Mobile gaming devices for use in a gaming network having gaming and non-gaming zones

• US 20080076572A1
• Filed: 09/08/2006
• Published: 03/27/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Nguyen, Binh T., Underdahl, Brian
• Granted Patent: US 8,226,474 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 17/3237 about the players, e.g. profiling, responsible gaming, strategy/behavior of players, location of players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3269 Timing aspects of game play, e.g. blocking/halting the operation of a gaming machine

Abstract

Novel gaming networks, devices, and systems for enabling game play on wireless, mobile gaming devices based on the location of the device are described. A mobile gaming device can be used for wagering game play when the device is physically present in an authorized game play zone in a gaming environment and is used by an authorized and verified user. A gaming environment is divided into zones wherein a zone either allows wagering game play on a device or does not. A zone has multiple transmitters that transmit security signals that are detectable by a mobile device at all times while the device is in the zone. An appropriate wireless communication standard can be used to transmit the security signal, such as near-field magnetic communication. The device has at least one user identification and authentication mechanism to ensure that only an authorized user is using the device.

Claims

1. A mobile gaming network comprising:

a wager gaming zone having a first plurality of transmitters, wherein a mobile gaming device can be used to play a wagering game;

a non-wager gaming zone wherein a mobile gaming device cannot be used to play a wagering game; and

a mobile gaming server storing data relating to one or more mobile gaming device users, one or more mobile gaming devices, and to relationships among the one or more users, the one or more devices, and the wager gaming zone and the non-wager gaming zone.

2. The mobile gaming network of claim 1 wherein the first plurality of transmitters comprise near-field magnetic (“

NFM”

) transmitters.

3. The mobile gaming network of claim 1 wherein the first plurality of transmitters comprise radio frequency (“

RF”

) transmitters.

4. The mobile gaming network of claim 1 wherein the non-wager gaming zone has a second plurality of transmitters.

5. The mobile gaming network of claim 4 wherein the second plurality of transmitters comprise near-field magnetic (“

NFM”

) transmitters.

6. The mobile gaming network of claim 4 wherein the second plurality of transmitters comprise radio frequency (“

RF”

) transmitters.

7. The mobile gaming network of claim 1 wherein a mobile gaming device comprises a communication interface for enabling detection of a wireless signal.

8. The mobile gaming network of claim 7 wherein the communication interface is a RF interface thereby enabling detection of an RF signal by the mobile gaming device.

9. The mobile gaming network of claim 7 wherein the communication interface is an NFM interface thereby enabling detection of an NFM signal by the mobile gaming device.

10. The mobile gaming network of claim 1 wherein a mobile gaming device comprises a biometric device for verifying an identity of a user.

11. The mobile gaming network of claim 1 wherein a wager gaming zone is one or more of a casino floor, a bar in a gaming establishment, and a nightclub in the gaming establishment.

12. The mobile gaming network of claim 1 wherein a non-wager gaming zone is one or more of a video arcade in a gaming establishment, a hotel room in a gaming establishment, and an area in a gaming establishment that is normally occupied by individuals over a legal wager gaming age and by individuals under the legal wager gaming age.

13. The mobile gaming network of claim 1 wherein a mobile gaming device comprises a capacitive touch sensing device.

14. The mobile gaming network of claim 1 further comprising a hub operating between the first plurality of transmitters and the mobile gaming server.

15. The mobile gaming network of claim 14 wherein the hub is one of an NFM hub and an RF hub.

16. The mobile gaming network of claim 1 wherein the mobile gaming server contains a first database for storing associations between a user identifier and a mobile gaming device identifier.

17. The mobile gaming network of claim 16 wherein the mobile gaming server contains a second database for storing associations between a mobile gaming device identifier and one or more zones.

18. The mobile gaming network of claim 16 wherein the mobile gaming server contains a third database for storing zone-specific data.

19. The mobile gaming network of claim 16 wherein the mobile gaming server contains a third database for storing device-specific data.

20. A method of managing the operation of mobile wager gaming devices in a wireless network, the method comprising:

transmitting a near-field magnetic (“

NFM”

) security signal from an NFM transmitter;

receiving the NFM security signal at a mobile device having a mobile ID and capable of executing a wagering game;

maintaining operability of the mobile device upon the mobile device receiving the security signal; and

disabling operability of the mobile device if the mobile device does not receive the security signal within a pre-determined time period, such that operability of the mobile device is controlled based on a location of the mobile device.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising transmitting gaming data from the mobile device to a gaming server using radio frequency (“

RF”

) communication.

22. The method of claim 20 further comprising receiving gaming data at the mobile device from a gaming server using RF communication.

23. The method of claim 20 wherein the transmitting step further comprises:

assigning a unique signature to the NFM security signal, wherein the unique signature corresponds to a specific mobile identifier of the mobile device.

24. The method of claim 23 further comprising:

receiving the NFM security signal with the unique signature at the mobile device with the specific mobile identifier wherein the specific mobile identifier corresponds to the unique signature, thereby providing interactivity between a specific mobile device and a gaming server.

25. The method of claim 24 further comprising:

exchanging gaming data between the mobile device and gaming server using NFM communication.

26. The method of claim 24 further comprising creating a thread between the mobile device and the gaming server.

27. The method of claim 20 wherein the NFM security signal is broadcasted to a plurality of mobile devices.

28. The method of claim 20 wherein the NFM security signal is multicasted to a plurality of mobile devices.

29. The method of claim 20 wherein the transmitting step further comprises:

assigning a unique signature to the NFM security signal, wherein the unique signature corresponds to a specific user.

