Gaming through mobile or other devices.

GAMES VIA MOBILE OR OTHER DEVICES Cross reference to related requests

This application claims priority to US Provisional Application 61/604,115, filed February 28, 2012; US Provisional Application 61/680,168, filed August 6, 2012; and US Provisional Application 61/736,087 filed December 12, 2012, both of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by this reference.

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Field

Some modalities can generally refer to gaming and/or mobile devices.

Background

Individuals may use mobile devices, such as cell phones, PDAs, notebook computers, and/or other assorted devices. Games can be implemented, such as casino games, sports betting, video games and/or various other forms of games.

Compendium

The following should be construed as exemplary embodiments, not as claims.

A. A method comprising: determining, by means of a computing device, that a first cellular telephone accesses a game service through a first network, where the game service recognizes that it is in an approved location; in response to determining that the first cell phone is accessing the game service through the first network, allowing, via the computing device, the first cell phone to access the game services of the game service; determining, via the computing device, that a second mobile phone is accessing a gaming service over a second network, where the gaming service does not recognize that the network is in the approved location; in response to determining that the second cell phone is accessing the game service through the second network, which determines, via the computing device, that a first confidence level that b Lcnrn/nznz/q/YiA the second cell phone is in the approved location based on a first internet protocol address of the second cell phone is above a trust threshold; in response to determining that the first trust level is above the threshold trust, allowing, via the computing device, the second cellular phone to access the game services of the game service; determining, via the computing device, that the third cellular phone is accessing a gaming service over the second network where the gaming service does not recognize that it is in an approved location; in response to determining that the third cell phone is accessing the gaming service through the second network, determining, through the computing device, that a second level of confidence that a third cell phone is in an approved location based on a second internet protocol address of the third cell phone is below the trust threshold; in response to determining that the second confidence level is below the threshold confidence, querying, via the computing device, a secondary location determination service for a location of the third cell phone; receiving, by means of the computing device b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi, an indication of the location of the third cell phone from the secondary location determination service; and allowing, via the computing device, the third cell phone to access game services of the game service based on the location of the third cell phone being in the approved location.

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b. A method comprising: determining, by means of a computing device, on which of a plurality of geofences a device is located, where a first of the plurality of geofences includes at least one second geofence, and where one or more gaming activities are available for a user of the device, when the device is located on any of the plurality of geofences; based on which of the plurality of geofences the device is located, determining, by the computing device, a time at which a location of the device will be re-determined, where when the device is located on the first geofence but not on the second geofence , time is a first value and where when the device is located within the first and second geo-fences, time is a second value; and at the determined time, determining, by means of the computing device, a location of the device.

Bl The method of claim B, wherein the second time is greater than the first time. B.2. The method of claim B, wherein the second beat is less than the first beat. B.3. The method of claim B, where the second time is equal to the first time. B.4. The method of claim B, wherein the second geofence includes at least a third geofence.

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c. A method comprising: registering, by means of a computing device, an application on a device, where one or more game activities are available to a user of the device, and where the application is configured to at least determine a location of the device, that the device has changed location and/or a distance the device has moved; receiving, via the computing device, from the application a report where the report includes at least one of a location of the device, an indication that the device has moved, and an indication of a distance that the device has moved; and in response to the report, determining, by the computing device, through the geofencing system a location of the device.

Cl The method of claim C, further comprising: determining which of a plurality of geofences a device is located on, where a first of the plurality of geofences includes at least one second geofence, and where one or more gaming activities are available for the user of the device, when the device is located in any of the plurality of qeofences; and based on which of the plurality of geofences the device is located, configure the app to report location changes, where the device is located at the first geofence but not the second geofence, the app is configured to report movements distance from the device compared to when the device is located within the first and second geo-fences.

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d. A method comprises: in response to a user using a device to access a gaming service to perform at least one gaming activity, determining by a computing device whether the user's device is located within a predefined location, where the predefined location is defined by a non-circular geofence, and where determining whether the user's device is located within the predefined location includes making the determination by use of the geofencing system; and allowing through the computing device the user to perform at least one gaming activity from the user's device based on a determination that the user's device is located at a predefined location.

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Dl The method of claim D, wherein the non-circular fence is a polygonal geofence.

AND. A method comprising: determining, by means of a computing device, on which of a plurality of geofences a device is located, where a first of the plurality of geofences includes at least one second geofence and where one or more gaming activities are available for a device user, when the device is located on any of the plurality of geo-fences; based on which of the plurality of geofences the device is located, determining, by the computing device, a time at which a location of the device will be redetermined, where when the device is located on the first geofence but not on the second geofence, the time is a first value and where when the device is located within the first and second geofences, time is a second value; and at the determined time, determining, by means of the computing device, a location of the device.

The method of claim E, wherein the second time is greater than the first time. E.2. The method of claim E, wherein the second beat is less than the first beat. E.3. The method of claim E, where the second time is equal to the first time. E.4. The method of claim E, wherein the second geofence includes at least a third geofence.

F. A method comprising: registering, by means of a computing device, an application on a device, where one or more game activities are available to a user of the device, and where the application is configured to at least determine a location of the device, that the device has changed location and/or a distance the device has moved; receiving, via the computing device, from the application a report where the report includes at least one of a location of the device, an indication that the device has moved, and an indication of a distance in b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi the that the device has been moved; and in response to the report, determining, by the computing device, through the geofencing system a location of the device.

fl The method of claim F, further comprising: determining which of a plurality of geofences a device is located on, where a first of the plurality of geofences includes at least one second geofence, and where one or more gaming activities are available for a user of the device, when the device is located on any of the plurality of geofences; and based on which of the plurality of geofences the device is located, configure the app to report location changes, where the device is located at the first geofence but not the second geofence, the app is configured to report movements distance from the device compared to when the device is located within the first and second geo-fences.

g. A method comprising: in response to a user using a device to access a gaming service to perform at least one gaming activity, determining b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi by a computing device whether the user's device is located within the predefined location , where the default location is defined by a non-circular geofence, and where determining whether the user's device is located within the predefined location includes making the determination by use of the geofencing system; and allowing through the computing device the user to perform at least one gaming activity from the user's device based on a determination that the user's device is located at a predefined location.

Gl The method of claim G, wherein the non-circular fence is a polygonal geofence.

Brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 shows a block diagram of a hand reading system of some modalities.

Figure 2 shows apparatus playing a game in some modes.

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Figure 3 shows an example process that can be used in some modalities for the validation and/or use of a mobile device.

Figure 4 is a set of example applications that can be run by a mobile device to facilitate access to a mobile gaming service.

Figure 5 shows an example of a series of geofences displayed on a map of Nevada.

Figure 6 shows some example processes that can be performed in some modes with respect to a geofence.

Figure 7 shows some example processes that can be performed in some modes with respect to a geofence.

Figure 8 shows an example architecture that can be used in some embodiments for location determination.

Figure 9 shows an example method that can be performed in some embodiments.

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Figure 10 shows an example according to some modalities.

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Figure 11 shows an example of a series of geofences displayed on a state map.

Detailed description

I. Example modalities

In a colloquial way, the game can be referred to as a bet, but it must be understood that the modalities are not limited to the legal definition of bet that is limited to games of chance, but can include games of skill, games of fantasy, games of chance and/or any other type of game and, therefore, the term game is used when dealing with some modalities instead of the term bet. The game may include risking a sum of money because an event will occur. Said risk can be based on skill and/or risk, with bet and/or parimutuo and/or have any desired form. The game may include a fee to enter a competition based on the success of an event. The winner of such a competition may receive a prize (for example, money based on the sum of competition entry fees). Gambling may be used herein to refer to such skill-based or risk-based gaming in some cases and should not be construed as being limited to one or the other type of game unless otherwise specified. Play may include gambling, risking money, paying a competition entry fee and/or any other form of play as desired. Various modalities can be applied to any type of game in any combination and/or arrangement.

Some exemplary methods and systems that may refer to the game are described in US patent applications 13/080,098 and 13/288,223. US Patent Application No. 13/080,098, assigned to Amaitis and filed April 5, 2011, is incorporated herein by this reference. US Patent Application No. 13/288,223, assigned to Amaitis and filed November 3, 2011, is incorporated herein by this reference.

Some modalities may facilitate the game on one or more mobile devices. Some modalities may allow such gambling when a mobile device and/or client is located in a jurisdiction and/or area where gambling (for example, betting, lottery, fantasy competitions) b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi is legal . Some modes may allow such play when a mobile device and/or client is appropriately authorized and/or controlled. In some embodiments, various procedures and/or apparatus may be used to ensure the security, authenticity, and/or locations of a client and/or device. Play may be facilitated, in some embodiments, with a cellular network, a wireless communication network, and/or any desired communication network. In some embodiments, where such gaming is permitted at a location, where a device is appropriately authorized and/or controlled, a customer may operate a mobile device to play one or more games (for example, place one or more bets, entering game-defining information of one or more games) from a gaming or other account on a communication network.

In some embodiments, the game may include, for example, sports betting, casino betting, proposition betting, fantasy competition play, sports lottery play, and/or other form of play. In some modalities, the game can include a game account, a credit card, the use of cash, on credit, etc. In some forms, the jurisdictions and/or areas in which gambling may be permitted include, for example, area of ​​b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi casino gambling, the state of Nevada, outside hotel rooms, outside residences, the city of Atlantic City, inside hotel rooms, etc. It will be understood that although some modalities are described in terms of sports betting, cellular networks and/or particular areas, these modalities are provided as examples only and that other modalities may include any type of games desired, any type of communication networks desired, any desired area/s and/or none of these.

Some Features may include technology configured to enable a customer to play a game over a communication network using a mobile device, if the customer is in a location where playing the game is legal and/or otherwise permitted (for example, the state of Nevada). Some features may include technology configured to prevent a customer from playing a game over a communication network using a mobile device, if the customer is not in a location where playing the game is legal and/or otherwise permitted (for example , it will prevent you from placing a bet, it will prevent you from logging into an account, an account transfer will be closed when you are outside of a legal gambling area, etc.) . In some b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi modalities, gambling related services may be provided and/or avoided outside of legal gambling areas as desired and/or as permitted in the respective areas. Such game-related services may include providing odds, score updates, account information, etc. In some embodiments, a location of a mobile device can be used as a proxy for a location of a client. References to a location can be understood as a location of a mobile device (for example, a given location, an approximate location).

Examples of location based on IP address b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

Some modalities may include determining a location based on an IP (internet protocol) address. For example, a location of a user of a mobile device can be determined based on the IP address of the location. Said location may be an estimated location based on information received regarding IP addresses. Such information received may include internet service providers identifying the IP address ranges that are assigned to a particular location, identification of the user of a location from a particular IP address, and/or any information that may be useful in determining a location based on an IP address. A location can include a location with any desired granularity and/or include-based granularity available. For example, a location can identify a city, state, zip code, etc. In some embodiments, a higher level of granularity may be used than is available (eg, if state and city are both available, city may be used). It should be accepted that various modalities may not be limited to a specific granularity and/or method of determination or identification. Instead of and/or in addition to a location where the device is, a location can include a location where something is not (for example, a device can be anywhere except a few places, such as not in California, and this can be useful if gambling is allowed in most locations but not in a few locations).

Some modalities may include and/or interact with a system that provides location information based on IP addresses. An example of a system that can carry out such functionality includes IP Intelligence offered by Neustar, which is located at 401 Castro Street, Mountain b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

View, California. Some modalities may include interacting with said system (for example, requesting location information, transmitting IP addresses, receiving location information, etc.). For example, in response to receiving a request to access gaming services from a device, the device may be queried for the IP address of the device requesting access to gaming services. A location can be determined in response to the query (for example, by accessing stored information regarding IP addresses, such as the ranges of IP addresses that Internet providers assign to each location, and comparing the IP addresses with those ranges) and streamed from the device to a gaming service. A location may be received from said service in response to said query. Some modalities may include a local copy of a database of IP locations. The local copy may be stored by a game service provider and queried to make a location determination. The local copy can be updated with a third-party master copy on a regular basis (eg, weekly, monthly, etc.) and/or as desired. Where various modalities are discussed and refer to a third party IP location or other third party services, it should be understood that a b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi local copy of the information or local service may be used instead of or in addition to a local service. third parties, and that such third party service is provided merely as a non-limiting example.

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Some modalities may include the purchase and/or storage of IP address information and determining location information based on such information. For example, instead of and/or in addition to using a third party service, some modalities may include storing information about IP addresses and using such information instead of and/or in addition to consulting third parties. For example, some modalities may store specific IP addresses that have known locations (eg, IP addresses associated with a particular property such as a specific casino, partner, etc.). A location can be determined by comparing a received IP address with such stored information.

In some embodiments, determining and/or receiving information regarding a location based on an IP address may include a trust in said location. For example, an IP-based location determination service can identify that, based on known information about IP address locations, that a particular IP address is 90%, 100%, 10%, 50%, 0%, or any probability of being in a location. Any method can be used to determine confidence. For example, if an Internet Service Provider provides information that identifies where they assigned a particular range of IP addresses, and the IP address whose location is being determined corresponds to the range, 100% confidence may be assigned to that location. As another example, if other information, such as user, provider, or other received information is used to determine location instead of the specified IP information, a lower confidence level (eg, 50%) may be assigned. As another example, if observation (eg, an indication that IP addresses have been observed at a particular location) is used to determine a location, a lower confidence level (eg, 50%) may be assigned.

In some embodiments, determining and/or receiving information about a location based on the IP address may include identification of a type of network that assigns the IP address. For example, it may be known that mobile networks allocate IP addresses in a certain range, so that an address can be identified as a known mobile address. Other networks may be known to assign addresses in a particular range, so an address can be identified as being from a network with any known characteristics. It may be important to know whether the network to which a particular customer device is connected is a mobile network (for example, a cell phone network) or a non-mobile network (for example, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, etc.). A mobile network may be treated differently than a non-mobile network (for example, IP address location checking may not be used for mobile network connections but may be used for non-mobile networks). In some embodiments, a network type can influence the trust level of an IP location.

Location determination at multiple levels b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

In some embodiments, a game service may limit access to the game services to devices that are in particular locations. Such locations may include jurisdictions where gambling is legal. Such locations may include properties where gambling is legal. Different types of services may be available based on the location where the service is located (for example, which jurisdiction, which state, which casino, which floor of the casino vs. abroad, in a school, etc.).

Some modalities may include a multi-level location determination to facilitate the determination of which gaming services, if any, you are allowed access to a gaming device. For example, in some embodiments, different location determination methods may be used in different situations. Such different situations may include different states of an IP address of a device accessing a gaming service. For example, if an IP address is known to a game provider, a device location may be accepted as known; if an IP address is not known but has high confidence to be in a location based on a third party determination, the third party determination may be accepted; if an IP address is not known and has low confidence to be in a location based on a third party determination, a secondary location determination method may be used (eg geofencing, GPS, etc.). It should be understood that various modalities may include any methodology in any combination for determining locations and that the

Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi references to third parties are not limited and may not use such third parties in any way (for example, a local cache of an IP location system, a local geofencing system, etc.) may be used. Said multi-level determination can be carried out by means of a game provider (for example, a server, a router, a computer system, etc. of a casino and/or third-party gaming service provider) that may interact with one or more hosts and/or devices, as desired, to facilitate such location determination.

Location based on trusted IP or known network location b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

Some modalities may include providing game services to users of mobile devices (for example, cell phone, laptop) that communicate with a game service through one or more known or trusted communication networks (for example, Wi-Fi networks in a casino). For example, a gaming service provider may establish a relationship with one or more venues (eg casinos). A gaming service provider may provide or otherwise associate with a communications network at the one or more locations (for example, by establishing a Wi-Fi network that users of the location can access and/or by recording/accessing information about of a Wi-Fi network established by the place).

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In some embodiments, the devices may access a gaming service over the communications network. The Game Services may be outside of the network and may be accessed through a router or other network interface that connects the network to the Game Service (for example, through a public network, such as the Internet). The network interface may have an IP address known to the game service provider (eg, a static IP address that is provided by and/or registered with the game service provider as a trusted source). Said IP address may be visible to the off-network service accessed by devices on the network (eg, by a game provider component from packets received from devices accessing the network). A game service provider can compare a list of trusted IP addresses with the IP addresses in packets (for example, TCP/IP packets) received by the game service that identify a source of the transmission (for example, the interface of the game). network) to determine that the device is accessing the game service from a location covered by the network (for example, through a router that connects the Wi-Fi network to the Internet).

