Systems and methods for recommending games to anonymous players using distributed storage

• US 9,558,625 B2
• Filed: 07/12/2013
• Issued: 01/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Igt Canada Solutions Ulc (GTECH SpA)
• Original Assignee: Igt Canada Solutions Ulc (GTECH SpA)
• Inventors: Gadher, Bharat, Idris, Fayez, Pleskonjic, Dragan, Post, Peter, McIntyre, Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): PIERCE, DAMON JOSEPH
• Application Number:
  US13/941,109
• Publication Number:
  US 20130303274A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,299 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3209 Input means, e.g. buttons, touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3218 wherein at least part of the system is portable
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3223 Architectural aspects of a gaming system, e.g. internal configuration, master/slave, wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/323 wherein the player is informed, e.g. advertisements, odds, instructions
• 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 17/3239 Tracking of individual players

Abstract

While a player is playing one game on a gaming machine, the systems and methods described herein recommend other games to the player based on the player'"'"'s real time game play, if the player is anonymous. Upon the player selecting a different game, the system may automatically transfers the player'"'"'s credits between games or gaming machines. Each gaming machine may carry out one or more game.

Claims

1. A method for recommending games using distributed storage comprising:

detecting a player'"'"'s real time or near real time game play in a first game when the player begins to play the first game or indicates a desire to play the first game using a gaming terminal, where the player is playing anonymously without the use of a player tracking card and without registration;

receiving, at a local computing device from the gaming terminal at the moment of the detection of the real time or near real time game play, player and game play data corresponding to the player'"'"'s real time or near real time game play in the first game defining occurrence of game factors for the real time or near real time game play over time;

determining that the player and game play data has been received for a minimum length of time of game play required to categorize game behaviour using a gaming and play behavior model of stored game play data partitioned into a plurality of game session patterns, each game session pattern corresponding to a time period and indicating occurrence of the game factors over the time period;

generating, at the local computing device, an export data set using parsing rules, wherein the export data set comprises at least some of the player and game play data;

transmitting, from the local computing device to a central server, the export data set;

receiving, at the local computing device from the central server, a set of game recommendations generated using the export data set and the plurality of game session patterns, wherein the set of game recommendations identify at least a second game;

providing the set of game recommendations;

detecting a selection by the player of the second game identified in the set of game recommendations; and

receiving, at the local computing device, additional player and game play data corresponding to a player'"'"'s real time game play in the second game.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the parsing rules are defined by user preferences.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the parsing rules are defined by regulatory requirements.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the player and game play data comprises private and non-private data, and wherein the method further comprises:

generating the export data set using the parsing rules by separating the private and non-private data, wherein the export data set comprises the non-private data.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the local computing device is coupled to a plurality of gaming terminals, wherein the method further comprises:

determining a collection of available games from the plurality of gaming terminals;

providing the collection of available games to the central server;

wherein the set of game recommendations identify games from the collection of available games.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating the export data set by applying a hashing algorithm to the player and game play data.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

generating a tag using the hashing algorithm, wherein the tag links the export data set to the player and game play data; and

transmitting the tag with the export data set.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the local computing device is located in a first jurisdiction, the gaming terminal being licensed for the first jurisdiction, and wherein the central server is located in a second jurisdiction.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the second game is played on a second gaming terminal, wherein the method further comprises:

transferring credits from the gaming terminal to the second gaming terminal.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of recommended games is associated with a gaming model of a plurality of gaming models, and wherein the method further comprises:

detecting a threshold amount of data for the player'"'"'s real time game play; and

partitioning the data for the player'"'"'s real time game play into a plurality of game events, and wherein the export data set comprises one or more events of the plurality of game events, and wherein the gaming model corresponds to the one or more events of the plurality of game events.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a signal initiated by the player that identifies the player as an active player in the first game;

detecting, as player and game play data, play of an individual game in a designated area assigned to the player as part of the first game, while remaining players have an option to concurrently play a community game displayed on additional designated areas assigned to different players;

detecting, as player and game play data, the concurrently display of a plurality of icons in the designated area assigned to the player, each icon being associated with a particular wager amount, wherein the icons concurrently displayed are associated with a plurality of different wager amounts, and wherein at least some of the icons are associated with a hidden prize;

receiving, as player and game play data, a signal identifying a particular icon being touched;

detecting, as player and game play data, a deduction of the wager amount associated with the icon touched by the player from a bank of credits associated with the player; and

detecting, as player and game play data, a grant of an award to the player associated with the icon touched by the player.

