein extracting the watermark further comprises decrypting the watermark.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein the key is stored on a memory device that is not accessible to users of the gaming system.

21. A computer readable medium having code for execution on a gaming system, the medium comprising:

a file having multiple frames containing images for display on the gaming system, selected frames having watermarks corresponding to keys stored on the gaming system, wherein the gaming system extracts the watermarks from the selected frames and compares them to the keys for authentication of the frames in real time.

22. A gaming machine comprising:

a storage device having a read only audio/video file containing multiple frames of audio/video information, selected frames having a watermark;

a read only memory device having keys corresponding to watermarks in the selected frames; and

an authentication module that when executed by the gaming machine, authenticates the selected frames by comparing the watermarks to the keys while outputting the frames to the user.

23. The gaming machine of claim 22 wherein the storage device comprises a hard disk drive and the memory device comprises a game compact flash card.

24. A gaming machine implemented method comprising:

reading data from a file;

extracting a watermark from the data; and

comparing the extracted watermark to a key to authenticate the file.

25. The gaming machine implemented method of claim 24 wherein the data read from the file is selected from the group consisting of audio, video, still image, executable code, and information stored on the gaming machine.

26. The gaming machine implemented method of claim 24 wherein a frame or file contains more than one watermark.

27. The gaming machine implemented method of claim 24 wherein a small percentage of files are authenticated during a boot of the gaming machine.

28. The gaming machine implemented method of claim 24 wherein multiple files in the gaming system are authenticated, and wherein the location of the watermarks in files is randomized from file to file.