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In some embodiments, a gaming service may be on a network and/or devices on the network may have assigned IP addresses that are visible outside of the network. Such assigned IP addresses may be from a known range available to the network to assign to devices on the network (for example, assigned by an Internet service provider or other IP address authority). Said address range may be registered with a gaming service provider (for example, stored in a known database of IP addresses). Based on the game service being accessed from a device with an IP address in the trusted range, a component of the game service provider can determine that the location of the device is in a location covered by the network (for example, by referencing a stored list of known IP address locations).

Various methods for assigning IP addresses and determining IP addresses are known in the art. For example, DHCP is a popular protocol for assigning IP addresses to devices on a network. Static and dynamic IP addresses are known in the art. For example, a network interface on a well-known network may be assigned a static IP address. A network interface can dynamically assign IP addresses to devices on a network in an assigned range. TCP/IP packets are a known format that can be used and can include an indication of a source IP address.

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A gaming service can determine whether a device attempting to access a gaming service is assigned or otherwise associated with a trusted IP address associated with a known location and/or trusted network. If said device is associated with said known IP address, the game service may allow the game to be played. Such permission may include allowing no further location verification during the time of access in association with the known IP address. Such a location determination based on known IP addresses can be considered a first level of a multi-level location determination. In some embodiments, a game service can be accessed from a known network through a public network.

In some embodiments, a game service can be accessed from a trusted network directly, rather than from the network through a public network. For example, a game service can be attached to the known network directly so that it can be accessed without accessing it through a public network (eg, the Internet). In some modalities, the game service can also be accessed through the public network (for example, from other networks and/or unknown locations). Some modalities may include determining that the game service is being accessed over a known network rather than a public network (for example, based on a device's IP address that is of a device in a range that is known to be on the network, based on an interface receiving a request to play associated as connected to the network instead of a public network). If a game service is accessed over a known network by means of a device associated with the network, the game service may allow the game to be played. Such permission may include allowing without further location verification during the time of access from the known network. Said location determination based on accesses from a known network can be considered a first level of a multi-level location determination.

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High Trusted IP Based Location b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi

As discussed herein, some modalities may include determining a location of a device accessing a gaming service from a public network and associated with an IP address that is not familiar and/or trusted by the gaming service based on a The device's IP address may be available, for example, from a data packet received by a gaming service. For example, if an IP address of a device that is trying to access a game service is not in a trusted range or does not come from a trusted source (for example, if the device is not accessing the game service from a Wi-Fi network that is registered as a trusted network), a determination of a device's location could be attempted and/or made from the device's IP address.

For example, it may be necessary to query a location to a third-party service that associates IP addresses with locations with the IP address of the device. A location where game services are allowed can be received from that service with a confidence level of the device that is at the location. Such modalities may include carrying out said determination by a gaming service in addition to and/or instead of a third party. Accordingly, some modalities may first determine whether a network through which a first device is accessing a gaming service is trustworthy, and if not, may determine an IP-based location of the device before allowing the device to access the game. games service.

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A gaming device can perform different actions depending on the confidence of said determination. For example, if the fact that a device is in an approved location is considered high trust, then access to the gaming service may be allowed. Such permission may include allowing without further location verification during the time of access in association with the IP address. Such a location determination based on an unknown IP address via a public network having a high trust can be considered a second level of a multi-level location determination.

A threshold confidence that can allow the second level to be used can include any desired level. An example of level includes 90%, 75%, 100%, 50%, etc. Such threshold may be set based on jurisdictional requirements, gaming service provider preferences, user preferences, casino preferences, etc. While separate percentages are provided as examples, other modalities may include qualitative labels (for example, a third party may return a label with high or low confidence instead of a confidence percentage).

It should be understood that while various examples of IP-based location determination methodology and/or other methods are described in terms of wireless networks, Wi-Fi and/or mobile devices, any type of device and/or networks may be used (for example, laptops, wired networks, etc.) . For example, an IP location determination can be used to determine the location of a desktop computer accessing a gaming service. Wired connections are more likely and/or may always result in higher confidence because it may be easier to track and/or log locations for wired connections.

In some embodiments, a device with an IP address known to be on a mobile network IP address b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi may be treated as low-trusted regardless of third-party assessment or other third-party location assessments. Trusted IP of a device location. Some modalities may consider a mobile network IP address to be a low-trust address because it was assigned by a mobile network provider (for example, a cellular company). Because devices attached to mobile networks are more capable of roaming than devices attached to wired networks, some modalities may treat such roaming as low-confidence indicators of the device's location. Some modalities may not include other trust indicators but may base trust on the type of network. Other modalities may not use the network type at all. The network type may be determined by an IP address, a third party service (such as a third party location determination service), by the service's self-report, and/or otherwise.

Low Trusted IP Based Location

As discussed herein, some modalities may include determining a location of a device accessing a gaming service from a public network and associated with an untrusted b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi network, based on an IP address of the device. For example, if an IP address of a device that is trying to access a game service is not part of a trusted network or the game service, a determination of a device location based on the address may be attempted and/or made. Device IP.

For example, a location can be queried to a third-party service that associates IP addresses with locations with the device's IP address. A location where game services are allowed can be received from that service with a confidence level of the device that is at the location. Some modalities may include carrying out such determination by a gaming service in addition to and/or instead of a third party.

A gaming device can perform different actions depending on the confidence of said determination. For example, if such confidence is considered low, then access to the gaming service may be contingent on a second location determination. Several examples of determining the secondary b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi location are provided herein. For example, a geofencing service may be used, a GPS query may be used, and/or any desired location determination technique may be used as a secondary location determination method.

A threshold confidence that can allow the second level to be used can include any desired level. An example of level includes 90%, 75%, 100%, 50%, etc. Such threshold may be set based on jurisdictional requirements, gaming service provider preferences, user preferences, casino preferences, etc.

In some modes, if a secondary location determination (for example, querying a geofencing service) results in a location matching the IP-based location or otherwise verifies that the device is in an approved game location , then the game can be allowed. In some modes, a secondary location may be trusted if the location does not match the IP-based location, so game services may be allowed as long as the secondary location shows that the device is in a location where game services are located. are allowed. In some modes, b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi if a secondary location service results in a location where gaming is not allowed, the game services may be prohibited regardless of what was observed in a prior location determination based on in IP. In some modes, if there is no match between the IP-based location and the secondary location, the game services may be banned.

In some embodiments, a secondary location determination method may include a location that uses a telephone network to determine a location of a cell phone or other device that has a telephone number (for example, a wireless broadband card) in at least a few instances. Such a service may accept a phone number as an input value and return a location as an input (for example, in response to a query from a game provider that identifies the phone number). Some modalities may include determining if the phone number is available and if it is, using a suitable location service that accepts the phone number as an input value to determine a location of the device.

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In some embodiments, a telephone number may be accessed by gaming software that is executed by a mobile device to access the gaming service. For example, a gaming application running on a cell phone that accesses the gaming service to allow the user to play games may be able to determine the phone number of the cell phone on which it is running (for example, by querying a operating system via an API) . A phone running Android, for example, may allow such functionality. One or more actions may be performed when such functionality is available to facilitate the secondary location determination method.

In some embodiments, a telephone number cannot be accessed by gaming software that is executed by a mobile device to access the gaming service. For example, a gaming application running on a mobile phone that accesses the gaming service to allow the user to play games may not be able to determine the phone number of the mobile phone on which it is running (for example, it may not be capable of querying an operating system via an API). A phone running iOS, for example, may not allow such functionality. Therefore, they can be carried out one or

Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi further actions when such functionality is not available to facilitate the secondary location determination method.

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For example, in some embodiments, a user may be prompted to enter a telephone number and the entered telephone number may be used as a telephone number for the telephone. The phone number can be entered after registration and/or during access to the gaming service. In some embodiments, the user can be trusted to enter the correct telephone number. In some modalities, a verification method can be used (for example, randomly calling on the phone or sometimes in response to a login attempt an SMS is sent to the phone with a code that must be entered, verifying against a registered set of information that identifies the telephone number of the user, etc.). Any verification method can be used to give the gaming service confidence that the phone number is actually the phone number. Such action may be taken in response to the game service's determination that the device does not provide direct access to the device's phone number through an API.

In another example, in some embodiments, a telephone number may be determined based on information entered by the user in a registration process. For example, when registering to use the service, the user may be asked to provide the phone number of the device. In some embodiments, some form of phone number verification may be used. In some embodiments, as described herein, a particular device may be associated with a service before it is allowed to use it. During the process, the device may be associated with a telephone number (eg, the device's number may be provided to the gaming service to enroll the device in the service and stored in a number database). A service may determine the device based on a MAC address and/or other identifying information (eg, pin, password, security pattern, etc.) entered into the device. Such information can be used to determine the phone number that was associated with the device in the enrollment process. The number that was associated during the enrollment process can then be used to determine a location.

bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi

Some modalities may employ a tertiary placement verification method. Such a method can be used if location confidence is low, if the phone number is not available through an API, and/or in response to any potential location queries. For example, a tertiary location verification method may include asking the device where it is located. For example, a game application running on a phone may access a phone's GPS location and report the location to the game service provider as a tertiary location determination method. In some modes, if the location of the phone number entered or determined by another method and the location reported by the phone match, the secondary location can be verified. In some modalities, if the locations do not match, the secondary location may not be trusted. It can be assumed, for example, that a phone number is false or entered incorrectly. Such tertiary verification can be useful, for example, when using an iOS device, because the phone number of the iOS device cannot always be verified, so tertiary GPS location can be used as a verification method. If the locations do not match b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi, access to a gaming service may be denied.

In some embodiments, a client application can determine a less expensive tertiary location determination method and use it to verify location information, if needed. For example, a device can support many location determination methodologies from cell tower triangulation to GPS, and can use the one that requires the least amount of system resources.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

In some embodiments, a secondary location determination method instead of a tertiary location determination method may include a method that does not use a telephone number. For example, such a method may include querying a device for its location (for example, via GPS or other methods) and transmitting such information. It should be recognized that any secondary location determination method may be used whether or not it relies on telephone numbers, self-transmitted and/or telephone-transmitted information, etc.

In some embodiments, an IP address change on a client device may result in the client losing connectivity to the game provider. To regain connectivity, the client may be required to verify location through some method such as those described herein. In some modes, this loss of connectivity can occur because the game provider detected a change. In some embodiments, such a change may occur due to a VPN connection established between a client and the game provider, a gateway being established in response to a dropped login because the client's IP address changes. In embodiments establishing such a VPN, all data may be routed through the VPN to and from the client device while the client device is performing game services (for example, by adjusting the inputs of the routing table on the client device to route all traffic through the VPN to a game provider's gateway). In this way, a gateway can block unwanted data, such as proxy connections, remote desktop connections, connections that may try to evade security, play remote games, or perform other unwanted actions. In some embodiments, a VPN may only allow game-related actions that are directed to and/or from the game provider to reach the client while the b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi client is performing game actions with the game provider. In some embodiments, in order to continue using a gaming device, it may be necessary to verify a location of a device (eg, using one or more levels of a multi-level location verification protocol).

bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi

Locations with disallowed games and failed or unsupported verifications

In some embodiments, if an IP location determination results in a location where gaming is not allowed, various actions may be taken as desired. Such actions may depend on a location confidence level.

For example, in some embodiments, in all cases, a backup location determination method (eg, geofencing) may be employed and relied upon over IP-based location determination. Such backup location determination may therefore override IP location based determination in some embodiments in which it is employed.

As another example, in some embodiments, if a confidence level that said location is an area where gaming is not allowed is above a threshold, gaming may be prohibited. Such prohibition can be performed without consulting a backup location determination method. For example, said threshold may include a threshold of 100%, 90%, 75%, 50%, etc.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

As yet another example, in some embodiments, if a confidence level that said location is an area where gaming is not permitted is below a threshold, then a secondary location determination method may be used. Said secondary location determination method may be relied on over and above the IP-based location determination method.

In some embodiments, a location determination error may occur and/or a location determination method may not be compatible with a device (eg, a device may not include GPS). If a location determination policy requires a location to be determined but a situation such as the above occurs, it may be considered that the location determination of the device failed, access to the game service may be denied until a location is determined , a number of additional attempts can be made to determine the location, some previous location can be assumed as the location, some transmitted location of a different level of location determination may be used and/or any desired action may be performed. A gaming service may perform one or more of these actions if desired.

Various examples of location determinations and reactions to such location determinations have been provided. It should be recognized that such location determinations are provided as examples only and that various modalities may include any desired location determination methodology, any desired thresholds, and combinations of elements, no elements, more elements, etc., as described or not. at the moment. It should be recognized that although some examples may have been described in terms of allowing gaming services or disallowing gaming services, different and/or similar examples may apply in determining which gaming services and/or other gaming services are permitted and/or or offered (for example, how to brand the interface, which games to allow, which session starts to present, etc.) based on a location determination (for example, a multi-level placement determination method may result in a placement determination that is used to determine which games to allow and which branded games).

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

Several examples of location determination made when a user attempts to access a gaming service are provided. It should be recognized that such location determination may occur as desired and/or in response to any trigger. For example, said location determination may be performed when the application is running (eg, at startup, periodically, randomly, based on a distance to the border, based on location, based on speed of movement, based on the movement address, based on a change in an IP address of a device and/or network through which the device accesses the game service), in response to a trigger (for example, a login attempt, a bet request, periodically, randomly, based on location). In some embodiments, a component of a game service, such as a gateway or server, may detect an event or determine that a location determination is desired and facilitate said location determination in response to said determination.

Examples of signal strength b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

Some modalities may include taking an action based on a known network signal strength. For example, in a multi-level location determination method, if a signal strength of a known network drops below a certain threshold, a certain action can be taken (for example, by a mobile device, by a voice service, etc.). games, by a game service and a device). A lower signal strength can, for example, indicate that the border of an area covered by the known network is being reached.

In some embodiments, an application may transmit a signal strength to a game operator (eg, periodically, in response to a change in signal strength, in response to a signal strength reaching a threshold, etc.). In some embodiments, a location determination method (eg, one trusted by a gaming operator) may change based on a signal strength reported as less than some threshold (eg, 50% of maximum). For example, a secondary location determination method may be used in such cases until and/or unless the signal strength returns to a higher level. Therefore, around the edge of an area covered by a known network, a secondary location method (eg geofencing, GPS, light tag, etc.) can be used to verify that the device is still in the area it is supposed to be. is covered by the network and/or to allow a smooth transition when the IP address changes. In some embodiments, a usage rate of a secondary location determination method may increase as a signal strength decreases, so that when a user approaches a border of a known network, the polling rate increases.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

Some modalities may include using a secondary siting method at some or all levels of a multi-level siting methodology. Said secondary method can function as a verification of another method. A frequency of use of such a check may depend on which level of determination is being used (eg, more frequent for lower confidence levels), a confidence level, a signal strength, a distance to a jurisdictional border, etc.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

In some embodiments, near a border of a jurisdiction, such as a state, and/or when crossing a border of a jurisdiction, such as a state, mobile devices, such as cell phones, may be assigned new IP addresses. . For example, in some embodiments, a 3G network may function across state lines and a 4G network may be state-specific. Consequently, as a mobile device crosses state lines, the device may disconnect from one 4G network, connect to one 3G network, and then connect to the other 4G network. In other examples, a 3G network may differ by state, and/or there may be no 3G networks that cross state lines. Accordingly, a gaming service provider may rely on an IP address to determine the locations of a mobile phone in some instances without reference to secondary location determination methods, if the mobile phone uses a specific mobile network of a state that the gaming service provider uses. game operator knows that it is state specific. Accordingly, although some embodiments discussed above may treat cellular networks more strictly, if said mobile network is a state-specific mobile network that is known to a game operator, such strict treatment may not be activated.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

In other methods, such secondary location determination methods may be used to verify another location determination methodology, as discussed herein.

In some embodiments, a gaming application can monitor a GPS and force an IP address to change when it is determined that the mobile device has crossed a state line. In some embodiments, a GPS may be transmitted to a game operator, and a game operator may request that a new VPN tunnel be formed if a GPS crossed a state line. In some embodiments, a phone's GPS may be monitored by a gaming application and may be transmitted to a gaming service provider as a device approaches a jurisdictional or other major border that may trigger some location determination action, such as a different level or source of location determination to use. In some modes, a GPS transmission rate may increase as the distance to the border decreases.

Additional alternative methods of determining location

It should be recognized that any alternative location determination methodology can be used in various modalities, and that the examples of GPS, geofencing, light tagging, IP location, etc., are only non-limiting examples. For example, instead of an IP location being at a higher level of a multi-level location determination method, GPS can be at that higher level. Any configuration and combination of location determination can be used as desired.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

As an example, some embodiments may include a location determination methodology that works based on known networks (eg, Wi-Fi networks that are discoverable from a particular location). Such modalities may include detecting and/or storing Wi-Fi networks and/or forces at various locations (for example, said information and GPS information may be transmitted by a plurality of users for storage). Such information can be used to map an area defined by Wi-Fi network strengths at each point in the area. At a later time, when it is desired to determine a location for a user, the available Wi-Fi network and/or the strength of those networks can be compared to the stored information to determine a probable location. For example, an application can transmit a list of available Wi-Fi networks and the signal strengths of those networks to a central server and/or a third party that can determine the probable location of a device based on a mapping of the location to the networks. wifi and/or signal strengths.

