Management system

Abstract

Support dealer operations by recognizing roulette game bet chips using both RFID tags and cameras. 【Solution means】After the game result is determined and the non-winning chips are collected by the dealer, for the remaining winning chips, read the RFID tags using the bet area antenna 131, and use multiple cameras 14, 15, 16 to take pictures of the winning chips to obtain a first image and analyze it. By doing so, determine the number of image-recognizable winning chips of each color where no occlusion occurs in any of the first images, and subtract the number of image-recognizable winning chips of each color from the number of winning chips of each color to determine the number of occluded winning chips of each color where occlusion occurs in any of the first images. For the number of image-recognizable winning chips of each color and the occluded winning chips, calculate the payout for each color based on the respective payout ratios.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a management system for managing a roulette game played using roulette chips on a roulette table.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, in casino facilities, in games played using gaming chips on a table, by reading an RFID tag incorporated in the gaming chip or photographing the gaming chip with a camera and performing image analysis, the bet gaming chips (hereinafter also referred to as "bet chips") are recognized, and a system has been proposed to support dealer operations such as collecting bet chips according to the game result and paying out to bet chips (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Here, when grasping the bet chip by reading the RFID tag incorporated in the bet chip, as long as there is no abnormality in the RFID tag, the bet chip can be read relatively accurately. On the other hand, when using RFID, it is often relatively difficult to accurately distinguish and recognize the position where the bet chip is placed (which represents the bet target).

[0004] On the other hand, when photographing the bet chip with a camera, the position where the bet chip is placed can be recognized relatively accurately, but there are cases where a bet chip that has fallen into the blind spot of the camera due to other bet chips cannot be recognized.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] The present invention aims to provide a system that recognizes bet chips and supports dealer operations, particularly in roulette games. In the present invention, in particular, based on the advantages and disadvantages of recognizing bet chips using RFID tags as described above, and the advantages and disadvantages of recognizing bet chips using a camera, the bet chips in a roulette game are recognized using both an RFID tag and a camera to support dealer operations.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] A management system according to one aspect is a management system for managing a roulette game played using roulette chips on a roulette table having a wheel and a betting area partitioned into a plurality of bet target areas. In the roulette game, the roulette chips having different colors are used by different players. The roulette chip includes an RFID tag storing information corresponding at least to the color thereof, and the color appears at least on a side surface. The management system includes at least two cameras that photograph the betting area from diagonally upward positions different from each other to generate images or videos respectively, one or a plurality of betting area antennas built in the betting area for reading the RFID tag of the roulette chip bet in the betting area, and by analyzing the images or videos, the number of roulette chips of each color bet in the betting area, a plurality of boundaries of the adjacent bet target areas, and an analysis device for determining the positional relationship between the roulette chip and the boundary, and a control device that performs a dealer support process for payout by controlling the at least two cameras, the one or a plurality of betting area antennas, and the analysis device, and a display for displaying the result of the dealer support process.After the game result is determined on the wheel and the non-winning chips are collected by the dealer, for the winning chips remaining, the control device uses the one or more bet area antennas to read the RFID tags to obtain a first reading result, and uses the at least two cameras to photograph the winning chips to obtain a first image or video. By analyzing the first image or video using the analysis device, the number of recognizable winning chips of each color without occlusion in any of the first images or videos is determined. By subtracting the number of recognizable winning chips of each color from the number of winning chips of each color indicated by the first reading result, the number of occlusion winning chips of each color with occlusion occurring in any of the first images or videos is determined. For the number of recognizable winning chips of each color and the occlusion winning chips, the payout for each color is calculated based on the respective payout ratios, and the display displays the payout for each color calculated by the control device.

[0008] With this configuration, the control device grasps the number of winning chips for each bet position and color, calculates the payout for each color, and the display displays it. So, the dealer can easily recognize, by checking the display, how much payout should be made for chips of which color bet at which position.

[0009] The above management system may further include an antenna for recovered chips for reading the RFID tags of the non-winning chips recovered by the dealer. The control device uses the one or more bet area antennas to read the RFID tags of all the roulette chips bet in the bet area to obtain a second reading result, uses the antenna for recovered chips to read the RFID tags of the non-winning chips to obtain a third reading result, and when the result obtained by subtracting the number of non-winning chips of each color indicated by the third reading result from the number of chips of each color of all the roulette chips bet indicated by the second reading result does not match the number of winning chips of each color indicated by the first reading result, an alert may be output.

[0010] With this configuration, an alert can be output when there is fraud in the recovery of non-winning chips.

[0011] The above management system may further include a player identification system for identifying the relationship between the players participating in the roulette game and the colors of the roulette chips assigned to the players, and a recording device for recording the history and / or accumulation of the bet amounts for each player. The control device may determine the history and / or the accumulation to be recorded in the recording device based on the number of chips of each color of all the roulette chips bet indicated by the second reading result.

