CONFIGURATION OF GAMING MACHINES BASED ON GAMING MACHINE LOCATION

• US 20070099697A1
• Filed: 11/28/2006
• Published: 05/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Nelson, Dwayne
• Granted Patent: US 8,870,657 B2
• 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 17/3202 Hardware aspects of a gaming system, e.g. components, construction, architecture thereof
• 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 17/3234 about the performance of a gaming system, e.g. revenue, diagnosis of the gaming system
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3237 about the players, e.g. profiling, responsible gaming, strategy/behavior of players, location of players

Abstract

A method and apparatus for tracking and determining a location of a gaming machine or other item within a casino or hotel is disclosed. In one embodiment the method and apparatus utilizes a transmitter or emitter to provide a tracking signal that may be tracked by one or more receivers or detectors. It is contemplated that the transmitter or emitter connect to a gaming machine. As the gaming machine is relocated within the casino its location is monitored. The one or more receivers may communicate with a host computer or other data processing system to generate location data regarding the gaming machine in relation to other aspects of the casino. Based on the location information generated by the location monitoring and tracking system, other aspects of machine operation may be controlled and additional features dependant on the machine location information may be enabled.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring compliance with gaming regulations comprising:

receiving gaming machine location data regarding the location of one or more gaming machines;

processing the gaming machine location data;

comparing the processed gaming machine location data to casino area location data; and

generating an alert if the comparing reveals that the location of one or more gaming machines is not in compliance with gaming regulations.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the gaming regulation comprises regulations regarding a minimum distance between a gaming machine and an area of a casino.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the gaming machine location data is received from a gaming machine tracking system.

4. A method for configuring a gaming machine comprising:

determining a location of a gaming machine using a location tracking system;

analyzing the location of the gaming machine to determine operational data;

processing the operational data to generate control signals; and

transmitting the control signals to a gaming machine to establish or modify the configuration of the gaming machine.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the configuration of the gaming machine controls aspects of the gaming machine selected from the group consisting of game availability, payout rates, machine denomination, audio volume, audio selection, video brightness, video selection, audio or video synchronization with other machines, machine enable/disable and audio enable/disable.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the transmitting comprises sending the control signals to one or more gaming machines over a communication medium linking the gaming machines to a host.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the analyzing comprises comparing the location data for the gaming machine to a database containing possible locations with corresponding operational data for each location.

8. A gaming machine configuration system, comprising:

a gaming machine location system configured to generate gaming machine location data regarding the locations of a plurality of associated gaming machines;

a gaming machine control module adapted to receive gaming machine location data from said gaming machine location system, analyze said gaming machine location data to determine operational data, process said operational data to generate control signals regarding gaming machine configurations, and transmit said control signals regarding said gaming machine configurations to said plurality of associated gaming machines.

9. The gaming machine configuration system of claim 8, further including:

a communication apparatus configured to communicate said control signals regarding said gaming machine configurations from said gaming machine configuration system to said plurality of associated gaming machines.

10. The gaming machine configuration system of claim 8, wherein said gaming machine location data includes network address information for said plurality of associated gaming machines.

11. The gaming machine configuration system of claim 8, wherein said operational data includes gaming machine location parameters that define gaming machines located within a defined area or a maximum or minimum proximity to a specified location.

12. The gaming machine configuration system of claim 11, wherein said gaming machine control module is adapted to select only gaming machines located within said defined area or proximity.