Examples of methods and apparatus

Figure 9 illustrates an example of a method that can be carried out in some embodiments. Said method can be carried out, for example, by a component of a game service (eg, gateway, service, etc.). Said location determination may include a location determination for a particular use stage. For example, said location determination may refer to a usage registration step. If location determination is successful and no further location determination is needed, some modalities might b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi additionally perform location determination checks in other stages of use (e.g., in response to actions, after time has passed, etc.) .

As illustrated above, some modalities may include determining if a cell phone (or other device, such as a laptop, desktop computer, augmented reality device, etc.) is communicating with a gaming service over a trusted network. or otherwise known. One method may include allowing gaming services if the cell phone is determined to be in communication over the trusted or otherwise known network. It may not be necessary to use additional location-based determinations for a particular method if that first level of determination is satisfactory in some embodiments. Additional location determinations and/or backup determinations may be used, in some embodiments, even if that primary level is satisfactory.

As illustrated above, some modalities may include determining if the cell phone's IP address has a confidence level greater than a first threshold that

Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi indicates that it is in an approved location. One method may include allowing gaming services if the IP address is determined to have a trust level greater than the first threshold indicating that it is in an approved location. It may not be necessary to use additional location-based determinations for a particular method if that second level of determination is satisfactory in some embodiments. Additional placement determinations and/or backup determinations may be used, in some modalities, even if said secondary level is satisfactory.

As illustrated above, some modalities may include determining whether a secondary location determination method based on a non-IP address identifies that the cell phone is in an approved location despite the fact that the cell phone's IP address has a level of trust that does not exceed the first threshold. One method may include allowing the game service if the location based on a non-IP address identifies that the cell phone is in the approved location.

As illustrated above, some modalities may include determining whether the game provider allows the b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi game services based on a determination of a cell phone location. For example, if a location determination level results in the cell phone being in an approved location, the game may be allowed. Otherwise, the game may be prevented. Said method and/or determination can be performed periodically, in response to a trigger, etc., and whenever desired.

bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi

It should be recognized that Figure 9 is provided as a non-limiting example only. Various embodiments may include carrying out one or more methods to facilitate any desired functionality. For example, the methods may include actions that allow users to perform actions as described with respect to any combination of modalities described herein. A different order of actions may be used in different methods. For example, in methods that prefer IP location determination over network location determination, the order of the first and second blocks may be reversed.

Figure 10 illustrates an example of some modalities. As illustrated in Figure 10, some embodiments may include a game service provider component 1001 (eg game server, accounting server, etc.), an interface component 1003 (eg , a gaming service provider gateway, one or more gaming service provider network interfaces, etc.), an authorized/trusted network 1005 (for example, a network managed by or registered with a gaming service provider in a known and/or controlled location, a Wi-Fi network, a wired network, etc.), a 1007 communication service provider (for example, a cellular phone provider , Sprint, etc.), one or more IP-based location determination services 1009 (for example, a system that allows an IP address to be mapped to a location in some way that may be a third party or a part of a gaming service provider), one or more geofencing services or other 1011 location determination services (for example , a service that maintains geo-fences and allows inquiries related to them by a game service provider which may be part of or separate from a game service provider), a set of devices 1013a,b,c (for example, cell phones, mobile devices, stationary devices, laptops, desktop computers, kiosks, etc.), one or more areas 1015a,b that b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi may be covered by a 1005 authorized network (for example, an area in a casino, an area covered by a Wi-Fi network, a building where connections are located to access a wired network, etc.), and one or more qeofences 1017 (for example, geofences related to a geofence provider 1011) . It should be recognized that the example of Figure 10 is provided as a non-limiting example only and that other embodiments may include any combination of elements that may work together in any way. For example, in some embodiments, a gaming operator may provide IP-based location determination locally, may perform geofencing calculations locally based on location information received from a user device and/or service provider. network etc

bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi

In some embodiments, a gaming service provider 1001 may include any number of components arranged in any manner to provide gaming services (eg, betting, lotteries, fantasy competitions) to one or more users. For example, a gaming service provider may include one or more computing devices (eg, servers, blades, etc.) configured to perform one or more methods. A game service provider may carry out a method as shown in Figure 9 and/or provide any desired functionality, such as the functionality described herein in combination with any element and/or by itself.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

In some embodiments, the interface component 1003 may include any number of components arranged to allow the gaming service provider to interface with one or more networks and/or mobile devices. For example, such an interface component may include a gateway, a network interface card, etc., arranged to connect to one or more networks. In some embodiments, such a separate interface component may be included for each network (eg, a proprietary network may include one and a public network may include another). An interface component may be part of a game service provider 1001 and/or a separate element. An interface component may carry out a method as shown in Figure 9 and/or provide any desired functionality, such as the functionality described herein in combination with any element and/or by itself.

In some embodiments, authorized network 1005 may include a wireless or wired network. Such a network may include a network licensed by a gaming service provider, managed by a gaming service provider, connected to a particular gaming service provider's network interface, and/or otherwise authorized to access a gaming service provider. A licensed network 1005 may include one or more network access points, routers, etc., which may allow a connection to a public and/or private network which may include resources such as a connection to a gaming service provider. For example, such a network may include a network or subnet operated by a trusted Internet service provider that assigns the network or subnet to a particular area. As a further example, such a network may include a network operated by a trusted establishment at a fixed location.

In some embodiments, the communication service provider 1007 may include a service that provides communication services to one or more devices. For example, such a service provider may include a cell phone company, such as Sprint. Such a service provider may allow a device using the service to access a gaming service provider and/or a public network, such as the Internet.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

In some embodiments, the IP-based location determination service 1009 may include one or more components that can facilitate location determination based on an IP address. Said service may be part of a gaming service provider and/or a third party service provider. Such a service may respond to requests with information about the location, confidence of the location based on the IP address, and/or a network type of a device using the IP address. Such service may include any number of computing devices and/or other items.

bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi

In some embodiments, another location determination service 1011 may include one or more components that can facilitate location determination based on any desired method (eg, geofencing, light tagging, GPS query, etc.). Said service may be part of a gaming service provider and/or a third party service provider. Such a service may respond to requests for location information and/or location confidence based on a device identifier such as a phone number. Such service may include any number of computing devices and/or other items.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

In some embodiments, devices 1013 a,b,c may include any combination of mobile and/or immobile devices. For example, devices may include cell phones, laptops, etc. Such devices may be configured to communicate through one or more networks and/or service providers (eg, 1007 and/or 1005). Such devices may be configured to run one or more applications that may facilitate the gaming services, methods, and/or functionality described herein.

In some embodiments, area 1015 may include a casino area, a building floor, a vendor, a building that has connections for wired connections, etc. A covered area can be configured to only include a specific region of a casino, only cover the interior of a casino, only cover the surface of the casino, etc. For example, access points may be arranged and/or configured to cover an entire first floor of a casino, but not other areas. It should be recognized that any area that is continuous and/or discontinuous can be covered in any way, with any device.

In some embodiments, the geofence 1017 may include an area around which a geofence has been established. Several examples of geofences are provided herein.

In some embodiments, as illustrated in Figure 10, devices 1013 a,b,c may operate in the state of Nevada. This is provided by way of illustrative example only.

In some embodiments, device 1013a may access a network 1005 while in the area 1015 covered by network 1005. Gateway 1003 and/or gaming service provider 1001 may determine that device 1013a should have access to game services based on the device that accesses game services over the network.

In some embodiments, device 1013b may access communication service 1007. Device 1013b may attempt to access game services through communication service 1007. Gateway 1003 and/or game service provider 1001 may determine that the b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi device does not access through a known network 1005. The gateway 1003 and/or the game service provider 1001 may determine, in connection with the IP-based location determination service 1009, that a confidence level that the IP address of a device 1013b that is located in an approved location (for example, the state of Nevada) is below some threshold level. In response to such a determination, the gateway 1003 and/or gaming service provider 1001 may determine, with reference to another location determination service 1011, that the device 1013b is in an approved location. For example, the device may be determined to be on a geofence monitored by a geofencing service. In response to said determination, the gateway 1003 and/or the game service provider 1001 may determine that the device 1013b should have access to the game services.

In some embodiments, device 1013c may access communication service 1007. Device 1013c may attempt to access game services through communication service 1007. Gateway 1003 and/or b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi game service provider 1001 can determine that the device is not accessing through a known network 1005.

In one example, the gateway 1003 and/or gaming service provider 1001 may determine, in connection with the IP-based location determination service 1009, that a confidence level that the IP address of a 1013c device that is in an approved location (for example, the state of Nevada) is above some threshold level. In response to said determination, the gateway 1003 and/or game service provider 1001 may determine that device 1013c should have access to game services.

In another example, the gateway 1003 and/or the gaming service provider 1001 may determine, in connection with the IP-based location determination service 1009, that a confidence level that the IP address of a 1013c device that is in an approved location (for example, the state of Nevada) is below some threshold level. In response to such a determination, the gateway 1003 and/or game service provider 1001 may determine, in relation to another location determination service 1011, that the device 1013b is not in a geofence, does not have capabilities for b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi to use the other location service, and/or is otherwise in a location that cannot be verified. In response to such a determination, the gateway 1003 and/or game service provider 1001 may determine that device 1013b should not have access to game services. In other embodiments, a tertiary level of location determination (eg, a GPS query) may be used, and based on that determination, a device may be granted or denied access. In some embodiments, as described elsewhere, some embodiments may use a network type (for example, a mobile network may need a backup check), additionally and/or alternatively, as a value for a verification methodology. location determination.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

In some modalities, the gaming services may include single player games, multiplayer games, tournaments, etc. For example, in some modalities, the users of devices 1013a and 1013b can participate in a tournament against each other. Collusion detection can be used based on location information in some of the examples.

It should be recognized that Figure 10 is provided as a non-limiting example solely to illustrate some example functionality that may be included in some embodiments. Other embodiments may include different components that may interact in any way to provide any desired functionality, such as the functionality described with respect to various embodiments herein in any combination.

Enrollment Examples

Some modalities may include an enrollment and/or registration process. Said process, for example, may establish an account with a particular casino, an account with a gaming service provider, user information verification, device registration and/or any other information. Such processing may include a user providing information to a game provider and/or a representative of a game provider (eg, in person, through a computer interface, etc.). Such registration may be required prior to granting a user and/or equipment access to a gaming service and/or account with a particular casino. Such processing may include establishing a link between a device and a player (for example, a record in a database identifying that a particular bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi player is associated with a particular device). Such process may include establishing a gaming account for a player (for example, establishing an account into which a player may place money and/or from which a player may play games). Such a process may allow a player to sign up for a gaming service. After this process has been carried out, a player and/or device may be authorized to play games (for example, through a communication network, through an enrolled device, while being within an authorized location, with a particular gaming operator that performs at least part of the process, etc.).

Some modalities may include a customer signing up for a mobile gaming service with a gaming operator. Said registration process can be carried out, at least in part, at a casino (for example, a casino employee, at a kiosk, in person, etc.), through a website (for example, accessed through the mobile device, accessed through another device), in person (for example, at a kiosk, in a casino), remotely (for example, through a website, at a kiosk in a b Lcnrn/ nznz/q/Yi store).

In some embodiments, as explained in US Patent Application 13/288,223, which has already been incorporated by reference, a gaming service provider may provide services for multiple locations and separate accounts may be established for gaming related to each place. Similarly, separate accounts may be established for the different activities that each account is permitted (eg, a casino gaming account and a sports gaming account). Consequently, a single user may have multiple accounts through a single gaming service provider. In some modalities, a registration process may include the establishment of one or more accounts with one or more restrictions, affiliations and/or other characteristics for a user. In other modalities, a single account can function as an account in multiple places and/or types of games.

In some modalities, the registration to a gaming service may include the opening of a gaming account and/or the association of an account with an ability to play games. For example, a new account may be established into which a user can place money and from which a user can access money to play games. In some b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi modalities, said account may include a bank account, a credit account and/or any account that may be created or may already exist, which may be associated with a gaming service.

In some embodiments, a registration process may include a user providing information to a gaming service provider (for example, through a computer interface or device, such as a kiosk or mobile device, through a representative of the provider gaming services). For example, a user might approach a gaming service provider representative at a casino and provide a completed form or fill out a digital form on a tablet. The representative may save such information or enter such information on a gaming service provider's computing device. Information provided may include name, social security number or tax code, address, age, telephone number, gender, race, income, and/or any desired information. Some information may be required (eg age) and/or allow additional functionality (eg social security number or tax code for tax information, gender for targeted advertising). Such information may be received by a b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi composed of a gaming service (for example, from the computer system, tablet, etc., through which it may be entered).

As another example, in some embodiments, a kiosk or other computing device may allow a user to enter such information. As yet another example, a mobile device itself may be used to enter such information. For example, a user can download and install an application to a mobile device and then run the application. The application may connect to the game service provider and the user may be prompted to enter the information.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

In some modalities, verification of one or more pieces of information may be requested or required. For example, a representative may scan or photocopy identification (eg, driver's license, passport) of a user to verify age, name, and/or other required information. As another example, a user may be required to take a photo of an ID and transmit that information to the gaming service provider for verification. A game service provider may receive and/or store such information. Such information may enable a gaming service provider to prevent use by minors, or prevent illegal or fraudulent use. In some modalities, an enrollment process may not be completed until identification verification is complete. Verification may include a third-party inspection of an identifying statement (eg, by an off-site human, by a computing device, etc.). Such verification may be determined by a gaming operator and, in response, a registration may be allowed and/or completed.

In some modalities, at least part of an entry process may be required to be completed in person or at the premises of a gaming operator and/or representative of a gaming operator. For example, in some modalities, an entire registration process may be required to be completed in person. As another example, a person's registration may be required to be made in person (for example, age verification) to verify their eligibility to play a game. In some forms, an application to use a mobile gaming service may be required to be made in person, and a customer may be required to provide valid proof of identification, proof of residence, social security number, and/or any

Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi test or information desired to enroll in a service. In some forms, a customer may be denied an application to register for a mobile gaming service if the customer is under the age of 21, does not meet a residency requirement, does not provide sufficient proof of identification, does not meet a sobriety and/or fails to meet any other desired requirements.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

In some embodiments, an enrollment process may include establishing a capability for a user to access an account in the future. For example, a username and password can be set. In some modes, a username and mac address or phone number of a particular device may be used. In some modes, a mac address or phone number of a device and a password can be used. In some embodiments, a database may be established that includes fields for user information, device information, and/or any combination of device and/or user information that may be used to determine access to the gaming service in the future.

In some embodiments, an enrollment may include the creation of a user. For example, a user may choose and/or be assigned a username and/or password/pin. Such information may be specific to a user and/or to a casino or other combination of gaming venue and user. For example, a single user may have a single username and password combination to access all of the accounts the user has with a gaming service provider. In such an example, a user may use a username and password to access both a Venetian and an M Resort account through a gaming service provider. As another example, a single user may have different usernames and/or passwords that can be used to access accounts at each casino and/or venue with which the user has been associated through the gaming service provider. For example, a user can use username and password to access Venetian accounts through a game service provider and a user can use username and password! to access M Resort accounts through the gaming service provider.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

When attempting to access a gaming service using a mobile device, the user may be prompted for login information (eg by a gaming service provider via a mobile interface). Such request may include a selection of a casino, location and/or account. Such a request may be made before a user enters access information (for example, if the access information is specific to the casino) and/or after a user enters access information (for example, if the access information is not specific to the casino). It is specific to the casino). Such entered and/or selected account and/or access information may be transmitted from a user device to a gaming service for verification before a user can use a gaming service with the device. The user may be requested and/or required to enter such information during the use of a device to verify that the user is the one who is still using the device. For example, a user may be asked, on a periodic basis, to provide login information, requested in response to a trigger (for example, a play attempted in the game, a period of time, a loss of money, a win of money). , a change of limit amount of money in a period of time, a movement of a device, a lack of movement of a device, a change from a typical style of play such as an abnormally large bet or a different type of game than the user's usual, etc.).