[0012] With this configuration, a patron rating for recording the history and / or accumulation of the bet amounts of players can be realized.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the invention will be described. However, the embodiments described below are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. Also, the elements of the plurality of embodiments can be arbitrarily combined.

[0015] (Overview of Roulette Table) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a roulette table to which the management system of the present embodiment is applied, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the roulette table to which the management system of the present embodiment is applied. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a wheel 11 is provided at one corner of the roulette table (hereinafter also simply referred to as the "table") 10. A dealer chip area 12 for placing the dealer's gaming chips is provided beside the wheel 11. The dealer is located at the dealer position in the center on the side opposite to the side where the wheel 11 is provided, and conducts the dealing of the game.

[0016] A bet area 13 is laid out on the table surface from the center of the table 10 to the end on the side opposite to the wheel 11. In the examples of FIGS. 1 and 2, the wheel 11 is provided at the back right of the dealer, the dealer chip area 12 is provided at the front right of the dealer, and the bet area 13 is laid out from the front to the left side. A plurality of players are located at player positions set around the table 10 so as to surround the bet area 13 while avoiding the dealer position, and place bets by placing gaming chips in the bet area 13.

[0017] The table 10 is provided with a first camera 14, a second camera 15, and a third camera 16 for photographing the bet area 13. The first camera 14, the second camera 15, and the third camera 16 are all attached to poles erected on the table 10. The first camera 14 is provided at the corner of the table 10 where the wheel 11 is located. The second camera 15 is provided at the corner of the table 10 where the dealer chip area 12 is located. The third camera 16 is provided at the corner of the table that forms a diagonal with the first camera 14. It is desirable that the first camera 14, the second camera 15, and the third camera 16 are all provided at positions that do not interfere with operations such as betting by players, chip collection, and payout by the dealer.

[0018] The first camera 14, the second camera 15, and the third camera 16 photograph the bed area 13 obliquely upward and downward. The first camera 14, the second camera 15, and the third camera 16 photograph the bed area 13 from different directions. In the example of FIG. 1, the first camera 14, the second camera 15, and the third camera 16 are provided at substantially the same height from the table surface, but the heights of the first camera 14, the second camera 15, and the third camera 16 may be different from each other.

[0019] Further, beside the wheel 11 of the table 10, a display 17 for displaying a dealer support screen, which will be described later, toward the dealer is provided. The display 17 is also attached to a pole erected on the table 10, but instead, it may be embedded in the table surface. Also, in the present embodiment, the display 17 is provided inside the table 10, but it may be provided at the edge of the table 10 so as not to interfere with the dealer's dealing. Further, it may be oriented in a direction observable not only by the dealer but also by the player.

[0020] (Bet Area and Betting) FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the bet area of the present embodiment. There are European style and American style in the bet area of roulette. In the example of FIG. 3, the American style bet area is shown. Note that the present invention is similarly applicable to the European style bet area.

[0021] In this embodiment, each small area partitioned within the bed area 13 is referred to as a bed target area. The bed area 13 is roughly divided into an inside bed area composed of bed target areas assigned numbers 0, 00, 1 to 36, and an outside bed area composed of the other bed target areas. The bed target areas in the outside bed area include a column area for betting on 12 horizontally arranged bed targets, a dozen area for betting on the first 12, the middle 12, or the last 12 bed targets, a low / high area for betting on 18 bed targets from number 1 to 18 or 18 bed targets from number 19 to 36, an odd / even area for betting on 18 odd-numbered bed targets or 18 even-numbered bed targets, and a red / black area for betting on 18 red bed targets or 18 black bed targets.

[0022] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example in which chips are bet on the bed area of this embodiment. The chips can be bet by placing them in the small areas that are the bed target areas. In the inside bed area, it is also possible to bet on both bed targets on both sides of the boundary by betting on the boundary of the bed target area. When a betting chip is placed on the boundary so as to straddle the bed target areas of two inside bets, such as chips C11 and C15, it means that a bet has been placed on both of the two bed targets (chip C11 is on numbers 17 and 20, chip C15 is on numbers 19 and 20) (split bet). When a betting chip is placed at the intersection of the boundaries so as to straddle the bed target areas of four inside bets, such as chips C12 and C14, it means that a bet has been placed on all of the four bed targets (chip C12 is on numbers 17, 18, 20, and 21, chip C14 is on numbers 20, 21, 23, and 24) (corner bet).