30. The method of claim 29 further comprising associating the specific user to a specific mobile device.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein the user is associated with the specific mobile device when the specific user registers to use the specific mobile device.

32. The method of claim 20 further comprising associating the mobile device with a first zone in the wireless network, the first zone having a first set of NFM transmitters.

33. The method of claim 32 further comprising:

enabling a first set of gaming features on the mobile device when the mobile device is receiving NFM security signals in the first zone.

34. The method of claim 32 wherein the mobile device is operable for wager gaming only in the first zone.

35. The method of claim 32 wherein the mobile device is operable for non-gaming activities outside of the first zone.

36. The method of claim 32, wherein the mobile device is operable for providing non-wagering games outside of the first zone.

37. The method of claim 32 wherein the mobile device is not operable for any purpose outside the first zone.

38. The method of claim 32 wherein the mobile device contains an NFM signal receiver that is capable of detecting only a security signal from the first set of NFM transmitters.

39. The method of claim 32 further comprising determining whether the mobile device is in the first zone before transmitting gaming data to the mobile device.

40. The method of claim 20 wherein the mobile device receives non-gaming data using NFM communication.

41. The method of claim 20 further comprising registering a user for the mobile device thereby creating an authorized user for the device.

42. The method of claim 41 further comprising verifying that a user of the mobile device is an authorized user of the mobile device.

43. The method of claim 41 further comprising storing an authorized user identifier in the wireless network corresponding to the authorized user when the device is registered.

44. The method of claim 41 wherein the authorized user identifier is one of a fingerprint, a voice sample, an image, and a password.

45. The method of claim 41 wherein the mobile device contains a biometric mechanism.

46. The method of claim 45 further comprising ensuring that whenever the mobile device is in use, that the device is being used by the authorized user.

47. The method of claim 46 further comprising monitoring a physical touch of a hand on the mobile device.

48. The method of claim 47 further comprising re-authenticating the authorized user of the mobile device if the physical touch of a hand on the mobile device in not present.

49. The method of claim 48 wherein the mobile device includes a capacitive touch sensing device.

50. The method of claim 41 further comprising performing a secondary identification of an authorized user.

51. The method of claim 50 wherein the mobile device includes an RFID device.

52. The method of claim 51 wherein the authorized user is identified using one of an RFID card, an RFID token, and an RFID bracelet.

53. The method of claim 20 wherein the receiving step further comprises utilizing an NFM communication interface in the mobile device.

54. A wireless gaming network comprising:

a plurality of transmitters, a transmitter capable of transmitting a wireless signal;

a plurality of mobile gaming devices, a mobile gaming device capable of receiving the wireless signal;

a first zone in the wireless network wherein the first zone is a wager gaming zone;

a second zone in the wireless network wherein the second zone is a non-wager gaming zone; and

a mobile gaming server storing data relating to the plurality of mobile gaming devices, the first zone, the second zone, and a plurality of authorized users.

55. The wireless gaming network of claim 54 wherein a mobile gaming device contains an NFM communication interface for receiving a NFM wireless signal.

56. The wireless gaming network of claim 54 wherein a mobile gaming device contains an RF communication interface for receiving an RF wireless signal.

57. The wireless gaming network of claim 54 further comprising a third zone in the wireless network wherein the third zone is a temporary wager gaming zone.

58. The wireless gaming network of claim 54 further comprising a fourth zone in the wireless network wherein the fourth zone is a partial wager gaming zone.

59. The wireless gaming network of claim 54 wherein the second zone enables access on a mobile gaming device to non-gaming services.

60. The wireless gaming network of claim 54, wherein the second zone enables access on a mobile gaming device to non-wagering games.

61. A method of enabling wagering game execution on a mobile gaming device, the method comprising:

transmitting a first zone wireless signal to a mobile gaming device when the mobile gaming device is in a first zone;

enabling wagering game play on the mobile gaming device when the mobile gaming device is in the first zone; and

enabling only non-gaming services on the mobile gaming device if the mobile gaming device is not in the first zone.

62. The method of claim 61 further comprising transmitting a second zone wireless signal to the mobile gaming device when the mobile gaming device is in a second zone.

63. The method of claim 62 further comprising enabling only non-gaming services on the mobile gaming device if the mobile gaming device is in the second zone.

64. A zone-based mobile gaming network comprising:

a wager gaming zone having a first plurality of transmitters;

a non-wager gaming zone having a second plurality of transmitters; and

a wireless gaming device enabled to execute wagering games if in the wager gaming zone and not enabled to execute wagering games if in the non-wager gaming zone.

65. A wireless gaming network for managing mobile devices for playing wagering games, comprising:

a plurality of near-field magnetic (“

NFM”

) transmitters;

a mobile gaming server; and

a plurality of mobile devices, a mobile device having an NFM receiver and capable of executing wagering games, wherein the plurality of NFM transmitters emit NFM signals that can be received by the plurality of mobile devices.

66. The wireless network of claim 65 further comprising:

an NFM hub operating between an NFM transmitter and the gaming server for converting an NFM signal from the gaming server to an NFM transmitter.

67. The wireless network of claim 65 wherein a mobile device has an NFM transmitter.