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In some embodiments, an enrollment may include the registration of a device. A device may be registered with a game service provider to allow a user access to game services. The device can be registered to multiple users or limited to a single user. Registration may include identifying the device with the user, such as by recording the device's MAC address, phone number, and/or other identifying information that can be used to determine in the future that the device has already been registered. In some embodiments, a game service may limit access to game services to devices registered to it by adding an additional layer of information verification to a game service, represented by a possessed item. For example, some modalities may include registering a MAC address of a cell phone and associating it with a user. When the user registers, a verification may be made to determine that the user is accessing the game service from a registered device, by comparing the MAC address information with the device attempting to access the game service. The user may be allowed access to the game service if said b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi information matches, but access to the game service may be prevented if the information does not match.

In some embodiments, device registration may include generating device-specific authentication. Such authentication may include a pin, password, and/or other authentication mechanism. For example, in some embodiments, a game provider may provide authentication information to an agent, user, device, etc. (for example, through a kiosk at registration). Such information may be required to be entered on the device being registered, to verify that the device is present and to signal to the gaming service provider which device is being registered. The game service provider may receive the information entered on the device (for example, through an application running on the device on which the information is entered). In response to said receipt, the game service provider may associate the device with the user. The user may be prompted to generate chosen authentication information (eg, a pin, password, and/or other authentication method, such as a swipe pattern), which may be specific to b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi the device and/or specific to the user. Accordingly, when the device is authenticated to the service, the service may prompt the user for device- or user-specific authentication information.

bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi

The authentication information may include a password, a pin, a pattern (eg, a swipe pattern on a device's touch screen, a sentence, etc.).

A gaming service may request authentication of a device. Such a request may include a request when access to a game service is requested, periodically, in response to a trigger, etc. The authentication request may include parsing a device's identification, such as a MAC. Such analysis may occur on a periodic, continuous, etc. basis, with the intent of preventing unregistered devices from accessing the gaming service. Authentication may include requesting and/or parsing other information, such as authentication information entered by a user (for example, password, pin, swipe pattern,

Accordingly, in some embodiments, a user may have established a username and/or password/pin combination that authenticates a user. A user may also have established some other authentication, such as a swipe pattern that authenticates to a device. It should be recognized that these examples are not exhaustive and that any combination and/or arrangement of authentications may be used as desired. In some embodiments, a user may be prompted for authentication. Examples of such authentication requests are provided herein. Such requested authentication may include any established authentication, be it username and password/pin, swipe pattern, etc. and examples are provided for non-limiting purposes only.

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In some embodiments, a client may be associated with a device for use with a gaming service. For example, if a customer enrolls with a device and the device is verified, the verified device and the customer may be linked so that the customer can use the device with the gaming service. For example, a database record may be made that identifies such a link (eg, a customer username and/or device MAC address/telephone number may be identified as linked). In some embodiments, Customer may be prevented from using other devices with the Service (for example, unless Customer enrolls and associates those devices as well). In some modes, other clients may be prevented from using the device with the game service (for example, unless the other clients associate with the device). A gaming service may perform a check on a database of authorized users and/or devices to determine whether to allow a user to play games from a particular device.

In some modes, a player may be able to access an account and/or play games through a gaming service using any device that has been activated. For example, a user may register for a gaming service with an established username and/or password, using any device that has been verified by the user and/or by any other user for use with a gaming service. In some modes, databases of approved devices and approved users may be maintained, and any combination may be permitted to use the gaming service.

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In some embodiments, a game service may allow a user to authorize additional devices for use with the game service. For example, if a first device was authorized for use with a gaming service, the authorization of that device may provide proof that the device is in the hands of the user. An authorization method designated during device authorization (for example, a swipe pattern) can then act as proof that the user owns a thing. Accordingly, in some embodiments, instead of requiring another device to be authorized through the same process as a first authorized device, a user may, in some embodiments, use the same authorization method of a first device to authorize a second device. device. A game service may determine that a second device is not authorized for use with a game service and may request a device authorization from a user who intends to use the second device to access the game service. The user can enter a device authorization method set for a first device. The game service can then authorize the second device for use with the service based on the registration of the method of bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi authorizing the first device to the second device. Other information about the second device may be required to fully register the second device (eg, MAC address, phone number, a check of an operating system file, etc.). Such information may be transmitted to the gaming service, requested from a user or API, and/or determined and/or verified in any way.

Some modalities may include determining one or more characteristics of a mobile device during an enrollment process. For example, a telephone number of a cell phone can be determined. That phone number can be verified by calling the cell phone at the time of registration, thus determining that the location of a cell phone with the phone number is at the location of the record (for example, requesting a location service such as a service geofencing, etc.). Said telephone number can be used in the future to determine the location, contact a user, etc. Other features may include that software is correctly installed on the phone, that an operating system runs correctly on the phone, that a phone has appropriate functionality to use a b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi game service, a registration of a checksum of a software on a telephone, etc.

Some modalities may include verifying a mobile device for use with a gaming service. Such verification may include, for example, determining the authenticity of software, determining an operating system version, determining a communication network, and/or any other desired action. Such verification may be done in person by a representative of a gaming operator, remotely via software (for example, software on the mobile device, software on a kiosk, such as a kiosk to which a mobile device can be associated via a USB port and/or other wired and/or wireless communication method.

In some embodiments, a customer may physically provide a mobile device to a representative of a gaming operator for verification. In some modes, software may be running on the gaming device to perform verification. In some embodiments, a third and/or second machine may perform the bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi verification.

A verifying entity can determine that a device is running an approved operating system. An example of an operating system that may be approved may include Android OS 2.2. Such a determination can be made by a memory location read, file comparison, comparison of the operating system with a list of approved operating systems, etc.

An entity performing verification can determine that a device is running on an approved communication network. An example of a communication network that may be approved may include a Sprint network. Such a determination may be made by reading memory location, contacting Sprint to match a device identifier, comparing a communication network to a list of approved communication networks, etc.

An entity performing verification may determine that an operating system running on the device is an approved operating system for the communication network that the device uses. For example, such a determination may include a determination that the device has not been rooted. Such determination may include comparison of a functional operating system with a list of approved operating bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi systems for the communication network and device.

A verifying entity may determine that a device runs and/or stores any desired program and/or does not run and/or stores any unwanted program. For example, the entity may determine that the device is running an approved antivirus program. As another example, the entity may determine that the device is not running any malware, and/or remote access technologies. Various examples are provided elsewhere herein to determine if a device is remotely controlled. Said determination can include a search of a memory, comparison of programs executed and/or stored with a list of tested approved or not approved, etc.

Some modalities may include the installation and/or activation of one or more services on a mobile device. Said installation and/or activation may be done in response to a verification of a device and/or a registration of a user to a service. Such installation and/or activation may be done through a gaming operator representative, a kiosk, a gaming operator's computer b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi device, a client, software running on the mobile device, etc.

In some embodiments, an Android container application and/or mobile game AIR client may be installed on a mobile device. It should be recognized that such program examples are provided as non-limiting examples only and that other embodiments may include any desired program and/or no program at all. For example, in some modes, instead of an Android container application, a Win32 container application, an Apple application, etc. can be installed. In some embodiments, information may be provided to the customer on how to reinstall any desired software if a problem occurs.

Some modalities may include verification of appropriate authentication and/or enrollment. Such verification may be done through a desired entity (eg, a customer, a program, a gaming operator representative, a kiosk). Such verification may include comparing checksums and/or MD5 and/or SHA-2 file hashes, program names, etc. Such verification may include verification by logging into an account and/or gaming service using the b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi mobile device and/or performing any desired action with the mobile device.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

In some modalities, after said process (for example, in response to successfully completing one or more actions of this process), a client and/or device may be authorized to play. A customer, for example, may be able to access a gaming account and/or play games through a gaming service using an approved device (eg, the device and/or any approved device).

In some embodiments, a gaming service provider registration component may maintain registration and/or account information. For example, a gaming service may maintain balance information for one or more user accounts at one or more casinos or other locations. A customer database may maintain such information, so that users are appropriately associated with accounts. Such database information may be collected during and/or in response to an enrollment process. In some embodiments, a database registration may be made for each user that associates the user with multiple accounts. A change of user information when accessing an account and/or through a place can be propagated to other accounts through the database. For example, if a user enters a name change to one place or account, that name change may apply to all accounts, since the value in the database may have changed. In some embodiments, if a user tries to create a new account in a new place, the new account may be associated with the user through the database. Some steps of an enrollment process (for example, age verification) may be skipped, since that step may have already occurred in a previous enrollment. Some modalities may include updated account information from one account to a second account, based on a change in account information (for example, when a user signs up with a different address to a second account, the different address may be reflected in the first account through said universal database).

Some modalities may include a balance and/or minimum initial deposit in a betting account to register for a gaming service. In some modalities, for example, a customer may be required to provide a minimum of USD 100.00 in cash to be placed in an account established b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi with the gaming operator, to sign up for a gaming service mobile. It should be recognized that $100.00 is provided as a non-limiting example, and that other modalities may include any desired minimum (eg, 1 cent, $10, $1 million). It should be recognized that cash is provided as a non-limiting example and that other modalities may allow transactions to and/or from an account in the form of cash, personal check, certified check, funds transfer, money order, debit card, credit card, wire transfer electronic money to the casino cashier and/or any desired method. In some modalities, transfers to and from the account, including initial and/or subsequent transfers, can be made at the same location of the registration process, through a representative of a gaming operator, on a website, etc. ., as desired.

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It should be recognized that such a process is provided as a non-limiting example and that other embodiments may include different processes, the same, more, less, none, etc. These processes can include actions that are the same, different, alternative, less, more, ordered differently, etc. Various examples of items that can be verified and/or installed are provided, but are not limited to.

Any combination and/or arrangement of actions may be used in an enrollment process, as desired (eg, to provide a desired level of security).

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

User Security Examples

Some features may include security methods to ensure that a device is not lost or stolen and then used to access a gaming service. For example, in some modalities, it is recognized that a human generally moves when holding a mobile device (eg, walking, a small tremor in the hand, movement of the hand when operating the service, etc.). Accordingly, an accelerometer on a device can be used to determine if the device is being held or has been left somewhere. A type of motion can be analyzed to determine if the device exhibits motion similar to that produced by a human being (for example, motion that is within the speed of natural human motion, as opposed to motion in a car, motion in a pocket, and/or other non-typical movements produced when being held by the hand of a human being).

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For example, an application (and/or game operator) on a mobile device can query the accelerometer, gyroscope, GPS, etc. of the device to determine if the device is in motion and/or moves in a manner characteristic of being held by a human hand (for example, in motion with a desired set of parameters, such as in a range of speed , with a level of irregularity, etc.). In some modalities, the application could prevent access if the device does not move or the absence of movement occurs in a similar way to that of a human being. In some embodiments, if a determination is made that the device is not moving, a timer may be started so that the application may prevent access if the device does not start moving in some period of time. In some embodiments, the combination of non-use and non-motion may be used to determine whether access should be prevented (eg, to allow a user to place the device on a table but use it anyway). For example, access may be prevented if you reach the threshold of a time period in which non-use and non-movement occur.

Denying access can include requiring a login before allowing access, forever barring a device, barring access until a representative is contacted, etc. An application running on a device can track this movement information and use the information to cause a logout or reconfirmation to be required. The device can transmit the movement information to a central server that can determine when a logoff or reconfirmation can be required.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

In some modes, movement of a device may trigger a location reconfirmation. For example, a location listening process can be executed on a mobile device. Such a process can determine if a device has moved a threshold amount or if it has moved at all. For example, such a process may call a GPS API or other location API so that location information is passed to the process. If a GPS or other appropriate source of location transmission reports that a location has changed by a threshold amount or by any amount, an application may trigger a location reconfirmation (eg, by notifying the game service of the movement). The threshold amount can vary based on distance from the edge of a border or geofence (eg, higher threshold if a device is further from a state border). Although a GPS itself may not be a reliable source of location information, it can be somewhat reliable in reporting movement in general. In this way, the movement can be used as a trigger to perform another location confirmation, such as querying a location that provides geofencing or another service. A device can report movement to a central service, and based on receipt of that movement, the central server can perform some other location check (for example, if the movement is above some threshold amount that may or may not be based on distance from a jurisdiction border, a confidence from a previous location confirmation, a time since a previous location confirmation, and/or any other desired information.

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Proxy and virtual machine detection

In some embodiments, a game provider may wish to prevent a proxy or virtual machine from being used. Such items can be used to evade security or location restrictions. Therefore, actions can be taken to prevent a client using a game service from using a proxy or a virtual machine.

bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi

For example, a proxy can be used to make it appear that a client device is in a specific location, when in fact the client device is in another location. Information going to and part of the client device is first routed through the proxy. If the proxy is in a location where a game service provider allows play, then the game service provider may allow play even though the actual client is not in the allowed location. This may allow illegal gambling to occur. To prevent such illegal games, a game provider may prevent the use of a proxy.

A client process, such as software used to access a gaming service, may perform a latency check to determine if traffic is passing through a proxy. The use of a proxy can introduce an increase in latency, because an extra hop through a communication network (eg the Internet) with greater distance is introduced into a path between a client and a game service. If the traffic is determined to be going through a proxy, the client may be prevented from connecting to the game service provider. A client application and/or a game server may determine a latency between their communication (for example, during a registration process). If this latency is too large, the game server or client device may prevent you from playing the game.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

Various methods can be used to make the determination that a latency is too high to access a game service. An example method might include a game application on a game client that pings or pays traceroute to a game service (or vice versa). A payment response can be used as the latency compared to some threshold latency. In some embodiments, the ping or traceroute packet may be transmitted with a ttl (time to live) level set to a certain amount (eg, 1, 2, 3). This can happen because of a proxy that can be expected to be an early hop or a first hop after leaving the local network. If those early hops, which are expected to have low latency (for example, because they should be close to the client), have high latency (for example, because they are really a proxy that is far from the client), then the client it can assume a proxy is being used and prevent access.

A high latency can include a latency that is based on some standard threshold. For example, a latency for a hop can be limited to less than 20 ms, less than 10 ms, less than 100 ms, etc. In some embodiments, a latency limit may be limited based on knowledge of standard latencies for an area. A latency can vary based on the time of day, network congestion, network failures, etc., in a particular area or time. For example, another user's latency can be used to determine a standard latency. Users who attempt to log in to the gaming service and have a latency that is greater than a certain amount (for example, 100% more, 50% more, etc.) than the standard amount (for example, latency from other users accessing the game service, latency from other users in a similar location accessing the game service, etc.). A gaming service may monitor such standard latency and use it as a comparison when users sign up for the service and/or transmit it to a user device so that the user device can use it b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi as a comparison during the registration process.

A virtual machine can also be used to bypass location or security restrictions. Any method of limiting and/or detecting the use of virtual machines can be used, as desired. If a game client and/or game service determines that a user is running client software on a virtual machine, then access to the game service may be prevented (for example, the client may not allow a connection to be made , may not open, etc.) . As an example of determining whether the client software is running in a virtual machine rather than a real machine, the client software may query an operating system to verify a processor architecture. If the operating system returns a known virtual machine architecture and/or an unknown physical machine architecture, then the client can determine that the client is in a virtual machine. As another example of determining if software is running on a virtual machine, a client might check the identities of running processes against a list of known virtual machine processes. If a match is found, then a determination can be made that the client is b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi running in a virtual machine.

A virtual machine and/or proxy check may be performed when the client software tries to open, when a user tries to log in to a gaming service, periodically while using the gaming software, etc. A result may be transmitted to a central server which can use the information to prevent play and/or be used locally to prevent play. In some embodiments, such verification may be performed by the gaming service instead of and/or in addition to client software.

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It should be recognized that various determination examples with respect to virtual machines and proxies are provided as non-limiting examples only. It should be recognized that various examples of avoiding gambling based on virtual machines and/or proxies are provided as non-limiting examples.

Authentication Examples

Some modalities may include an authentication method. Such an authentication method can be designed to provide a desired level of confidence that the mobile device is not being accessed remotely, that a mobile device has not been hacked, and/or that a mobile device is in a location where the game is not. permitted. Said method can be used to provide a level of confidence that the user is actually present on a mobile device, that the user is actually using the mobile device, and/or that the user is located at the location.

Although many different methods can be used, an example method might include two process examples, for example: an initial enrollment and/or device authorization (for example, establishing a link between a device and a player, and/or establishing a betting account), and an application security handshake and/or ongoing validation (for example, verifying occasionally that the software is not tampered with and/or a person associated with an account is still using a device). An example of such a process is provided herein. Said processes can be independent, dependent, the same process, different processes, configured in any way and/or carried out by any device and/or person desired.