[0023] When a betting chip is placed within the bet target area of the inside bet in such a way that it does not touch any boundary, like chip C13, it means that the bet is placed only on the corresponding bet target (number 20 in the case of Figure 4) (straight up). When a betting chip is placed on the boundary between the bet target area of the inside bet and the dozen area, like chip C18, it means that the bet is placed on the corresponding three vertical bet targets (numbers 28 - 30 in the case of chip C18 in Figure 4) (street bet). When a betting chip is placed on the boundary between two bet target areas of the inside bet and the dozen, like chip C17, it means that the bet is placed on the corresponding six vertical bet targets in two columns (numbers 7 - 12 in the case of chip C17 in Figure 4) (double street bet). When a betting chip is placed at the intersection of the boundaries of number 1, number 0, and the dozen, like chip C16, it means that the bet is placed on the corresponding five vertical bet targets (numbers 0, 00, 1 - 3 in the case of chip C16 in Figure 4) (five number). When a betting chip is placed in the column area, like chip C19, it means that the bet is placed on the corresponding twelve horizontal bet targets (numbers 2, 5, ··· 35 in the case of chip C19 in Figure 4) (column bet).

[0024] For each of the above bets, after ensuring the house edge (commission rate), the house odds (payout) are defined according to the winning probability. For example, in the case of the American style as shown in Figure 4, the winning probability of a straight up is 1 / 38 (about 2.63%), but after ensuring a 5.26% house edge, the house odds are set at 36 times. Also, for example, the winning probability of a column bet is 12 / 38 (about 31.58%), but after ensuring a 5.26% house edge, the house odds are set at 3 times.

[0025] As described above, in the roulette game, the bet content varies depending on the position where the gaming chip is placed. In bet area 13, a plurality of bet target areas are arranged in a two - dimensional direction, and adjacent bet target areas are in contact via a boundary.

[0026] (Gaming Chip) A gaming chip (hereinafter also simply referred to as "chip") used in a roulette game will be described. In a casino, table games such as baccarat and blackjack are provided, and a common gaming chip can be used on these game tables. However, in a roulette game, a roulette chip (hereinafter referred to as "roulette chip") dedicated to roulette, which is different from general gaming chips (hereinafter referred to as "general chips") used in these other games, is used.

[0027] When starting a roulette game, a player borrows a roulette chip from the dealer. The roulette chip can be borrowed with cash or general chips. Depending on the casino, it may be possible to borrow only with cash or only with general chips. The roulette chip has an appearance that can be distinguished for each group. This makes it possible to determine which chip was bet by which player when multiple players bet in the betting area 13 at the same time.

[0028] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the gaming chip of the present embodiment. The gaming chip C has a group-specific part that is different for each group and a common part that is common to a plurality of groups. In the example of FIG. 5, the gaming chip C has a disc shape having two circular planes (upper surface and lower surface), and the side surface has an annular shape along the circular periphery. In the gaming chip C of the example of FIG. 5, the central circular portion 101 of the plane and the six insert portions 102 arranged at equal angular intervals from the outer peripheral portion of the plane to the side surface are the common parts, and the other portions 103 of the plane and the side surface are the group-specific parts. The group-specific part has a color assigned to each group, and the common part is white. The group-specific part and the common part are observable from any of the upper surface, the lower surface, and the side surface.

[0029] Note that the gaming chip may be composed only of the group identification part without having a common part. Also, in the present embodiment, the group identification part represents the group by its color. Instead of this, the group identification part may represent the group by its pattern or design. Further, in the present embodiment, the roulette chip has a fixed value, but a plurality of types of gaming chips with different values may be prepared for each group. In this case, for example, numbers indicating the value may be written in the central circular part 101 which is the common part, and the color of the insert part 102 may be made different from that of the part 103, and the value may be represented by the color of the insert part 102. Also, although the values of the gaming chips in the same group are all the same, different fixed values may be set for different groups.

[0030] The dealer assigns gaming chips of different groups (and thus having different specific colors) to different players. For example, when allowing 6 players to play simultaneously at a roulette table, 6 types of gaming chips with specific colors are prepared on the table 10. A player who finishes playing in the roulette game and tries to leave the table settles by returning the used gaming chips to the dealer. The settlement is made with general chips or cash.

[0031] An RFID tag 104 is built into the gaming chip. At least information for identifying the group to which the gaming chip belongs is stored in the RFID tag 104. When a plurality of types of gaming chips with different values are prepared, information on the value is also stored in the RFID tag 104. As described above, since the color of the group identification part of the gaming chip is different for each group, it can also be said that information for identifying the color of the group identification part is stored in the RFID tag 104.

[0032] In this embodiment, the RFID tag 104 stores a chip ID as information for identifying the group to which the gaming chip belongs. In order to identify the group to which the gaming chip belongs using the chip ID, a chip database (not shown) is prepared. The chip database stores information on the group to which the gaming chip belongs (i.e., the color of the group identification section of the gaming chip) for each chip ID. Therefore, by identifying the chip ID and referring to the chip database, the group of the gaming chip having the chip ID can be identified.

[0033] Note that the gaming chip may store information corresponding to the group of the gaming chip in the RFID tag 104, and by reading the RFID tag 104, the group to which the gaming chip belongs can be directly identified from the RFID tag 104 without preparing and referring to a database.

