Wide Area Bonusing System Decoupled From Player Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bonusing systems for gaming machines are limited to specific sites and require upgrades to player tracking or accounting systems, making it difficult to share player tracking information and expand bonus pools across multiple establishments.
Innovation Solution
A wide area bonusing system that decouples bonusing methods from player tracking systems, allowing participation qualification based on criteria such as contribution level, game availability, and location, and using a central system to manage bonus accumulation and payout criteria independently of gaming outcomes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If bonusing systems are implemented as part of player tracking or accounting systems, then bonus prize pooling is enabled, but player tracking information sharing between establishments becomes problematic and system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the bonusing system from the player tracking system by introducing a dedicated bonusing server that operates independently. The bonusing server receives only anonymized gaming data (wager amounts, game types) from gaming machines and manages bonus pools without accessing or storing player tracking information. This separation allows multiple establishments to participate in bonusing while maintaining data privacy and reducing integration complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The bonusing server acts as an intermediary between gaming machines and player tracking systems. It receives gaming data from machines, processes bonus calculations, and manages prize pools without requiring direct integration with player tracking databases. This intermediary layer enables bonus functionality while isolating sensitive player information, allowing cross-establishment participation without data sharing.
2Quantity of substance
If bonusing systems are limited to specific sites, then player tracking information privacy is maintained, but bonus pool growth is restricted by single-site contribution capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The bonusing server is designed with universal functionality to serve multiple gaming establishments simultaneously. It accepts gaming data from machines across different sites, applies统一的 bonus calculation rules, and manages pooled prizes for all participating establishments. This universal design enables the system to scale from single-site to multi-site operation without requiring establishment-specific customization or data sharing agreements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the essential bonusing functionality from player tracking systems and implements it as a standalone service. By removing the dependency on player tracking databases and identity management, the system can operate across establishments without requiring players to be recognized or tracked across sites. Only anonymized gaming behavior data is needed, enabling broader participation while maintaining privacy.
3Adaptability or versatility
If player tracking systems are upgraded to support bonusing features, then integrated bonus functionality is achieved, but implementation cost and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of upgrading existing player tracking systems to include bonusing features, the patent segments the functionality into a separate, dedicated bonusing server. This new server is purpose-built for bonus management and does not require modification of legacy player tracking infrastructure. Gaming machines simply need to send basic wager data to the bonusing server, minimizing implementation complexity while achieving full bonus functionality.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a novel bonusing system implemented on gaming machines and associated network devices on a network. According to some implementations, a central system qualifies or eliminates sites and/or types of gaming devices for participation based on criteria such as contribution level, games available, date range, location, device manufacturer, denominations available, etc. In some implementations, the qualification or elimination process is performed at a site (e.g., by a site controller) according to criteria obtained from the central system. The methods of the present invention may be de-coupled from player tracking methods.