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Examples of security handshake and/or continuous validation b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi

In some embodiments, an application security handshake may include a secure multi-system authentication protocol that may facilitate compliance with one or more regulatory requirements. For example, one or more actions and/or devices may provide reasonable assurance that a mobile device accessing a gaming service is at an approved gaming location at the time of a wager by using a location service to obtain the location of the device (for example, regularly), to validate a location of a device in response to one or more requests to a gaming service (for example, each request). As another example, one or more actions and/or devices can provide reasonable assurance that a mobile device is being used in person and not remotely by, for example, validating at a polled interval that some (for example, all but one ) of the external interfaces to the device are disabled before allowing access to a gaming service. As another example, one or more actions and/or devices can provide reasonable assurance that a game application run by a mobile device includes a bona fide application by using a multi-stage hashing protocol to send application and game signatures. operating system to the device authentication service before allowing the game. As another example, one or more actions and/or devices may provide reasonable assurance that approved client versions are authorized to be used for play by storing hash values ​​of the approved application in an internal database other than accessible outside a firewall. As another example, one or more actions and/or devices can provide reasonable assurance that they follow best practices regarding failed login attempts, timeouts, etc., by defining the logout time for each system connection the device is on. As yet another example, communications can be secured by using an SSL HTTPS protocol for communications that are transmitted over the Internet, and/or by using application signature validation between processes on a device.

Some modalities may include one or more actions that can be designed to provide some level of confidence regarding location, security, authenticity and/or any desired characteristics at the beginning of a game b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi session, during a session games, and/or at times during a gaming session. In some embodiments, such actions may include a security handshake and/or a continuous validation process. A continuous validation process may include a process that periodically validates something, occasionally validates something, continually validates something, validates something at least once after a handshake, validates something after an action, etc. An example of a multi-level location determination methodology that can be used in some embodiments is provided herein. Such a methodology can be used in some instances when location determination is desired. In some embodiments, higher location granularity may be desirable and any methodology for such determination may be used as desired (eg geofencing, GPS requests).

Examples of initial validation with service provider b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

Some modalities may include an initial security process. Said initial security process may be referred to herein as a handshake. In some modalities, a handshake may include a handshake protocol.

100 secure multi-system authentication. Such processing may provide reasonable assurance that the mobile device is in a location where gaming is permitted at and/or near the time of gameplay. Such process may provide reasonable assurance that the mobile device is being used in person and not remotely controlled at and/or near the time of playing the game. Such a process can provide reasonable assurance that software is running on a mobile device that includes a bona fide application from a gaming operator. Such a process may provide additional assurance that only approved versions of the client are authorized to be used to play through a gaming service. Such process may provide reasonable assurance that some and/or all external interfaces (eg, Bluetooth, non-gaming operator-provided Wi-Fi, USB/DOCK) on devices are disabled to prevent remote connections. Said process may use multi-layer authentication. Such a process may include the use of a light tag and/or other location determination to locate the device, such as a multi-level location determination methodology, GPS, geo-fencing, etc. Said process and/or part of said process may be carried out at the beginning of a b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi

101 application on a device, periodically by a device, by installing an application in response to a gaming action (e.g. bet, game input) that is requested and/or is performed, occasionally, continuously, when a game action is established connection with a gaming operator, before a gaming action and/or whenever desired. For example, in some embodiments, an application may be scheduled to perform at least a portion of said processing when the application is started (eg, selected to run on a mobile device). The examples of such processes provided herein are not exhaustive. Other modalities may not include such a process, a process with more, less, different, the same actions and/or the actions in a different order. One or more actions of said process can be carried out by a container application, a main application and/or any other component.

bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi

Some modalities may include determining if a device is approved for use with a gaming service. In some embodiments, determining that the device has been approved for use with gaming services may include comparing information about the device against a list of devices that have been approved (for example,

102 a database of approved phone numbers, mac addresses, etc.) . In some embodiments, information identifying the device may be transmitted to a game service so that the game service can make such a comparison and/or determine in any desired manner whether the device is approved. A gaming service may receive such identifying information and, in response to receiving it, may determine whether the device is approved (for example, whether the device was previously registered, whether device information is in a database that identifies approved devices , etc.). In some embodiments, in response to launching a gaming application, the gaming application may transmit a request to a gaming operator to verify that the device has been previously approved for use in the gaming service. In some embodiments, a container application (for example, an Android container application, a Win32 container application, to a container application that a parent application communicates with, etc.) can pass the request to a component from a game service (for example, a device authentication service). In some modalities, the request may include a phone number, mac address and/or other identifying information b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

103 desired. In some embodiments, the gaming service component may receive the request, and in response to receiving the request verify that the device has been pre-approved for gaming. In some embodiments, the component may transmit an indication of such verification to the mobile device. In some embodiments, a request from the device may not be transmitted, but instead a communication from the mobile device may be interpreted as a request (eg, an initial communication of a gaming session). In some embodiments, authentication information, such as a device-specific password, pin, pattern, etc., may also be requested from a user and compared with device-specific authentication information established during an enrollment process to authenticate a device.

Some modalities may include determining if a device is/was located in a location where gambling is permitted. In some modes, determining that a device is/was located in a location where gaming is permitted may include comparing information about where it is/was located against a list of approved gaming locations. Some modalities may b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

104 include transmitting a request from a mobile device to a gaming service to verify that a location is approved, may include performing a multi-layer location determination method, may include using an IP address to determine a location, may include determine a network interface through which a game service is accessed to determine a location, may use GPS, may use a geofencing service, and/or any location determination technology such as those described in the present bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi.

A component of a gaming service may facilitate a determination of whether a location is approved. For example, a DAS (Device Authentication Service) can send a request to a mobile location service to track the location of a device. Examples of such tracking and/or determining the location of a device are described elsewhere. Some modalities may include determining that the device is/was in an approved location. Said determination may be sent back to the mobile device in some embodiments. Such determination of a location may be made in response to receiving a determination that the device is

105 authenticated .

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

Some modalities may include determining that a user is approved to use a gaming service. In some embodiments, determining that a user has been approved to use a gaming service may include asking the user for user information and/or requesting verification of that information. For example, a user may be prompted for a username and password. Said username and password may be authenticated by a gaming service. Such determination may include determining that the user is approved to use a particular mobile device and/or the entire gaming service. Such a determination may be made in response to a user entering identifying information, a determination that a device is approved, a determination that a device is in an approved location, and/or in response to any desired event.

Some modalities may include determining that application software running on a device is approved for use with a gaming service. In some embodiments, determining that application software is approved for use with a gaming service may include verifying the

106 software application, verify a version of the software, and/or verify that the software has not been modified from an approved version.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

An example of a method of determining that the application software is approved may include comparing the hashes and/or other characteristics of the application software. For example, in some embodiments a container application and/or other software component may determine an application signature hash (eg, a hash of one or more application files and/or other files). In some embodiments, said container application and/or other software component may generate a random number. In some embodiments, said container application and/or other software component may determine a timestamp (eg, current time, relatively recent time). In some embodiments, said container application may determine a hash, which may be referred to herein as application hash, timestamp, random number, and application signature hash. Some modalities may include transmitting (for example, via the container and/or other software component) the timestamp, random number, and hash of the application to the game service (for example, to a game service).

107 device authentication) from the mobile device. In some embodiments, a game service component (eg, a device authentication service) may validate that the timestamp is at a predetermined threshold of time (eg, 5 minutes, 30 seconds, 1 hour) from another time (for example, current time, a time when the application hash information was received, a recent time from a server, etc.) . In some embodiments, the game service component can validate the hash of the application. Such validation may include creating a comparison hash of the received timestamp, the received random number, and an approved application signature hash. Multiple comparison hashes can be created for multiple approved applications. Such validation may include comparing the application hash with the comparison hash(s). If a comparison hash and the application hash are the same, then the application hash can be determined to be valid. If they are not the same, then the application hash can be determined to be invalid. In some embodiments, a determination that the application hash is valid may be a determination that the application software is approved for use with the gaming service. A determination that the application hash is invalid may include a determination b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

108 that the application software is not approved for use with the gaming service.

It should be recognized that such an example of a comparison hash is provided as a non-limiting example only. Other modalities may include any desired method or no method of such validation. For example, check totals may be used, random numbers may not be used, timestamps may not be used, additional information may be used, etc.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

In some embodiments, in response to a determination that application software is approved for use with the gaming service, an indication of such approval may be transmitted to and/or received by the mobile device. In some embodiments, a game service component (eg, device authentication service) may determine a client key (eg, unique client key, random number). Said client key can be used for one or more future transactions. Said client key may uniquely identify the mobile device and/or that the mobile device has passed one or more authentication steps. Said client key may be transmitted to the mobile device in response

109 to a determination that the application software is approved for use with the gaming service. Said key can be stored in a database (for example, a database that associated it with the mobile device).

lcnen/nznz/q/yi

Some modalities may include determining that an operating system is approved for use with a gaming service. In some embodiments, determining that an operating system is approved for use with a gaming service may include verifying a version of an operating system, verifying that the operating system is unmodified, and/or any desired actions.

An example of a method to determine that the operating system is approved may include a comparison of the hashes. For example, in some embodiments a container application and/or other software component may determine a hash of one or more files and/or operating system components and the client's key. A software component and/or container application may transmit the hash, predetermined timestamp, predetermined random number, client key, and device identification information (for example, a phone number, a mac address) to a service component

110 of games (for example, device authentication service). In some embodiments, a game service component (eg, a device authentication service) may validate that the timestamp is at a predetermined threshold of time (eg, 5 minutes, 30 seconds, 1 hour) from another time (for example, current time, a time when the application hash information was received, a recent time from a server, etc.). In some embodiments, a gaming service component (eg, a device authentication service) may validate that the client key is the most recently sent to the mobile device identified by the identification information (eg, by comparing the customer key with a customer key stored in a database identified by the identification information). In some embodiments, a game service component (eg, a device authentication service) may validate the received hash. Such validation may include creating a comparison hash of the customer's key and approved files and/or operating system components. Multiple comparison hashes can be created for multiple approved operating systems. Said validation may include comparing the received hash with the comparison hash(s). If a hash b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

111 The match hash and the received hash are the same, then the match hash can be determined to be valid. If they are not equal, then the comparison hash can be determined to be invalid. In some embodiments, a determination that the received hash is valid may be a determination that the operating system is approved for use with the gaming service. A determination that the received hash is invalid may be a determination that the operating system is not approved for use with the gaming service.

It should be recognized that such an example of a comparison hash is provided as a non-limiting example only. Other modalities may include any desired method or no method of such validation. For example, checksums may not be used, random numbers may not be used, timestamps may not be used, device information may not be used, client keys may not be used, device information may be obtained from other sources, additional information may be used , etc.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

An additional example of a determination that an operating system is approved for use with a gaming service

112 you can include another method to compare one or more hashes. For example, in some embodiments, an application (eg, a container application) can generate a hash of one or more parts of one or more operating system files. Such part may include less than the whole of a section. In some embodiments, generating said hash may include generating a hash of one or more parts together with a length of one or more operating system files. For example, a hash of a start and end section (eg, a file) of an operating system that manages control of communication interfaces may be created together with a length of the section. The start and end may include a first 128 bytes and last 128 bytes and/or any other desired size of a part. In some embodiments, such a hash may be transmitted to a gaming service for comparison with one or more approved hashes. It should be recognized that any part or parts of a section may be used in various ways, in addition to and/or as an alternative to a start and/or end.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

In some embodiments, such hashing of parts and lengths instead of an entire file can provide reasonable assurance that a file has not been tampered with. Such a guarantee may be provided because it may be unlikely

113 that a file is altered and still results in the same hash result when the hash is applied to a start, end, and length. Such a method may allow faster verification than a method that includes a hash of an entire section. It should be recognized that while hashing is provided as an example, other modalities may include any desired transformation and/or no transformation (eg, a comparison of actual files).

In some embodiments, a game service may be updated to include new, approved comparison hashes as a game service determines that new operating systems and/or modified operating systems should be approved for use with the game service.

Some modalities may include transmitting information from a component of a gaming service to a mobile device in response to the completion of said process, to terminate said process, as part of said process, in response to verifying the operating system, in response to other action of said process, etc. Some modalities may include storing information that b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi identifies that said process was successful. For example,

114 some modalities may include determining a session identifier of the device. Said identifier may include a unique identifier that can be used to identify a gaming session between the gaming service and the mobile device. Said device session identifier may be associated with the mobile device (eg stored in a database). Said device session identifier may have a timestamp (eg with the previously determined timestamp, with a time relative to the determination of the device session identifier, etc.). Said device session identifier may include a random number. Said device session identifier may be transmitted to a mobile device and/or stored in a location to identify whether said process was successful. Said device session identifier may be received by a container application and/or other software component. Said device session identifier may be stored on the mobile device (for example, in an encrypted form, in local storage, in a memory, in a location reserved for the mobile game application and/or a component thereof, in a reserved location for the wrapper application and/or other software component, at b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi

115 a location only accessible by a desired application, etc.) . Such a device session identifier may be transmitted with future device requests to identify that a process completed successfully. When a future request is received by a game service component, a device session identifier comparison may be made to ensure that a valid device session identifier was received with the request. Accordingly, such verification can ensure that only devices that have completed such a process can access the game services.

In some modes, if any part of this process fails, the device may be considered unauthorized by the server and requests (for example, game-related communications) may be rejected. It should be recognized that such an example of a process is provided as a non-limiting example only. Other modalities may include actions ordered differently, different components, include no actions, fewer actions, etc. Any action may be taken in response to any other successful action (for example, a determination that the application software is valid may result in a b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi

116 determining whether the operating system software is valid or not).

Device and/or user security

In some embodiments, at least part of said initial validity and/or handshake may be accomplished by means of a wrapper application. If that initial process completes successfully, a main application can be run (for example, through the container application). Said main application can carry out a device and/or user security process. In other embodiments, a container application can perform any other desired action (eg, a next process), a single application can be used, any program configuration can be used, and so on.

Some modalities may include a process to provide a level of security guarantee of a device and/or user. In some embodiments, said processing may be performed at the start of a gaming application, during a gaming application execution, in response to logging into a gaming service, in response to completing an initial handshake, and/or ub Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

117 other initial processing, parallel to an initial handshake and/or initial processing, prior to the initial handshake and/or initial processing, as part of an initial handshake and/or initial processing, and/or as otherwise desired. Said device security process may include determining that a device is being used locally and/or preventing remote access to a device.

Some modalities may include establishing a connection between a main game application and a container application. Such a connection may include a socket. Said connection may include a shared memory space. Some modalities may include a container application that opens a socket. Such a socket can only be accessed by software running on the mobile device. In some embodiments, a main application may connect to the socket and/or memory space. The socket and/or memory space can be used to establish communication between applications.

Some modalities may include verifying that a connection between applications and/or shared identifiers is valid. For example, in an Android environment, a lock file can be written to a storage of b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

118 data from a first application (for example, a container application). An Android operating system might prevent a second application (for example, a parent application) running on the mobile device from accessing the first application unless the application has been signed with the same application signature. A second app may try to delete the blog file from the first app's storage. In some embodiments, if the applications properly share the same signature, deletion may occur. The first application can verify that the deletion occurred. If deletion occurred, the first application can be confident that the second application shares a valid signature with the first application. As another example, some modalities may verify that only two applications running with a particular user identifier are the two applications and/or other game applications that are approved. In some embodiments, a verification that the two and/or more applications are running under the same user identifier. The first application may share a device session identifier with the second application in response to one or more of said bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi determinations.

119

Some modalities may include determining that a user is authorized to use a game service and/or that the device is authorized to use a game service. For example, some modalities may include requesting user information (eg, login information, device authentication swipe pattern, etc.). Such a request may be carried out by a game application (for example, a container application, a main application, etc.) that is running on a mobile device. For example, a user may be prompted for a username and password. A username and password may be received by a gaming application in response to the user entering such information on a mobile device. Some modalities may include transmitting such information from a gaming application to a component of a gaming service. For example, in some embodiments, such information may be transmitted to a gateway device. In some embodiments, an account information (eg, account number, username, password, pin, etc.) may be transmitted to said gateway and/or other device. In some embodiments, such transmission may include a transmission of a device session identifier and/or any other information that bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi

120 it can be used to identify a device, a session, pre-authentication information and/or track any desired information. Various actions can be performed by a game app (eg container app, main app, etc.) running on a mobile device.

In some embodiments, a gateway and/or other component of a game service (eg, middleware, servers, etc.) may enable a communication session (eg, HTTP session, HTIP session) for a mobile device. The gateway and/or other component may associate a device identifier with a communication session. For example, said communication session can only be used when it is accessed using the device identifier, unless a different identifier or another identifier is associated with the session. In some embodiments, a communication session may be defined by one or more variables (eg, a port number, an identification number). Such variables may be shared with a mobile device and future communications may include such variables.