[0034] (RFID Reading of Chip) Under the table surface of the game table 10, an antenna for reading the RFID tag 104 of the gaming chip placed on the table surface is embedded. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of the antenna in the game table of this embodiment. A plurality of dealer chip area antennas 121 are provided in the dealer chip area 12. The reading ranges of adjacent dealer chip area antennas 121 overlap with each other, so that the entire dealer chip area 12 is covered by the reading range of any one of the dealer chip area antennas 121.

[0035] Similarly, a plurality of bed area antennas 131 are also provided in the bed area 13. The reading ranges of adjacent bed area antennas 131 overlap with each other, so that the entire bed area 13 is covered by the reading range of any one of the bed area antennas 131. A shield 141 is provided between the dealer chip area 12 and the bed area 13. This prevents the dealer chip area antenna 121 in the dealer chip area 12 from reading the RFID tag of the chip in the bed chip area 13, and also prevents the bed area antenna 131 in the bed chip area 13 from reading the RFID tag of the chip in the dealer chip area 12.

[0036] (Shooting of the bed area) As described above, the first camera 14, the second camera 15, and the third camera 16 all shoot the bed area 13 from an obliquely upper position. Thereby, a chip stack composed of a plurality of chips placed on the bed area 13 is photographed from an obliquely upper position.

[0037] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a chip stack photographed by a camera in the present embodiment. By photographing the chip stack from an obliquely upper position, the first camera 14, the second camera 15, and the third camera 16 cause the upper surface of the uppermost chip of the chip stack and the side surfaces of all the chips of the chip stack to appear in the photographed image as shown in FIG. 7.

[0038] As described above, since there is at least a group identification part on the side surface of the chip, when the chip stack is photographed as shown in FIG. 7, the group identification parts of all the chips included in the chip stack will appear in the image.

[0039] (Procedure of roulette game) In a roulette game, first, the dealer permits the player to place bets and throws a ball into the rotating wheel 11. The player can place bets even while the ball is rotating along the edge of the wheel 11 due to centrifugal force. When the centrifugal force of the ball weakens, the dealer places a hand over the betting area 13 and shouts "No more bet". By this call, the player is prohibited from making new bets or changing bets, and the bets are finalized.

[0040] When the ball drops into the wheel 11 and lands in one of the pockets numbered 0, 00, 1 - 36 of the rotating wheel 11, the game result is finalized. The dealer places a dolly on the betting target corresponding to the pocket where the ball has dropped. If chips are wagered on the said betting target, the dolly is placed on top of such chips. Then, the dealer collects the non-winning bet chips (hereinafter referred to as "non-winning chips"), i.e., the chips that the dealer should collect, into the dealer chip area 12 according to the game result. Thereafter, for the winning bet chips (hereinafter referred to as "winning chips"), the dealer takes out chips from the dealer chip area 12 and pays out (pays off). At this time, for the winning chips, the same type of chips as the said winning chips are paid out in the number (or amount) according to the payout ratio.

[0041] When the player receives the winning chips and the paid-out payout chips, the procedure of the said game ends, and the bets for the next game start. The dealer starts the rotation of the wheel 11 for the next game and throws the ball into the wheel 11. By repeating these thereafter, the game is repeated.

[0042] (Configuration of the System) FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the management system according to the present embodiment. The management system 100 manages a roulette game performed using roulette chips on a roulette table 10 including a wheel 11 and a bet area 13 partitioned into a plurality of bet target areas. The management system 100 includes a first camera 14, a second camera 15, and a third camera 16 that capture the bet area 13 from diagonally upward positions different from each other and generate images respectively.

[0043] The analysis device 110 analyzes the images captured by the first camera 14, the second camera 15, and the third camera 16 respectively, to recognize the number of roulette chips of each color bet in the bet area 13 and a plurality of boundaries of adjacent bet target areas, and further determines the positional relationship between the recognized roulette chips and the recognized boundaries. In particular, the analysis device 110 analyzes an image of the winning chips remaining in the bet area 13 after the dealer has collected the non-winning chips.

[0044] The analysis device 110 analyzes the images using machine learning or deep learning. For this purpose, the analysis device 110 is trained using images obtained by placing a chip stack on the bet area 13 and taking pictures. To prepare training images, chip stacks are photographed under various conditions. Also, training images are prepared for each of a plurality of groups, and training images are prepared for each number of chips included in the chip stack. Further, an image in which the chips in the chip stack are neatly stacked and an image in which the chips are stacked shifted from each other are prepared as training images. Furthermore, images with relatively dark illumination, relatively bright illumination, and illumination with a specific tint are also prepared as training images. The analysis device 110 trained with such training images can perform image recognition robustly against various conditions.

[0045] When the adjacent bed target areas are partitioned by a boundary line, the analysis device 110 may learn with the boundary line as the recognition target. However, when each bed target area is filled with a predetermined color and the bed target areas are partitioned by making the filling colors of adjacent bed target areas different, the analysis device 110 may recognize the boundaries of those bed target areas by recognizing each bed target area. Also, based on the coordinates of the chips recognized by the first camera 14, the second camera 15, and the third camera 16, it may be recognized that the chip is on the boundary. In this case, the boundary line is mapped to the coordinates.