11. The method of 1, wherein the set of recommended games is associated with a gaming model of a plurality of gaming models, and wherein the gaming model comprises a collection of game factors representing a predetermined gaming and play behavior model of game player.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the collection of game factors comprise one or more members selected from the grouping consisting of:

game session length, play behavior, game behavior, game language, game location, game selection, elapsed time with one game, wagering behavior, game type, game theme, wager amounts, wager denominations, play rates, typical bonus values, game brand, prize distributions, amounts of incremental wagers, frequency of wagering, for instance the presence or absence of multiple rounds of wagering in a game, the number of rounds of wagers permitted in a game, maximum wager amounts permitted, minimum wager amounts permitted, amount of wagering, elapsed time between selected events for instance starting a new game, reaction to bonus rounds, reaction to progressive outputs, pay table features, amount of incremental wagers, frequency of wagering, elapsed time for player reaction, amount of wagering, elapsed time between wagers, frequency of player action, game rules, game complexity, ability for a player to control or have an effect on a game outcome, whether an outcome is predetermined, whether parallel wagering is provided, average game speed, average wager amounts, average wager rate, presence or frequency of bonus rounds, presence and frequency of progressive outputs, payout percentages, win rates, win percentages, loss rates, loss percentages, use of special features, frequency of use of special features, number of lines played, total amount wagered, and type of payment received.

14. A method for recommending games using distributed storage comprising:

generating a gaming and play behavior model by partitioning stored game play data into a plurality of game session patterns, each game session pattern corresponding to a time period and indicating occurrence of game factors over the time period;

receiving, at a central server, export data, from each of a plurality of local computing devices, wherein each of the plurality of local computing devices is configured with parsing rules to generate the export data from player and game play data corresponding to real time or near real time game play by at least one player on one or more gaming machines;

storing the export data as part of a collective pool of game play data, the collective pool of game play data comprising a larger amount of player and game play data than the export data;

receiving additional player and game play data corresponding to a player'"'"'s real time or near real time game play in a first game when the player begins to play the first game or indicates a desire to play the first game using a gaming machine of the one or more gaming machines, where the player is playing anonymously without the use of a player tracking card and without registration;

determining that the additional player and game play data has been received for a minimum length of time of game play required to categorize game behaviour using the plurality of game session patterns;

generating a set of game recommendations using the collective pool of game play data, the plurality of game session patterns, and the additional player and game play data, wherein the set of game recommendations identify at least a second game; and

providing the set of game recommendations.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the parsing rules are defined by user preferences received anonymously from the player.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the parsing rules are defined by regulatory requirements.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the player and game play data comprises private and non-private data, and wherein the export data comprises the non-private data.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving a jurisdiction of the player;

processing the collective pool of game play data using the jurisdiction of the player;

generating a set of game recommendations using processed collective pool of game play data and the jurisdiction of the player.

19. The method of claim 18, furthering comprising:

weighting the processed collective pool of game play data based on the jurisdiction of the player.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of local computing devices being in a location that is different than a location of the central server.

21. The method of claim 14, wherein the set of recommended games is associated with a gaming model of a plurality of gaming models, and wherein the method further comprises:

detecting a threshold amount of data for the player'"'"'s real time game play in the first game;

partitioning the collective pool of game play data into a plurality of game events to generate the plurality of gaming models; and

partitioning the data for the player'"'"'s real time game play into a plurality of game events, wherein the gaming model corresponds to one or more events of the plurality of game events for the player'"'"'s real time game play.

24. The method of claim 14, further comprising applying data from the player'"'"'s real time game play to an algorithm to determine that the player is a certain type of player, then selecting the set of recommended games based on the certain type of player.

25. The method of claim 14, wherein the set of recommended games is associated with a gaming model of a plurality of gaming models, and wherein the method further comprises:

determining each of the plurality of gaming models from the collective pool of game play data using cluster analysis; and

associating a set of recommended games with each of the plurality of gaming models.

26. The method of claim 14, wherein the set of recommended games is associated with a game player type, wherein the game player type is associated with a gaming model of a plurality of gaming models, and wherein the method further comprises:

detecting a threshold amount of data for the player'"'"'s real time game play;

determining the game player type based on analysis of the data for the player'"'"'s real time game play; and

determining that the gaming model corresponds to the game player type.