Some modalities may include determining that a b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

121 mobile device is/was in a gaming-approved location. Such a determination may be made in response to a gaming service receiving account information from a mobile device. In some embodiments, a device session identifier may be transmitted from a gateway and/or another component to a different component for verification (eg, to the device authentication service). Said device authentication service can verify the session identifier of the device if the session identifier of the device is associated with an approved location. If the device's session identifier is associated with an approved location, the device authentication service can transmit an approval indication to the gateway. In some embodiments, a single device may perform such actions. It should be recognized that such a process of determining whether a device is/was in an approved location is provided by way of example only. For example, in some embodiments a device itself can determine if it is in an approved location, a gateway and/or other component can determine if the device is in an approved location, any device can determine if the device is in an approved location. approved, can b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi

122 a current location can be determined, a previous location can be used, etc. Various examples of determining locations and/or storing location information are provided herein. None of these examples is exhaustive.

In some embodiments, a game service may validate user information. Such validation may occur in response to receiving user information, in response to determining that the device is/was in an approved location, in response to another event, etc. For example, in some embodiments, a gateway and/or other component may transmit user account information to another component of a game service (eg, device authentication service, mobile game service, etc.). Said other component may validate the account information (eg, determine that the username and password are correct, compare information with information in a database, etc.).

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

In some embodiments, if the information is validated, said component may transmit an indication of said validation to a gateway and/or other component. Such an indication may include a session identifier of

123 games. A game session identifier may be determined in response to a determination that the information is valid. Said game session identifier may include a unique identifier. Said game session identifier may include a random number. A gateway and/or other component may receive said identifier. Said gateway and/or other component may associate said identifier with a communication session for the mobile device (for example, further communication may need said identifier, unless it is changed). In some embodiments, a mobile device (eg, a host application and/or container application) may be notified of such an identifier and/or of a successful authentication of a user. Said mobile device application may store said identifier for use in future communications. Future requests for a mobile device may be required to include such an identifier.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

In some embodiments, such validation may only occur if the device is/was in an approved location. If the device does not pass a location verification, the device may be prevented from playing games and such login may not take place. In

124 other modalities, such login can continue regardless of the location of the device. In some modes, some features of the game service may be disabled if the location does not pass verification.

It should be recognized that while some modalities have been described as separate processes (for example, an initial handshake and/or a device security process) and/or separate applications (for example, a container application and a main application) that several Modalities may include a single process and/or single applications, multiple processes and/or applications, applications and/or processes ordered or interacting differently, etc.

In some embodiments, after said initial handshake process and/or a device and/or user security process, one or more variables may be defined. For example, in the method examples, a game session and/or communication session identifier may be defined by the user and/or device security process, and/or a device session identifier may be defined by a process of initial handshake. Such variables can be checked, updated, changed, tracked, etc.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

125

Such variables may be required for additional communication from the mobile device to allow access to the gaming services. For example, if the game service receives a communication without said variables as valid, the communication can be ignored and/or not allowed to place a bet. Such variables are provided as non-limiting examples only. Other modes may include different variables, additional variables, no variables, different applications, etc., as desired.

bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi

In some embodiments, a determination may be made in said process that a device has been registered to the user. For example, after and/or before a user is authenticated, the user may be prompted for device authentication information, such as an assigned swipe pattern during an enrollment process. Such information may be transmitted to a game service which can verify that the use of the game service for the device has been prevented. Such verification may be in a form similar to verification of a username and/or password. Such verification may be required prior to playing the game and/or prior to assigning a game session identifier.

126

It should be recognized that various security processes and/or applications are provided solely as non-limiting examples. Other modalities can include any process and/or none, in any order, with any actions, etc. Such processes may include additional, fewer, different, the same, differently ordered actions, etc.

Examples of continuing validity b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

Some modalities may include one or more actions related to maintaining security, maintaining location information, and/or creating some level of assurance that certain requirements are met. For example, some modalities may include continuous, periodic, occasional, random, on-demand, in response to other action, and/or other actions. Such actions may include location checks, device checks, user checks, etc.

Variable Maintenance Example

In some modalities, such actions may include

127 maintenance of one or more variables, expiration of one or more variables, redefinition of one or more variables, etc. Some modalities may include actions related to variables defined in other security processes, such as those discussed above. For example, a device session identifier, a game session identifier, and a communication session may be used, in some embodiments. Such variables may have limited valid lifetimes, they may be reset periodically, they may expire after a certain time, they may need to be redefined occasionally, etc. For example, in some embodiments, a device session identifier may be valid for about 30 seconds, about 3 minutes, about 5 minutes, about 10 minutes, about 1 hour, and/or any desired time. In another example, a game session identifier may be valid for about 30 seconds, about 3 minutes, about 5 minutes, about 10 minutes, about 1 hour, and/or any desired time. In yet another example, a communication session may be valid for about 30 seconds, about 3 minutes, about 5 minutes, about 10 minutes, about 1 hour, and/or any desired time.

bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi

New variables can be defined in a similar way to their

128 original definitions (for example, by a device authentication service device, by a mobile game service, by a gateway, by a server, by another component, using hash values, using checksums, using random numbers , using time stamps, etc.).

Various examples are provided elsewhere for defining such variables, but it should be recognized that such examples are not exhaustive and that similar, different, the same, alternative, etc., methods may be used to redefine and/or define any equal and/or variable. different, as desired. It should be recognized that variables and validity time frames are provided as non-limiting examples only and other methods may not include variables, other variables, the same, different, etc.; no method, different methods, same, etc. to maintain security and/or other features, they may employ random time frames, may randomly need to be redefined, may need to be defined after an event (eg a bet request), etc.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

Feature Examples

129

In some embodiments, one or more actions may be related to the validation of one or more characteristics of a device and/or user of a device. Some modalities may include actions related to such characteristics (for example, location, user identity, lack of external control of the device, etc.). For example, in some modes, a disablement of external access to a mobile device may be validated, a location of a device in an approved gaming location may be validated, a user's identification information may be validated, a or more variables as valid, etc. In some embodiments, such validation may occur periodically, randomly, on demand, in response to an action, as desired, etc.

For example, some modalities may include validating that some and/or all external communications are disabled (eg, with the exception of communication used to access a gaming service, such as a mobile phone network). Some modalities may include a mobile application run by a mobile device that queries an operating system of a mobile device. By bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

130 For example, a main application can broadcast a query to a container application. The container application can query the operating system. In some embodiments, in response to such a query, the operating system may determine whether any invalid interfaces are allowed and return such information to the container application and/or main application. In response to such information, validation may fail (eg if non-approved interfaces are up) and/or succeed (eg if non-approved interfaces are not up). Some examples of interfaces that may not be approved may include Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, docking port, and/or other interfaces. Such validation can occur continuously, periodically (for example, every 5 seconds, every 15 seconds, every minute, every 5 minutes, every hour, etc.), randomly, on demand, etc.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

As another example, some modalities may include validating that a mobile device was/is in a location associated with permitted games. Some modalities may include that a component of a gaming system performs such a check independently of the actions on the mobile device. Some modalities may include the mobile device checking said status (for example,

131 by consulting a gaming system and/or another location system). In some embodiments, a component of a gaming system (eg, a device authentication service) may perform confirmations on the location of the mobile device. Said component may update a database with confirmation results, may enable or disable communication with a mobile device, features of a gaming service in response to such results, may notify a mobile device (for example, to disable a feature of the device and/or display an indicator) and/or user in response to such results. Such checking can be done continuously, periodically (eg, every 30 seconds, every 5 minutes, every 10 minutes, every 15 minutes, every hour, etc.), on demand, in response to an event, etc.

In some embodiments that may use a multi-level location determination methodology, the actions taken in regards to location verification may differ based on which level of location determination is used. For example, location reconfirmations cannot be performed in some instances, since an IP address does not change if an IP location determination level and/or network level is used.

lcnen/nznz/q/yi

132 trustworthy. Location reconfirmations may be performed less frequently as a confidence level of a location increases (for example, in response to a confidence level received from a third party, as a method's level gets closer to a first). level etc) . For example, in some embodiments, a gaming service may accept a location as valid and acceptable unless the IP address or network changes if the device location uses the example of the first level of a multiple location determination methodology. levels described above (for example, a trusted IP or network). As another example, in some modes, a game system may occasionally reconfirm a location if the device's location is determined using another level (for example, level 2 or level 3) or may not reconfirm at some other levels (for example, example, level 2) , but yes in others (for example, level 3) , in any combination. In some modalities, the frequency of reconfirmation can increase as you go up a level. Reconfirmation at a known IP level may include determining if an IP address has changed, confirming again to verify that the IP address is still known, etc.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

133

In some embodiments, such location confirmations may be made more frequently when a mobile device is near the border of an approved area than when the device is far from the border of an approved area. Some examples of actions that relate to locations near jurisdictional boundaries that may be used in some modalities are also described herein. For example, in some modalities, a check can be performed every 5 minutes if a device was near a state border in a previous check, every 10 minutes if a device was near the edge of an approved area but far from a border. of a state and every 15 minutes if a device was not near a state line or the edge of an approved area. Several examples of location determination are provided herein. It should be recognized that the location verification examples are provided as non-limiting examples and that other embodiments may include different methods, the same, none, etc.

As yet another example, some modalities may include determining if user information is valid and/or if a session or some other variable is valid. For example, some modalities may include transmitting a request for a b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

134 mobile device to a component of a gaming service (for example, a gateway). Said request may include user information for validation, and/or a request to verify that a variable is valid. For example, a request might request that the gateway verify that the device's authorization session is valid. Such a request may be processed (eg by a device authentication service) and a response may be transmitted to the mobile device. Such checking can be done continuously, periodically (eg, every 30 seconds, every 5 minutes, every 10 minutes, every 15 minutes, every hour, etc.), on demand, in response to an event, etc.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

It should be recognized that several examples of validation features and methods are not exhaustive. Other modalities may include similar, different, the same, alternative, none, etc. features and/or methods.

Examples of events

In some modalities, one or more actions may be related to the validation of one or more characteristics of a device, user and/or variable in response to a

135 event. For example, in some embodiments, when a communication is received from a mobile device, a game service may perform one or more actions. In some embodiments, such communication may include a request to perform a gaming action (for example, place a bet, join a game, pay an entry fee, risk an amount of money or points), a request to display game or games available, a request to view an account, etc. For example, in some embodiments, one or more actions may be performed in response to a request made to and/or through a gateway and/or other component of a game service (eg, upon initial login).

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

Some modalities may include transmitting a request from a mobile device to a gaming service. For example, a container application and/or main application may transmit a request to a gateway and/or to another component of a game service. Said request may identify any desired variable (for example, a communication session, a device session identifier, a game session identifier, a client key, etc.). Such a request may include a

136 request to perform a game-related action, such request may include polling a gaming service to determine current information (for example, current games, current scores, account history, current account values, etc.). Some modalities can include periodic, random, constant polls, etc. In some embodiments, said probe may not initiate said validation actions.

bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi

Some modalities may include that a component of the game service receives said request. For example, said request may be received by a gateway and/or by another component of a game service. In some embodiments, a determination may be made that said request triggers one or more validation actions (for example, every request may trigger such actions, every X request may trigger such actions, some random requests may trigger such actions, certain types of requests may trigger such actions, a determination may be made that the request is not a probe request, a determination can be made that the request is a request to perform a game action, a request every Y minutes can trigger such actions, etc.).

137

A gateway or other device may take any desired action in response to receiving such a request and/or determining that such actions should be taken. For example, in some embodiments, a gateway or other component can determine that a communication session identified by a request is correctly associated with the device from which it was received (eg, by querying a database).

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

As another example, in some embodiments (eg, if communication session confirmation is obtained), a gateway and/or other component may validate a device session and/or location information. For example, in some embodiments, a gateway and/or other component may transmit a device location and/or session validation request to a device authentication service. A database may be queried to determine if one or more variables are valid (eg, if a device's session identifier associated with the device is valid and has not expired). A database can be queried to determine if a mobile device was determined to be at a location

138 where gambling is allowed. In some embodiments, a new location of the device may be determined. If such an acknowledgment is obtained, the date and time of a last valid acknowledgment may be updated. Such information may be returned to a gateway and/or to another component. It should be recognized that such verification examples are provided as non-limiting examples only and that other methods may include different components, features and/or actions.

As yet another example, in some embodiments, if validation of one or more features of a device authenticator is performed, a gateway and/or other component may validate any desired feature and/or variable with any component. For example, a game session identifier may be validated against a component of a game service. Said component (eg, server, account-based betting service) may query a database to determine if a game session identifier is valid (eg, correct, not expired). The date and time of the last check may be updated, and a gateway and/or other component may be notified of a success or failure in the validation of the information.

139

In some embodiments, in response to the validation action performed in response to a received request, a request may be processed and/or information may be updated. For example, one or more date and time of last actions may be updated, one or more game actions may be performed, one or more account transactions may be performed, requested information may be obtained, actions may be performed in a game ( for example, a hit in a game of blackjack), etc. Some modalities may include the return of a result to a mobile device (for example, transmission). Some embodiments may include presenting said result to a user.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

It should be recognized that several examples of validation features and methods are not exhaustive. Other modalities may include similar, different, the same, alternative, none, etc. features and/or methods.

In some embodiments, if one or more validation actions of any described method or other methods fail (for example, if a variable is determined to be incorrect or expired, if a device is determined to allow control

140 external, if a password is incorrect, if a location is not correct, etc.), one or more actions can be prevented and/or carried out. For example, in some embodiments, communication with a device may be prevented, gambling actions may be prevented, access to a gaming service may be stopped, a user may be notified of an error, etc.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

Figure 3 represents an example process that can be used in some embodiments for the validation and/or use of a mobile device. Such processing may include actions performed by a mobile device, actions performed by a game application (for example, a main application, a container application, etc.), actions performed by a component of a gaming service and/or a representative from a gaming service (eg, a device authentication service, a communication provider, a location service, etc.) and/or actions performed as desired by any entity. For example, some modalities may include requesting an initiation of a location tracking of a mobile device, tracking a mobile device, providing location information about a mobile device, determining whether a client has tampered with a client and/or operating system, determining Yeah

141 one or more communication interfaces are enabled and/or active, etc. It should be recognized that such actions are given as non-limiting examples and that other modalities may include performing any action in any desired order.

bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi

Figure 4 depicts a set of example applications that can be run via a mobile device to facilitate access to a mobile gaming service. Such applications may include a container application and a parent application. A container application can start the execution of a main application and perform one or more security confirmations. A main application can carry out game actions related to a game service. It should be recognized that these example processes and applications are provided as non-limiting examples only. Other modalities may include different actions, the same, additional, alternative, in a different order, etc., carried out by the same and/or different entities and/or devices as desired.

Other location examples

Some modalities may include one or more features

142 for determining the location and/or characteristics that can be affected by a location of a mobile device. Such features may include determining a true location, determining a relative location, determining if a location is a valid location, turning off a location-based feature, turning on a location-based feature, adjusting a location-based feature, etc. Examples of a multi-level location determination methodology are described herein, which can be used in various embodiments. Additional and/or alternative methodologies may also be used to enhance and/or otherwise provide location information, as desired.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

Some modalities may include one or more technologies that can be used to determine a location of a client and/or mobile device. An example of technology may include a geofencing technology. For example, a gaming operator may determine that the customer is gaming in Nevada through a geofencing capability (eg, Sprint geofencing services). In some embodiments, to implement a geofencing technology, a game operator may perform geofencing calculations, work with

143

Sprint, work with another geofencing provider, and/or work with a third-party provider to ensure desired locations are geofenced (for example, the City of Las Vegas, Reno, Tahoe, and/or other gaming locations within the state of Nevada and /or other side) . Customers may be allowed to play mobile games if they are (for example, a device they use) physically within the approved borders. Customers may be prevented from participating in games if they are not physically present within the approved borders. Service and/or information to activate service may be offered to customers of Sprint and/or customers of any cellular service provider and/or other network.

bLcnen/nznz/q/Yii

In some embodiments, a location of a device may be obtained from a source that provides locations (for example, a cellular provider may identify a location of a device to a game operator in response to the game operator's question to the provider where a phone with a particular phone number is found). The game operator may use the phone's location to determine whether the phone is inside or outside one or more geofences (for example, by inputting a phone's coordinates into a geofencing algorithm).

144 geofencing such as a counting or spiral algorithm) . In other embodiments, a third party may provide such geofencing services for the gaming operator.

Examples of location fine tuning

Some modalities may include determining a fine adjustment of a location in some cases. For example, in some embodiments as discussed herein, a location may be determined by a multi-level determination methodology. Such a determination may result in a broad determination (eg, in a state, in a jurisdiction, in a network, etc.).