[0046] In addition, the management system 100 includes a plurality of bed area antennas 131 built in the bed area 13 and a bed area reader 130 for controlling the plurality of bed area antennas 131 in order to read the RFID tag of the roulette chip placed in the bed area 13. The management system 100 includes a plurality of dealer chip area antennas 121 built in the dealer chip area 12 and a dealer chip area reader 120 for controlling the plurality of dealer chip area antennas 121 in order to read the RFID tag 104 of the roulette chip placed in the dealer chip area 12.

[0047] The bed area reader 130 and the dealer chip area reader 120 read the information of the RFID tag 104 of the chip in the reading range corresponding to each antenna by driving the corresponding antenna. As described above, in the present embodiment, in each of the bed area 13 and the dealer chip area 12, since a plurality of antennas are arranged so that their reading ranges overlap, the chip ID stored in the RFID tag 104 of one chip may be read repeatedly by two or more antennas. The bed area reader 130 and the dealer chip area reader 120 integrate the chip IDs read repeatedly by the plurality of antennas into one and determine that there is one chip having the chip ID.

[0048] The control device 140 controls the first camera 14, the second camera 15, and the third camera 16, and the analysis device 110, and controls a plurality of bed area antennas 131 via the bed area reader 130 to perform the dealer support process for the payout. In the dealer support process, the control device 140 guides the dealer as to the number (or amount) of payout chips to be paid for each winning chip.

[0049] As a result of the dealer support process, the control device 140 generates a dealer support screen showing the content of the dealer support, and the display 17 displays this dealer support screen.

[0050] (Dealer support process) Hereinafter, the dealer support process will be described in detail. As described above, when the game result is determined by the ball falling into any of the pockets of the wheel 11, the dealer first collects the non-winning chips from the bet area 13 to the dealer chip area 12. At this time, the control device 140 controls the bed area reader 130 to read the RFID tags of the winning chips remaining in the bed area 13 using a plurality of bed area antennas 131, and obtains a reading result (hereinafter referred to as the "first reading result") including the number of each winning chip by color.

[0051] Also, at this time, the control device 140 controls the analysis device 110 to analyze the images captured by the first camera 14, the second camera 15, and the third camera 16 respectively (hereinafter, these images are referred to as "first images"), and determines the number of each winning chip (hereinafter referred to as the "boundary winning chip") placed across the boundary of the bet target area by color (group), and obtains this as the first image analysis result.

[0052] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example display of a dealer support screen indicating the results of dealer support processing. FIG. 9 shows a dealer support screen when the game result is "No. 20" (the ball has fallen into the pocket numbered 20 on the wheel 11) when the bet shown in FIG. 4 is made. As shown in FIG. 9, on the dealer support screen 171, for the winning chips, for each type of betting method (i.e., winning method), information on the group to which the winning chips belong (i.e., the color of the winning chips), the number of winning chips (or the amount of the winning chips), and the number of payouts (or the payout amount) is included.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 9, according to the content of the bet in FIG. 4, the chips bet on the straight up of No. 20, the split including No. 20, and the corner including No. 20 become the winning chips. For these chips, the number of payouts is calculated according to the payout ratio based on the rules. By checking this dealer support screen 171, the dealer can know which color of chips and how many should be paid out for which winning chips, so that the payout operation can be performed quickly and accurately.

[0054] In order to generate such a dealer support screen 171, the control device 140 must determine, for the winning chips, their betting method, that is, in which bet target area or at the boundary of the bet target area, how many winning chips of which group are placed. However, in the case of the example shown in FIG. 4, the winning chips are arranged around the bet target area "No. 20". When the bet chips are close to each other like this, it is difficult to determine which chip is placed where by grasping that they are placed at different positions for each chip stack by reading the RFID tag 104.

[0055] Figs. 10 to 12 are diagrams showing examples of winning chips shown in the images of the first camera 14, the second camera 15, and the third camera in the present embodiment. In any of the images of the first camera 14, the second camera 15, and the third camera, some of the chip stacks in the back as seen from the camera are partially hidden by other chip stacks in the front. In image analysis, it may not be easy to accurately recognize the type and number of each chip in such a partially hidden chip stack in the back. In particular, for a winning chip surrounded by other winning chips like the "No. 20" startup chip in the example of Fig. 4, partial occlusion by the front chip stack occurs in any of the images of the first camera 14, the second camera 15, and the third camera.

[0056] Therefore, in the present embodiment, a technique for accurately recognizing the chips in a chip stack partially hidden by other chip stacks is adopted for the winning chips.