22. The method of 14, wherein the set of recommended games is associated with a gaming model of a plurality of gaming models, and wherein the gaming model comprises a collection of game factors representing a predetermined gaming and play behavior model of game player.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the collection of game factors comprise one or more members selected from the grouping consisting of:

game session length, play behavior, game behavior, game language, game location, game selection, elapsed time with one game, wagering behavior, game type, game theme, wager amounts, wager denominations, play rates, typical bonus values, game brand, prize distributions, amounts of incremental wagers, frequency of wagering, for instance the presence or absence of multiple rounds of wagering in a game, the number of rounds of wagers permitted in a game, maximum wager amounts permitted, minimum wager amounts permitted, amount of wagering, elapsed time between selected events for instance starting a new game, reaction to bonus rounds, reaction to progressive outputs, pay table features, amount of incremental wagers, frequency of wagering, elapsed time for player reaction, amount of wagering, elapsed time between wagers, frequency of player action, game rules, game complexity, ability for a player to control or have an effect on a game outcome, whether an outcome is predetermined, whether parallel wagering is provided, average game speed, average wager amounts, average wager rate, presence or frequency of bonus rounds, presence and frequency of progressive outputs, payout percentages, win rates, win percentages, loss rates, loss percentages, use of special features, frequency of use of special features, number of lines played, total amount wagered, and type of payment received.

27. A gaming system comprising one or more processors and one or more data storage devices storing one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to:

generate a gaming and play behavior model by partitioning stored game play data into a plurality of game session patterns, each game session pattern corresponding to a time period and indicating occurrence of game factors over the time period;

receive, at a central server, export data, from each of a plurality of local computing devices, wherein each of the plurality of local computing devices is configured with parsing rules to generate the export data from player and game play data corresponding to real time or near real time game play by at least one player on one or more gaming machines;

store the export data as part of a collective pool of game play data, the collective pool of game play data comprising a larger amount of player and game play data than the export data;

receive additional player and game play data corresponding to a player'"'"'s real time or near real time game play in a first game when the player begins to play the first game or indicates a desire to play the first game using a gaming machine of the one or more gaming machines, where the player is playing anonymously, without the use of a player tracking card and without registration;

determine that the additional player and game play data has been received for a minimum length of time of game play required to categorize game behaviour using the plurality of game session patterns;

generate a set of game recommendations using the collective pool of game play data, the plurality of game session patterns, and the additional player and game play data, wherein the set of game recommendations identify at least a second game; and

provide the set of game recommendations.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the parsing rules are defined by user preferences.

29. The system of claim 27, wherein the parsing rules are defined by regulatory requirements.

30. The system of claim 27, wherein the player and game play data comprises private and non-private data, and wherein a local computing device of the plurality of local computing devices generates the export data set using the parsing rules by separating the private and non-private data, wherein the export data set comprises the non-private data.

31. The system of claim 27, wherein a local computing device of the plurality of local computing devices is coupled to a plurality of gaming terminals, wherein the local computing device is configured to:

determine a collection of available games from the plurality of gaming terminals;

provide the collection of available games to the central server;

wherein the set of game recommendations identify games from the collection of available games.

32. The system of claim 27, wherein a local computing device of the plurality of local computing devices generates the export data by applying a hashing algorithm to the player and game play data.

33. The system of claim 27, wherein a local computing device of the plurality of local computing devices:

generates a tag using the hashing algorithm, wherein the tag links the export data set to the player and game play data; and

transmits the tag with the export data.

34. The system of claim 27, wherein a local computing device of the plurality of local computing devices is located in a first jurisdiction, the gaming terminal being licensed for the first jurisdiction, and wherein the central server is located in a second jurisdiction.

35. The system of claim 27, wherein the second game is played on a second gaming terminal, wherein a local computing device of the plurality of local computing devices transfers credits from the gaming terminal to the second gaming terminal.

36. The system of claim 27, wherein the set of recommended games is associated with a gaming model of a plurality of gaming models, and wherein a local computing device of the plurality of local computing devices:

detects a threshold amount of data for the player'"'"'s real time game play; and

partitions the data for the player'"'"'s real time game play into a plurality of game events, and wherein the export data comprises one or more events of the plurality of game events, and wherein the gaming model corresponds to the one or more events of the plurality of game events.

37. The system of claim 27, wherein the set of recommended games is associated with a gaming model of a plurality of gaming models, and wherein the gaming model comprises a collection of game factors representing a predetermined gaming and play behavior model of game player.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein the collection of game factors comprise one or more members selected from the grouping consisting of:

game session length, play behavior, game behavior, game language, game location, game selection, elapsed time with one game, wagering behavior, game type, game theme, wager amounts, wager denominations, play rates, typical bonus values, game brand, prize distributions, amounts of incremental wagers, frequency of wagering, for instance the presence or absence of multiple rounds of wagering in a game, the number of rounds of wagers permitted in a game, maximum wager amounts permitted, minimum wager amounts permitted, amount of wagering, elapsed time between selected events for instance starting a new game, reaction to bonus rounds, reaction to progressive outputs, pay table features, amount of incremental wagers, frequency of wagering, elapsed time for player reaction, amount of wagering, elapsed time between wagers, frequency of player action, game rules, game complexity, ability for a player to control or have an effect on a game outcome, whether an outcome is predetermined, whether parallel wagering is provided, average game speed, average wager amounts, average wager rate, presence or frequency of bonus rounds, presence and frequency of progressive outputs, payout percentages, win rates, win percentages, loss rates, loss percentages, use of special features, frequency of use of special features, number of lines played, total amount wagered, and type of payment received.