In some cases, a tighter location may be desired. For example, on some occasions, an advertising campaign may be based on a user's location in relation to a provider. Accordingly, a distance from such a provider may be desired and may be determined by an additional location determination method (eg, a GPS report from the device, geofencing, etc.). As another example, a game may be offered to a group of people at a particular location, a tournament may be held at a particular location, detection b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi

145 Collusion may use the location of players in a multiplayer game as input value, fine tuning may be desired when a device's IP address changes, etc.

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In response to a desire to use a finer location as an input value, a game service may perform an action to obtain location fine tuning (for example, query a device, cause a game application on a device to broadcast a GPS location, consult a geofencing service, access a lightweight labeling system, etc.). A gaming service may receive such fine tuning and determine if the adjusted location qualifies and/or authenticates the device (eg, if the device is in a location that qualifies for a tournament, advertising, game, etc.). If the device is qualified and/or authenticated based on the setting, the device can be controlled to allow action and/or present information accordingly. Otherwise, the device may be prevented from accessing functionalities and/or may not be provided with corresponding information.

Examples of collusion

146

Some embodiments may include performing an adjusted location determination in response to a user playing a multiplayer game, such as a tournament, through a gaming service provider. Said location determination fine-tuning may be used in response to a determination that a higher level location determination demonstrates that more than one user playing a tournament and/or multiplayer game may be in the same area. (for example, an area covered by a known network). Said adjusted location determination can be used to detect and/or prevent collusion between multiple and/or two users in a multiplayer tournament and/or game.

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For example, in some embodiments, two users may be determined to be in a tournament and use the same network to access a game service (eg, at the first level of a multi-level game determination methodology). The two players may be determined to be associated with a multiplayer tournament and/or game (eg, competing against each other in a game, in the same leg of a tournament, etc.). In response to such determinations, an adjusted location determination may be made for the users. For example, you can

147 A geofence can be used to determine a tighter location, a light tag can be used, and/or a device's GPS can be consulted to determine tighter locations.

Said adjusted levels of locations can be used to prevent and/or detect collusion. For example, users can be prevented from playing in the tournament until further apart if they are in the same location. As another example, users may be instructed to move in a particular direction to continue playing. In yet another example, users may be warned that continued movement in one direction may cause them to get too close to each other. In yet another example, a record may be stored to indicate that a review may be justification of play in this and/or other games and/or future video games to determine if collusion exists. It should be recognized that any desired action in relation to collusion prevention can be carried out in any manner based on location.

It should be recognized that although examples of location fine-tuning are given in terms of a single bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi level of adjustment, any number of levels may be used.

148

For example, a light tag can be used at one level, but if that doesn't result in a difference in the location of users and/or a specific enough location, a geofence can be used. If a geofence does not result in a location difference and/or a specific enough location, a GPS can be queried.

It should be recognized that any order of fine tuning levels and/or number of levels may be used with any desired technology, in any manner, in various modalities.

Location-based setting examples b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

Some modalities may include making an adjustment to a service based on a location. For example, a game application running on a mobile device may be adjusted based on a particular location on a device. In some embodiments, a device may be controlled to make such a change as a result of the game service determining the location.

For example, an application can be marked according to

149 a location (for example, if a device is determined to be at the Venetian after the device accesses the gaming service from a Venetian Wi-Fi network, the device may be branded with the Venetian logo). As another example, an app may prevent a user from selecting certain options and/or accounts based on location (for example, if the device is determined to be at the Venetian based on a geofence around the Venetian indicating that the device is inside it, the device may be prevented from logging into non-Venetian accounts, the device can access Venetian games, the device may be prevented from accessing games that you cannot play at the Venetian, Las Vegas and/or Nevada) . An application on a device and/or a gaming service provider may control the device to limit account access and/or display location-based markings.

In some embodiments, a device can be forced to access a game provider over a known network if that network is available. For example, in some embodiments, an application running on a mobile device can poll available Wi-Fi connections and compare those connections to a known list of Wi-Fi connections b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

150 (for example, based on an SSID list of known Wi-Fi connections). If a match is found, the mobile device may be forced to automatically connect to the Wi-Fi network as a consequence, and/or may be denied access to a game provider if a manual connection is not made. A network user can be notified to make a manual connection. In some embodiments, an additional check may be performed to find out if the network is the real network. For example, a location and SSID of a network can be required to match before such a connection to the device is forced. For example, because multiple networks can share the same SSID in different locations.

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In some modes, as a device changes location (for example, as a result of a game provider determining a location change), brands, options, etc. may change. For example, if a device moves from a location covered by a casino Wi-Fi network to a location that is not covered by that Wi-Fi network, a location determination (for example, made as a result of the device accessing the game provider from a new IP address and/or through a different interface) may reveal a new location of the

151 device. In response to the new location, a feature and/or brand may change ( eg, based on the new location, brand neutral if a location is on a street, etc.).

In some modes, a game provider may facilitate branding and/or options for one or more entities. For example, a provider such as Starbucks may wish to have its own branding so that when a user accesses a game provider through the Starbucks network, a Starbucks brand will appear. In some embodiments, such a provider may be associated with a casino or other venue, so that the accounts and/or options available when accessing the provider's network may be the same or similar to those when the device accesses the network. from the casino or elsewhere. Accordingly, an application can be controlled (eg controlled by a gaming operator) to display the appropriate markings and/or options when at a provider's location.

It should be recognized that while several examples of location-based adjustments are provided, location can be used by various modalities to perform b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

152 any type of adjustment and/or no adjustment, as desired. For example, options, brands, software, functionality, etc. may be changed. based on location. Such change may be facilitated by controlling software on a game service device, controlling information sent to a device from a game service, adjusting software on a device, etc., based on location.

Location Affinity Examples

Some modalities may include associating a particular location with one or more advertising elements, available games, user interfaces, skins, user accounts, etc. For example, in some modalities, a user who is in the M Resort may be allowed to play games (for example, sports betting and/or casino games) that are allowed by the M Resort. For example, the user may be limited to only games offered by M, approved by M, have an M skin, and/or are otherwise limited and/or customized due to being located within the M Resort. In some modes, a user may be restricted from using an M Resort account when at the M Resort. In some modes, a user may be limited to selecting a

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153 M Resort account from a list of accounts from which you can place bets, an M Resort application, an M Resort menu option from a game options menu and/or other M Resort related items, when located on the M Resort. In some modalities said restriction may apply to a particular type of games, such as casino games, but may not apply to other types of games, such as sports games.

For example, in some embodiments, if a user is in a geofence that is around the M Resort, the user may be determined to be in the M Resort. For example, one of the geo-fences described above may be around the M Resort and a query result from a location service may indicate whether the user is inside or outside of that particular geo-fence, to be used by a gaming service. to determine if the user is inside or outside the M Resort. In some embodiments, if a user accesses an M Resort communication network to play games (eg, an M Resort Wi-Fi network), the user may be determined to be at the M Resort. In response to determining that you are at the M Resort, features can be turned on and/or off as desired (for example, b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi

154 a user may be prevented from logging into a non-M Resort account).

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In some embodiments, determining a location can be done using a geofence, so that a first geofence around a casino and a second geofence around a city can be used. For example, such concentric geofencing may allow a user in a casino to be limited to casino-approved things, but a user outside of the casino to be allowed to use approved things outside of the casino, which can include more, less, different or the same things than those approved in the casino. For example, more than one type of gaming may be permitted outside of the casino, such as multi-book sports betting, not just the M Resort, and/or casino games that use money from accounts not located at the M Resort. Other location determination methods may be used, such as a multi-level location determination methodology, a light tagging system, etc.

In some embodiments, a location determination may be based on available communication networks, as an alternative and/or addition to the location determination.

155 based on geofencing. For example, a software application on a device may make one or more determinations as to whether one or more wireless or other communication networks are available from a set of available networks. Each of these pre-approved communications may be associated with a particular location. If a wireless network from the wireless pool is available, then the device can be required to establish a connection to that network before it can play a game. Access to games through any other network, such as a cellular network which may also be available, may be prohibited when one or more of the pre-approved networks is available. Accordingly, in some embodiments, when within a casino, such as the M Resort, which may offer a wireless connection to an M Resort network associated with being within the M Resort, a device may determine that it is M Resort pre-approved network available. The device may stop access to a cellular network for gaming purposes if it determines that the pre-approved network is available. The device can connect to the M Resort network if it determines that the M Resort network is available. The limitations, capabilities, restrictions, etc., associated with meeting b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi

156 in the M Resort, they may be associated with the fact that the games use the M Resort network and, therefore, the device. Such limitations may be imposed on the device by the device, by a server to which the device connects, a gateway through which the device connects, and/or in any other way. For example, in some embodiments, based on an SSID on the network, a gateway server may limit the available accounts that can be accessed; based on the account accessed, a central server may limit the game options available; based on the SSID of the network, a device can apply a skin and/or restrictions; based on an SSID, a central server can apply limitations, etc. As described above, some verification that the network SSID is from the actual network may be used, such as a matching location for the SSID (for example, if the SSID is detected, a device may notify a games and/or trigger a location determination and if the location matches a location that should have an affinity, then that affinity can be applied).

Such network and/or location information may be used to distribute revenue, target advertising, b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

157 prevent users from getting angry or feeling cheated by a casino they are located in even though they are playing games that may be offered by another casino, etc.

In some embodiments, to achieve this network-limited functionality, a device may be configured to check for availability of one or more pre-approved communication networks, such as a Wi-Fi connection (for example, via a gaming application, container application, etc.). etc.). Said verification can be carried out periodically, continuously, randomly, on demand, etc. When any of those pre-approved communication networks is available, the device can connect to that instead of any other network. If multiple networks are available, then a stronger or otherwise preferred network may be used.

In some modes, to continue to ensure that no remote control is used over a Wi-Fi connection, so that a player is physically present, when playing over a cellular network, Wi-Fi can be disabled for actual data reception. and/or connection, unless and/or until said pre-approved network is detected, may b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

158 a Wi-Fi connection may be turned on for small periods only to check if the network is available (in some modes, other games may be suspended during this time), a Wi-Fi device may be on but unable to connect to any network except pre-approved networks, a Wi-Fi device may be controlled by proprietary software that limits access to any network other than a pre-approved network, etc.

When a pre-approved network is detected, a cellular network may no longer be available for gambling through the gaming application (for example, the application may be notified of availability and disconnect or otherwise limit access to the gaming server through the cellular network, it can notify the game server and limit access to games, etc.). The user may be prompted to log in via the Wi-Fi network and/or may automatically log in via the Wi-Fi network. Similarly, when the Wi-Fi network is no longer available, if the cellular network is available, the user may be prompted to log in there and/or may log in there automatically. As described above, some verification that the network SSID is from the real network can be used, such as a location match for the b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

159

SSID.

A startup process that may be performed before play is allowed on a mobile device, in one mode, may require Wi-Fi to be enabled throughout device use, may require a Wi-Fi diagnostic to pass, may require Wi-Fi to be passed, an approved application has control over a wifi device, etc. If no approved Wi-Fi network is available, the cellular network may be used for gambling, as described herein, for example.

It should be recognized that various examples of location services and/or location affinity are provided solely as non-limiting examples.

Examples of geofencing

An example of a location feature might include a geofencing service. The geofencing capability can be used to help ensure that a customer is/was in an approved area (eg when performing a location check, when a bet request is received by a gateway, etc.). An example of a geofencing technology provider includes Sprint.

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160

In some embodiments, a game operator may perform geofencing calculations on its own and/or with values ​​from another location service provider (for example, a cellular service provider that may provide cell coordinates when querying with cell phone number). In some embodiments, such geofencing technology may be used to determine if a customer is/was in the City of Las Vegas, Reno, Tahoe and/or other gaming locations in the State of Nevada that have geofences. In some modes, customers can play games if they are/were physically (eg, the device they are using) within the confines of an approved geo-fence. In some modalities, clients cannot play games if they are/were not within the limits. Another geofencing example is provided with a company called Locaid. It should be recognized that any desired location-providing service can be used in various modalities and that the examples provided herein are not exhaustive. For example, while some examples are provided in terms of internal or external results to a query by a geofencing service, other modalities may state that a geofencing service provides the coordinates of a device and that a b Lcnrn/nznz/ q/Yi

161 game service perform a check to see if those coordinates are inside or outside one or more geo-fences. Accordingly, it should be recognized that a geofencing service need not necessarily geofence coordinates, but merely provide some information that allows geofencing to be applied.

A geofence can include a virtual perimeter of a real world geographic area. An example of parameters that may define a geofence around a major city such as Las Vegas, Reno, etc., may include: latitude 89.2 degrees, longitude 33.4 degrees, radius 20 miles; and latitude 50.5 degrees, longitude 76.9 degrees, radius 22 miles.

It should be recognized that any number of geofences can be used at any location with any parameters as desired. Geo-fencing can be added and/or removed at any time to increase, decrease and/or change an area in which betting is allowed and/or not allowed. For example, another set of geofence examples might include: longitude 36° 05' 58.37 N, latitude 115° 12' 04.90 W, radius 20 miles; longitude 39° 38' 58.68 N, latitude 119° 34' 40.66 W, radius 20 miles; and longitude 39°

05' 08.69 N, latitude 119°

34' 10.61 0, radius b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

162 miles.

Figure 5 illustrates an example of a series of geofences displayed on a map of Nevada. The circles/disks on the map represent samples of geofences. A gaming service can provide reasonable assurance that the customer is playing in an approved area using the capabilities provided by these geo-fences. In some embodiments, clients may be able to play games (some or all of the games) if and only if they are physically within a geofence, if and only if a last updated location (for example, by a device authentication service ) shows that the device was last in an approved location, etc. In some modes, clients cannot play games if they are physically outside the geofence and/or were determined to have last been physically outside the geofence. It should be recognized that while the examples are given in terms of circles, any desired shape of geofence may be used (eg a geofence around a casino).

Some modalities may include determining whether a device is in or out of one or more b Lcnen/nznz/q/YiA

163 geofences. Such a determination may include, for example, a geofence provider determination (for example, based on GPS coordinates of the device and the geofence(s), based on triangulation through communication devices (for example, cell towers). cell phones, etc.). In some embodiments, such a determination may include a determination made by a component of a game service (for example, by querying a location service provider, by calculating a location, by receiving an indication, etc. ). Geofencing may include telematics hardware and/or software.

In some modes, when a device (for example, a mobile device using a gaming service, a location-aware device, a location-based service device, etc.) enters or leaves a geofence, the device and/or a component of the game service (for example, a device authentication service) may receive a generated notification (for example, a location service provider may transmit a notification to a device indicating such a change in location). This notification may include device location information (by b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

164 example, updated GPS coordinates, a geofence name, a city, an indication that the device is inside or outside a geofence, etc.). Said notification may be transmitted to a mobile device via a communication network, to a component of a gaming service via a communication network, to an email account, as a text message (eg SMS) , etc.

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Some modalities may include taking any desired action in response to the crossing and/or impending crossing of a geofence boundary. For example, in response to the abandonment and/or imminent abandonment of a geo-fenced area, a vehicle may stop, a third party may be notified, a game may be halted, a mobile device may be affected (eg power off, stop an app etc. .), etc. Such actions may be facilitated by a gaming service provider in response to a determination of such a change in location and/or a location service provider.

As yet another example of a location service operation, some embodiments may include a location service that can be queried as desired to

165 determine a location. For example, a communication service provider (for example, Sprint) can track a mobile device's current location using a communication service (for example, through GPS coordinates, through cell towers, or access to other communication access points, etc.). Such tracking may be performed continuously and/or in response to a request.

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In some embodiments, a game service may transmit a query to verify a location and/or perform a calculation to verify a location as desired. For example, a game service might broadcast a query to a location service every time a variable expires, periodically, in response to a query, and so on. In some embodiments, said query may ask the location service if the mobile device is on a border of one or more geofences. In some embodiments, such a query may ask the location service for the location of a mobile device, and the game service may determine whether the mobile device is within the one or more geofences by comparing the location to the geofences.

166

In some embodiments, a gaming service may wish to minimize placement determinations and/or inquiries. For example, such determinations may require processing time that is desired for other processes, and/or a location service may charge a fee for responding to such inquiries. Some modalities may include a variable need and/or frequency of said consultations and/or determinations. Some modalities may include determining when to make a location determination based on a boundary distance (eg, geo-fence boundary, play area boundary) of a previous location determination.

For example, in some modalities, a time between determinations (for example, periodic determinations, random determinations, occasional determinations, etc.) of a location (for example, a frequency of a query) may be longer if a device is further away. of a geofence boundary than if the device is closer to a geofence boundary. For example, a location variable may stay valid longer if it is based on the location that is further from the boundary. In some embodiments, a response to a query b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi

167 it can indicate when a next query should be made based on that distance. In some embodiments, a response to a query may indicate a distance from the boundary (eg, an actual distance, a distance category, etc.). A game service can determine when to make a next query based on said received information. Such a query may include, for example, querying every 5 seconds to search near the limit, every 15 seconds to search far from the limit, a sliding scale, etc. In some embodiments, a query can be made for each transaction made close to a limit, for some transactions made far from the limit, etc. A request from a mobile device may be determined not to require a distance-based location determination from a boundary.