[0057] First, based on the analysis result of the first image by the analysis device 110, the control device 140 determines the number of each color of the winning chips (hereinafter referred to as "image-recognizable winning chips") that are not occluded in any of the first images and are recognized by image analysis. In the example of Fig. 4, chips C11 and C15 are not occluded in the first image of the first camera 14, chips C11 and C12 are not occluded in the first image of the second camera 15, and chip C14 is not occluded in the first image of the third camera 16. Therefore, all except chip C13 are image-recognizable winning chips and can be recognized by image analysis.

[0058] On the one hand, the chip C13 is a winning chip in which occlusion occurs in any of the first images of the first camera 14, the second camera 15, and the third camera 16 (hereinafter referred to as the "occlusion winning chip"). Therefore, for such an occlusion winning chip, the control device 140 determines the number of occlusion winning chips of each color by subtracting the number of image-recognizable winning chips of each color recognized by image analysis from the number of winning chips of each color indicated by the first reading result of the RFID tag 104.

[0059] The control device 140 further determines the position of the occlusion winning chip based on the positions of all image-recognizable winning chips. In the case of the example in FIG. 4, since the splits of 17-20, the corners of 17-18-20-21, the corners of 20-21-23-24, and the split of 19-20 are recognized by image recognition as they are, the control device 140 determines that the occlusion winning chip is the 20 straight-ups where occlusion can occur due to those chips.

[0060] In this way, the control device 140 uses the first reading result obtained by reading the RFID tag and the analysis result of the first image for the winning chips, and determines the betting method (or betting target) and the number of chips of each color for the winning chips including the occlusion winning chips. Then, the control device 140 calculates the number of payout chips of each color based on the payout ratio corresponding to each betting method for the determined number of chips of each color of the winning chips, and generates a dealer support screen 171 including the number of payout chips of each color. Note that, similar to the chips bet on the boundary of the inside bet area, for the chips bet on the outside bet area, the betting method (or betting target) and the number of chips of each color for the winning chips including the occlusion winning chips may be determined using the first reading result obtained by reading the RFID tag and the analysis result of the first image.

[0061] In the above-described embodiment, the chip IDs read repeatedly by the plurality of bed area antennas 131 in the bed area 13 were integrated into one, and it was determined that there was one chip having the chip ID in the bed area 13. Instead, by separately reading the chip IDs for the inside bed area and the outside bed area, the chip ID of the chip placed in the inside bed area and the chip ID of the chip placed in the outside bed area may be obtained respectively. In this case, depending on the position of the placed chip, the chip placed in the inside bed area may be read by the bed area antenna 131 in the inside bed area and also by the bed area antenna 131 in the outside bed area, and vice versa. Even in this case, the signal strength may be used to determine whether the chip is placed in the inside bed area or the outside bed area.

[0062] (Alert for collection / payment fraud) The management system 100 of the present embodiment further has a function of outputting an alert when there is fraud in the collection of non-winning chips. For this purpose, at the timing when the bet by the player is completed, the control device 140 controls the bed area reader 130 to read the RFID tags 104 of all the bet chips placed in the bed area 13 using the bed area antenna 131, and obtains a reading result (hereinafter referred to as the "second reading result"). Further, the control device 140 reads the RFID tags 104 of all the chips in the dealer chip area 12 using the dealer chip area antenna 121 before collection, and obtains a reading result (hereinafter referred to as the "third reading result").

[0063] When the game result is determined and the dealer collects the non-winning chips from the bet area 13 to the dealer chip area 12, the control device 140 controls the dealer chip area reader 120 to use the dealer chip area antenna 121 to read the RFID tags 104 of all the chips in the dealer chip area 12 including the non-winning chips collected, and obtains a reading result (hereinafter referred to as the "fourth reading result"). Then, the control device 140 calculates the number of chips of each color increased in the dealer chip area 12 by the collection by taking the difference between the third reading result and the fourth reading result. On the other hand, the control device 140 calculates the number of chips of each color increased in the dealer chip area 12 by the collection by taking the difference between the first reading result that reads only the winning chips in the bet area 13 and the second reading result that reads all the bet chips.

[0064] The control device 140 determines whether or not the increase in the chips in the dealer chip area 12 due to the collection and the decrease in the chips in the bet area 13 due to the collection obtained in this way match, and outputs an alert if they do not match. The alert is output as visual information through the display 17.

[0065] In this embodiment, the number of chips of each color of the non-winning chips collected in the dealer chip area 12 is obtained from the difference in the reading results of the dealer chip area 12 before and after the collection. That is, the dealer chip antenna 121 installed in the dealer chip area 12 is used as an antenna for collecting chips that reads the RFID tags 104 of the non-winning chips collected. However, instead of this, a dedicated antenna for collecting chips that reads only the RFID tags 104 of the non-winning chips collected may be used. In this case, the non-winning chips collected are collected in the area where the dedicated antenna for collecting chips is installed and read. After that, the non-winning chips collected are moved to the dealer chip area 12.