39. The system of claim 27, wherein a local computing device of the plurality of local computing devices:

receives a signal initiated by the player that identifies the player as an active player in the first game;

detects, as player and game play data, play of an individual game in a designated area assigned to the player as part of the first game, while remaining players have an option to concurrently play a community game displayed on additional designated areas assigned to different players;

detects, as player and game play data, the concurrently display of a plurality of icons in the designated area assigned to the player, each icon being associated with a particular wager amount, wherein the icons concurrently displayed are associated with a plurality of different wager amounts, and wherein at least some of the icons are associated with a hidden prize;

receives, as player and game play data, a signal identifying a particular icon being touched;

detects, as player and game play data, a deduction of the wager amount associated with the icon touched by the player from a bank of credits associated with the player; and

detects, as player and game play data, a grant of an award to the player associated with the icon touched by the player.

40. The system of claim 27, wherein a local computing device of the plurality of local computing devices:

detects the player'"'"'s real time or near real time game play when the player begins to play or indicates the desire to play using the gaming machine;

receives, from the gaming machine at the moment of the detection of the real time or near real time game play, the player and game play data corresponding to the player'"'"'s real time or near real time game play defining occurrence of the game factors for the real time or near real time game play over time;

determines that the player and game play data has been received for a minimum length of time of game play required to categorize game behaviour using the gaming and play behavior model;

generates the export data using the parsing rules, wherein the export data comprises at least some of the player and game play data;

transmits, to the central server, the export data;

receives the set of game recommendations;

provides the set of game recommendations;

detects a selection by the player of the second game identified in the set of game recommendations; and

receives additional player and game play data corresponding to a player'"'"'s real time game play in the second game.

41. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform a method of controlling computing application interactions with an electronic learning platform, the method comprising:

generating a gaming and play behavior model by partitioning stored game play data into a plurality of game session patterns, each game session pattern corresponding to a time period and indicating occurrence of game factors over the time period;

receiving, at a central server, export data, from each of a plurality of local computing devices, wherein each of the plurality of local computing devices is configured with parsing rules to generate the export data from player and game play data corresponding to real time or near real time game play on one or more gaming machines;

storing the export data as part of a collective pool of game play data, the collective pool of game play data comprising a larger amount of player and game play data than the export data;

receiving additional player and game play data corresponding to a player'"'"'s real time or near real time game play in the first game when the player begins to play the first game or indicates a desire to play the first game using a gaming machine of the one or more gaming machines, where the player is playing anonymously without the use of a player tracking card and without registration;

determining that the additional player and game play data has been received for a minimum length of time of game play required to categorize game behaviour using the plurality of game session patterns;

generating a set of game recommendations using the collective pool of game play data, the plurality of game session patterns, and the additional player and game play data, wherein the set of game recommendations identify at least a second game; and

providing the set of game recommendations.

42. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform a method of controlling computing application interactions with an electronic learning platform, the method comprising:

detecting a player'"'"'s real time or near real time game play in a first game when the player begins to play the first game or indicates a desire to play the first game using a gaming terminal, where the player is playing anonymously, without the use of a player tracking card and without registration;

receiving, at a local computing device from the gaming terminal at the moment of the detection of the real time or near real time game play, player and game play data corresponding to the player'"'"'s real time or near real time game play in a first game defining occurrence of game factors for the real time or near real time game play over time;

determining that the player and game play data has been received for a minimum length of time of game play required to categorize game behaviour using a gaming and play behavior model of stored game play data partitioned into a plurality of game session patterns, each game session pattern corresponding to a time period and indicating occurrence of the game factors over the time period;

generating, at the local computing device, an export data set using parsing rules, wherein the export data set comprises at least some of the player and game play data;

transmitting, from the local computing device to a central server, the export data set;

receiving, at the local computing device from the central server, a set of game recommendations generated using the export data set and the plurality of game session patterns, wherein the set of game recommendations identify at least a second game;

providing the set of game recommendations;

detecting a selection by the player of the second game identified in the set of game recommendations; and

receiving, at the local computing device, additional player and game play data corresponding to a player'"'"'s real time game play in the second game.