[0066] Similarly, fraud detection is also performed for payments in the same manner. That is, the management system 100 of the present embodiment has a function of outputting an alert when there is fraud in the payment for the winning chip. For this purpose, the control device 140 reads the RFID tags 104 of all the chips in the dealer chip area 12 after the payment is completed and obtains a reading result (hereinafter referred to as the "fifth reading result"). Then, the control device 140 calculates the number of chips of each color decreased in the dealer chip area 12 due to payment by taking the difference between the fourth reading result for the RFID tags 104 of all the chips in the dealer chip area 12 after the collection is completed and the fifth reading result for the RFID tags 104 of all the chips in the dealer chip area 12 after the payment is completed.

[0067] In addition, the control device 140 reads the RFID tags 104 of all the chips in the bet area after the payment is made and obtains a reading result (hereinafter referred to as the "sixth reading result"). Then, the control device 140 calculates the number of chips of each color increased in the bet area 13 due to payment by taking the difference between the sixth reading result for the RFID tags 104 of all the chips in the bet area 13 after the payment is completed and the first reading result for the RFID tags 104 of all the chips in the bet area 13 after the collection is completed.

[0068] The control device 140 determines whether or not the decrease in the number of chips in the dealer chip area 12 due to payment and the increase in the number of chips in the bet area 13 due to payment obtained in this way match, and outputs an alert if they do not match.

[0069] The above detection of payment fraud determines whether the decrease in chips in the dealer tip area 12 by the dealer tip area 12 matches the increase in chips in the bet area 13 due to payment, to confirm whether the chips have been transferred from the dealer tip area 12 to the bet chip area 13 without excess or deficiency during payment. However, in the present embodiment, as described above, for the winning chips, the betting method (or bet target) and the number of chips for each color are determined. Further, for the number of chips for each color of the determined winning chips, the number of payout chips for each color is calculated based on the payout ratio corresponding to each betting method. Therefore, the control device 140 may determine whether the chips are actually increasing in the bet area 13 due to payment according to the calculated number of payout chips for each color. The increase in chips due to payment in the bet area 13 can be obtained by taking the difference between the sixth reading result and the first reading result as described above.

[0070] In addition to this, or instead of this, the control device 140 may determine whether the chips are decreasing in the dealer tip area 12 according to the calculated number of payout chips for each color. The decrease in chips due to payment in the dealer tip area 12 can be obtained by taking the difference between the fourth reading result and the fifth reading result as described above.

[0071] Furthermore, for the detection of payment fraud, a dedicated payment chip antenna for reading only the payment chips for reading the chips taken out from the dealer tip area 12 and placed in the bet area 13 before being placed may be used. In this case, the payment chips paid to the bet area 13 are collected in the area where the dedicated payment chip antenna is installed and read. Thereafter, the payment chips are moved by the dealer near the corresponding winning chips in the bet area 13.

[0072] When a dedicated payment chip antenna is used, the control device 140 may determine whether the number of chips of each color decreased by payment in the dealer chip area 12 matches the number of chips of each color read by the dedicated payment chip antenna in order to detect payment fraud. Alternatively, or in addition to this, the control device 140 may determine whether the number of chips of each color read by the dedicated payment chip antenna matches the number of chips of each color increased by payment in the bet area 13 in order to detect payment fraud. Further, when a dedicated payment chip antenna is used, it may be determined whether the calculated number of distributed chips of each color matches the number of chips of each color read by the dedicated payment chip antenna.

[0073] (Patron Rating) The management system 100 of the present embodiment further has a function of performing a patron rating. For this function, as shown in FIG. 8, the management system 100 includes a card reader 160 and a player database 170. The card reader 160 acquires information (player ID) for identifying a player by scanning the membership card of the player who intends to purchase roulette chips. The control device 140 associates the acquired player ID with information on the group (color) of roulette chips assigned to the player. This association may be performed on the control device 140 by the dealer using an input device (not shown).

[0074] When the chip color and the player ID are associated, the control device 140 records the number of bets (bet amount) for each player in the player database 170 based on the number of chips of each color bet shown in the second reading result at the timing when the bet ends. By doing this for each game, the player database 170 records the history and cumulative amount of the number of bets (bet amount) for each player. Note that only either the history or the cumulative amount may be recorded in the player database 170.

[0075] Note that the identification of the player may also be performed using a camera. In this case, the face of the player who attempts to purchase a roulette chip is photographed by the camera, and the player can be identified by performing face authentication using the image. In this case, any one of the first camera 14, the second camera 15, and the third camera 16 may be used as the camera. Also in this case, the dealer may associate the identified player with the color of the roulette chip, or this association may also be performed using a camera. That is, the state in which the player bets on the roulette chip is photographed by the camera, and by analyzing the image, the player can be identified, the chip can be recognized, and the player and the color of the chip can be associated with each other.

[0076] (Modification example) In the above-described embodiment, the first camera 14, the second camera 15, and the third camera 16 all take pictures at a predetermined timing to generate images, and the analysis device 110 analyzes the taken images. Instead, the first camera 14, the second camera 15, and the third camera 16 may take videos, and the analysis device 110 may analyze the taken videos or analyze the images extracted from the videos.

[0077] In the above-described embodiment, three cameras including the first camera 14, the second camera 15, and the third camera 16 are installed on the table 10, but at least two cameras are sufficient. When two cameras are used, it is desirable that the two cameras be installed diagonally to the bet area 13, like the positional relationship between the first camera 14 and the third camera 16 in the above-described embodiment. Also, four or more cameras may be installed. When four cameras are installed, the four cameras may be installed at the four corners of the game table 10. Also, in addition to the installation position and the shooting direction, the plurality of cameras may have different installation heights, viewing angles, resolutions, etc. from each other.

[0078] In the above-described embodiment, for the bed area 13, a plurality of bed area antennas 131 are installed so as to overlap each other. When the same chip ID is read by a plurality of bed area antennas 131 by the bed area reader 130, it is integrated and treated as the chip ID of one chip. The control device 140 may specify the approximate position of the chip based on the intensity of the signal received from the RFID tag by each bed area antenna 131 for each chip. Similarly, for the dealer chip area 12, the area where the chip is located may be specified based on the intensity of the received signal from the RFID tag in a plurality of dealer chip area antennas 121.

[0079] In the above-described embodiment, an example in which a roulette chip dedicated to the roulette game is used has been described. However, under a predetermined rule (for example, when the number of players participating in the roulette game is small and the dealer permits it, etc.), betting and settlement may be performed using a general chip incorporating an RFID tag. Also in this case, each antenna and each reader of the management system 100 may read the RFID tag of the general chip and perform the same management as described above.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0080] 10 Roulette table 11 Wheel 12 Dealer chip area 13 Bed area 14 First camera 15 Second camera 16 Third camera 17 Display 100 Management system 110 Analysis device 120 Dealer chip area reader 130 Bed area reader 140 Control device 150 Display 160 Card reader 170 Player database 121 Dealer Chip Area Antenna 131 Bet Area Antenna 171 Dealer Support Screen 101 Group Identification Unit 102 Common Unit Gaming Chip for C Roulette

Claims

1. A management system for managing a roulette game played using roulette chips on a roulette table having a wheel and a betting area divided into a plurality of betting areas, comprising: In the roulette game, different players use roulette chips having different colors, The roulette chip is provided with an RFID tag that stores information corresponding to at least its color, and the color appears at least on a side surface of the chip; The management system includes: At least two cameras that capture images of the betting area from different diagonally upward positions to generate respective images or videos; One or more betting area antennas built into the betting area for reading the RFID tags of the roulette chips bet on the betting area; an analysis device that analyzes the image or video to determine the number of roulette chips of each color bet on the bet area, a plurality of boundaries between adjacent bet areas, and a positional relationship between the roulette chips and the boundaries; a control device that controls the at least two cameras, the one or more betting area antennas, and the analysis device to perform a dealer support process for payout; a display that displays a result of the dealer support processing; Equipped with The control device includes: for the winning chips remaining after the game result is determined on the wheel and the non-winning chips are collected by the dealer, the RFID tag is read using the one or more bet area antennas to obtain a first reading result, and the winning chips are photographed using the at least two cameras to obtain a first image or video, and the first image or video is analyzed using the analysis device to determine the number of image-recognizable winning chips of each color that are not occluded in any of the first images or videos; By subtracting the number of the image-recognizable winning chips of each color from the number of the winning chips of each color indicated by the first reading result, the number of the occlusion winning chips of each color in which occlusion occurs in any of the first images or images is determined; Calculating a payout for each color based on the number of the image recognizable winning chips for each color and the occlusion winning chip based on the payout multipliers for each color; A management system in which the display displays the payout for each color calculated by the control device.

2. Further, a collected chip antenna is provided for reading the RFID tag of the non-winning chip collected by a dealer. The control device includes: Using the one or more betting area antennas, read the RFID tags of all the roulette chips bet on the betting area to obtain a second reading result; Using the collected chip antenna, the RFID tag of the non-winning chip is read to obtain a third reading result; 2. The management system according to claim 1, wherein an alert is output when the result of subtracting the number of non-winning chips of each color indicated by the third reading result from the number of all roulette chips of each color bet indicated by the second reading result does not match the number of winning chips of each color indicated by the first reading result.

3. a player identification system that identifies a relationship between a player participating in the roulette game and the color of the roulette chip assigned to the player; a recording device for recording a history and / or a cumulative bet amount for each player; Further equipped with 3. The management system according to claim 2, wherein the control device determines the history and / or the accumulation to be recorded in the recording device based on the number of each color of all roulette chips betted as indicated by the second reading result.

Images