Some modalities may include concentric geofences that can be used to determine when a location query should be made. For example, an internal geofence may correspond to a location far from a permitted border and may correspond to a longer time frame. An external geofence may correspond to an actual border and/or close to an approved area and may include more frequent determination. Some modalities may include determining b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

168 whether a determination of a location of a mobile device should be made based on the mobile device being outside at least one geofence and inside at least one other geofence.

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It should be recognized that such examples of a determination rate related to a distance from an edge of an approved area are provided as non-limiting examples and that other modalities may include any method and/or apparatus that can relate determinations to distances in any way, and which can be used as desired.

Some modalities may include determining said determination rate based on a speed of a mobile device. For example, in some embodiments, a speed of a mobile device can be determined based on a current and past location (eg, the distance traveled between determinations, divided by the time between determinations). In some embodiments, a faster transported device may be associated with a faster rate and a slower rate may be associated with a slower rate.

In some modalities, a speed and distance can

169 used to determine said determination rate. For example, the rate of determination can be determined such that at a given speed a device is not capable of traveling a distance of a boundary in a given time, it is not capable of traveling half a distance of a boundary, it is not able to travel any threshold percentage distance from a border, etc.

Although examples have been described that have a concentric set of geofences with the outer geofence being the most restrictive, because it may be closest to the border of an approved area, it should be understood that this is a non-limiting example only. For example, some modalities may include an internal geofence that is more restrictive than some or all of the external geofences. It should be recognized that any geofence arrangement can be used in various ways, whether the internal, central, external, etc., are more or less restrictive than the others.

For example, in some embodiments, a first set of enabling rules may apply to devices when used within a property in one jurisdiction, a second set of rules may apply b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

170 off-property clearance within the jurisdiction and a third set of rules may apply outside of the jurisdiction. Accordingly, a geofence covering the property can be established to allow play on the property. In such a modality, if the activities on the property are a superset of the activities off the property, then the geofence may be a geofence with a very high restriction (for example, one that imposes high rate checks and/or verification policies). of the location above) to keep the location verified so that disallowed activities do not take place off the property. The off-property geofence may be a low-restriction geofence, because the property may be located far from the jurisdictional boundary. Another geo-fence can be established near the border to provide a highly restrictive outer layer to prevent unauthorized out-of-jurisdiction gaming. Therefore, a device that is within all three geofences may be in a higher verification zone, a device that is in the outer and center geofence may be in a lower verification zone, and a device that is only within the exterior geofence can once again be in a higher verification zone. A security b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi may be applied

171 Different and/or different game options (eg, different games) may be presented through the device based on the geofence level within which the device is located. A gaming service may make a determination of available games and security procedures based on a determination of the geofences within which the device is located. A gaming service may facilitate the use of games and facilitate security checks in accordance with a policy of the geofences within which the device is located.

It should further be recognized that while examples are provided in terms of a device being preferred to be within a geofence in order to provide gaming services, this is a non-limiting example. For example, in some embodiments, access to game services in a zone within a geofence may be restricted but game services in a zone outside the geofence may be allowed.

In some embodiments, an address may be used to determine a determination rate. For example, b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi can determine an address based on two locations

172 previous ones (for example, navigating in the direction of the second location from the first location). In some embodiments, a distance to the border that can be used to determine the time period may be based on a distance to the border in the direction of travel, a shorter distance to the border in a range around the direction of travel (for example, 20 degrees in any direction from the direction of travel, 90 degrees in any direction from the direction of travel, etc.).

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In some modes, a maximum time cannot be exceeded (for example, 1 minute, 5 seconds, 1 hour, 10 minutes, etc.).

It should be recognized that any actions, processes, information, etc., may be used to determine a determination time as desired in any combination and with any desired constraints.

Various other services may be offered by a location provision service. For example, geofencing can be used with child locator services to notify parents when a child leaves an area

173 designated. A location-based service (LBS) may include an information and/or entertainment service, such as a mobile gaming service that may be accessible with mobile devices over a mobile network. Said service may use the geographical position of a mobile device. LBS services can be used in a variety of contexts, such as health, work, personal life, etc. LBS services may include services to identify the location of a person or object, such as discovering the nearest ATM or where a friend or employee is. LBS services may include package tracking and vehicle tracking services. LBS includes m-commerce when it takes the form of coupons or advertising targeted to customers based on their current location. They can include personalized weather services and even location-based games.

In some modalities, the technology can allow the creation of individual and/or overlapping geofences. Technology can allow the creation of a geofence/circle of any given radius and/or shape. In some modes, this technology can prevent anyone outside of a geofence from placing bets. Geo-fencing b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

174 It can allow users of a system to draw zones around workplaces, customer sites, and/or secure areas.

As an example, some modalities may employ a geofencing sandbox service provided by Sprint and/or may perform similar functionality. Said service is provided solely as a non-exhaustive example. This service may include one or more geographic locations where each individual position may be marked with a geographic coordinate. A user may be able to draw a perimeter around their location—a fence—based on those coordinates. Users of such a system may have the ability to draw fences, add services related to those fences, and be notified when a device enters or leaves (or both). In some modalities, to alleviate privacy concerns, only devices that have been explicitly granted access to an application may be able to interact with the geofence. A gaming service may provide such functionality for customers to draw and/or manage geo-fences as they wish (for example, a casino may establish its own geo-fence within which certain marks are applied by interacting

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175 with an API from a game operator to enter the geofence).

In some embodiments, one or more services may be available as part of a geofencing API to facilitate the generation, removal, maintenance, query, connection, etc., in reference to geofences. Some services may be used to keep track of devices in relation to a specific geofence. Some devices may be used in connection with managing and/or receiving notifications for one or more geofences. Some modalities may include one or more errors occurring regarding a geofence. Some modalities may include one or more devices, functions, processes, APIs, etc., carried out, used and/or offered by a device and/or system that can interact with and/or otherwise use a geofencing technology. For example, one or more services described and/or available through Sprint's geofencing services may be available and/or used to provide such gaming services in some modes.

Figure 6 illustrates some example processes that can be performed in some modes with respect to a geofence.

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176

It should be recognized that this is provided as an example only and that other modalities may include other processes, other actions in any order and performed by any device, as desired. It should be acknowledged that various examples of services and/or features are provided solely as non-limiting examples. Some of these processes may include creating a geofence, adding a device to be tracked by the geofence, removing a device, removing a geofence, changing a geofence, querying a device and/or geofence, listing active geofences, and /o inactive, activate a geofence, deactivate a geofence, etc. Other modalities may include other features with different parameters, authentication requirements, arguments, responses, names, etc.

bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi

Figure 7 illustrates an example architecture that can be used in some embodiments for location determination. As illustrated, one or more mobile devices can communicate with a gateway. Said gateway may communicate with a location determination service. In some embodiments, the gateway may determine whether a location determination is desired (for example, in response to a bet,

177 periodically, in response to a variable becoming invalid, etc.). The gateway may query the location service in response to the determination that the location determination should be performed. The location service can determine a location (eg, GPS coordinate, a physical location, whether a device is inside or outside a geofence, a distance to an edge of a border, etc.). The location service may transmit such location information to the gateway. The gateway may enable and/or disable a service as desired, store information regarding location, and/or perform any desired actions in response to receiving the location information. It should be recognized that such architecture and process are provided as non-limiting examples only and that other embodiments may include any desired components of a game service, location service, communication service, etc., as desired in any component that performs any functions.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

It should be recognized that examples of determining whether a device is inside or outside of a geofence are provided as non-limiting examples only. Some modalities can include any number of services

178 to provide those features. For example, a third party may provide location services, a communication service provider may provide location services, a gaming service may provide location services, any aspect of a location determination may be carried out in part or entirely by any desired entity.

Access Point Movement Example

In some embodiments, a group of devices can access a game service through a single access point. The access point may be a mobile access point. Therefore, a determination of the location of an access point can be an indicator of the location of the devices. For example, a ship might include a Wi-Fi hotspot that allows devices to communicate with a game provider. If the Wi-Fi hotspot is in a Permitted Jurisdiction, then devices accessing the Game Service through the Hotspot are also likely to be in a Permitted Jurisdiction.

bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi

Some modalities may include GPS, geofencing or other

179 location determination method for a portable access point. A game service can determine the location of the mobile hotspot, for example, by querying the device from GPS and enabling or disabling game services for devices accessing a mobile hotspot network. In some embodiments, the hotspot itself can determine your location and enable or disable gaming services for devices that access a mobile hotspot network.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

In some embodiments, a network of said access point may become a trusted network when it is at a gaming location that allows gaming, so that a single level of IP-based location determination may be used. The same network may be a known, approved network when the access point is determined to be in an approved location, so an additional location determination may not be used if a device's IP address is known to be in that network, when the access point is not in an approved location.

In some modes, a gaming operator may

180 determine that users are accessing the gaming service over the trusted network which is also a mobile network. In response, instead of simply allowing access as can be done when a stationary trusted network is detected, a mobile network location check can be performed.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

Access can be allowed if the network is in a permitted location. In some embodiments, where a device location check would normally be performed, an access point location check may be performed instead. In some embodiments, an access point can report when it enters and/or approaches a disallowed location. Since the hotspot can be trusted, a gaming operator can rely on such self-reporting instead of requiring location checks independent of the mobile hotspot. Accordingly, in such a mode, a location check of a device may not be performed while the device is accessing the network through the mobile hotspot until the mobile hotspot informs the gaming operator that the location of the mobile hotspot is no longer and/or soon will not be in a permitted area.

181

Other examples of geofencing b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi

As discussed above, according to some modalities, geofencing can be used to determine if a client/user (for example, the device they are using) is within the bounds of a certain predefined location and they can be allowed, disabled, and/or modify, etc., features and/or services, etc., based on said determination. For example, a gaming service/gaming service provider may use geofencing to limit access to gaming activities (e.g. casino gaming/betting, peer-to-peer gaming, card games, poker, sports betting ( football, basketball, baseball, soccer), lottery, horse/dog/car betting, video games, casual games, contests, sports lotteries, bingo, keno, fantasy games and/or various other forms of gaming and/or betting on events, including those discussed herein) for clients/devices that are within the confines of one or more particular/predefined/permitted locations, defined by the or the geofences. A gaming service provider can determine the location of a device when a customer

182 initially accesses gaming activities (for example, while the customer is logged into an account) and, once access is provided, can re-determine the location (for example, periodic determinations, random determinations, occasional determinations, continuous determinations, etc.) .) from the device to make sure the device is still in an allowed location.

bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi

In some embodiments, a geofencing service query and/or geofencing calculation may result in a simple indication of whether or not the device is inside or outside of the geofencing. Such a service may allow a game service to generate geo-fences and may maintain the geo-fences for the game service. In some embodiments, a query to a location service may result in a location (eg, GPS coordinates) of a device. The game service can then apply the geofences to the coordinates to determine if the device is inside or outside one or more geofences. It should be recognized that the use of the term geofencing service does not indicate that geofencing is actually applied at that level or that the service is a separate service from the game provider. For example, a game provider itself may provide local geofencing capabilities such

183 as it could provide local IP location capabilities.

As discussed herein, a geofence can have any shape, including a circle, and any other type of shape, including a polygon. For a non-circular geofence, the geofence may be defined by a series of ordered coordinates (for example, longitude and latitude) and the lines, for example, between consecutive coordinates. Different methods can be used to determine if a device is located within a geofence including, for a polygonal geofence, the spiral method and/or the count method, although other methods can be used. As an example, a geofence can track the outline/boundary of a state, city, town, casino property, etc. An example of use of the counting method may include a computing device receiving coordinates (eg, longitude and latitude) from a device. The computing device can define an infinite ray (and/or perform certain calculations as if said ray had been defined) from said coordinates. The computing device can count the number of times the ray intersects the boundary defined by the lines between the sets of coordinates, for example, of a geofence. An odd number of b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi

184 Crossings or intersections may indicate that the device is in the geofence while an even number may indicate that the device is outside of the geofence.

A game service provider, for example, can determine the location of a device through geofencing (i.e., determine whether a device is within the boundaries of a predefined geofence) in a number of ways, including, for example, communicating a customer identifier and/or device identifier (for example, phone number), for example, to a communications service provider (for example, a cellular phone provider, Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.), which, in turn, can provide an indication to the game provider if a device is within the borders of a defined geo-fence. As another example, a gaming service provider may communicate a customer identifier and/or device identifier (eg a phone number), for example, to a third party who in turn may provide an indication of whether a device is within the borders of a defined geofence. For example, the third party may obtain the coordinates (for example, latitude and longitude) of a device from a communication service provider, may determine ab Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

185 based on those coordinates whether a device is within the bounds of a defined geofence, and can then provide an indication to the game service provider whether the device is within the bounds of the defined geofence. As a further example, the gaming service provider may communicate a customer identifier and/or device identifier (eg, a telephone number), for example, to a communication service provider, possibly indirectly via a third, and get in response the coordinates (for example, longitude and latitude) of a device. The gaming service provider can then determine from the coordinates whether the device is within the bounds of a defined geofence.

As mentioned above, a gaming service provider, once a user has been provided with access to gaming activities, for example, may redeterminate a device's location to ensure that the device is still in a certain location. allowed. For various reasons, the gaming service provider may wish to minimize determinations and/or inquiries to a third party and/or communication service provider regarding device locations. For example, such b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

186 determinations may require processing time that is desired for other processes, and/or a third party and/or communication service provider may charge a fee for responding to such inquiries. According to one embodiment, the game service provider may register a listening application on the device. Such an application may register when a customer initially accesses gaming activities (for example, while the customer logs into an account). Said application may monitor the location and changes in the location of the device (for example, through the use of GPS) and alert and/or inform the gaming service provider when a change in location occurs. The application may report any change in location and/or may report a change in location when the change meets a predetermined amount or threshold (for example, some predefined amount of inches, feet, meters, yards, miles, some deviation from these, etc.). The default amount may be pre-configured in the listening application, may be set by the game service provider when registering the application, and/or may be dynamically updated by the game service provider as the customer accesses gaming activities . As another example, the app can report the location of the device and/or Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

187 any change in location at some time interval (eg periodic, random, etc.) regardless of whether there is actually a change in location. Again, the time interval may be pre-configured in the listening application, may be set by the game service provider when registering the application, and/or may be dynamically updated by the game service provider as the client Access gaming activities. However, the alert/report from the listening application may include any one or more of the device's location (or approximation thereof) (for example, longitude and latitude), the distance the device moved, the direction in which the device moved, an indication that the device moved a predetermined amount, an indication that the device changed location (but not by how much), etc. According to some modalities, the listening application, which has been notified by the game service provider, for example, of the boundaries of a geofence, can determine if the device is within the geofence, some defined distance from the boundaries. geofence and/or has moved outside the geofence, and report any such event to the gaming service provider.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

188

According to some embodiments, a game service provider, for example (without communicating with a communication service provider and/or third parties, for example) can respond to an alert/report from a listening application by determining that the device is still within the boundaries of a geofence, is possibly moving towards and/or has moved towards the boundaries of the geofence, and/or has moved beyond/out of the boundaries of the geofence and, therefore, you may be in a location where gaming activities, and/or any other features, are not allowed and/or not provided and/or need to be modified/altered. For example, the gaming service provider may make such determinations by knowing the device's previous coordinates (for example, as provided by a communication service provider and/or a third party, for example) and the device's coordinates and/or or the distance the device moved as reported by the listening application. Under some embodiments, the game service provider, for example, in response to making a determination of where the device may be located as a result of the listening application report, may do nothing, may log out of a customer account, you can avoid and/or suspend bets b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

189 from the device, you can allow, disable and/or modify features and/or services and/or activities provided to the client, you can communicate with the listening application to update when the listening application provides the reports, and/or you can communicate with a communication service provider and/or a third party to redeterminate the location of the device through geofencing using the methods discussed herein. For example, the game service provider may determine, in response to the listening application's report, that the device is still within the confines of a geofence and do nothing. As another example, the game service provider may determine, in response to the listening application's report, that the device possibly approached the geo-fence limits and may communicate with a communication service provider and/or a third party to redeterminate the location of the device through geofencing using the methods discussed herein.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

In some embodiments, a listening application may be a plurality of location determination triggers. For example, as a result of a movement reported by a listening application, a service provider

190 gaming services may carry out a location determination of a device (after a certain period of time from a previous location determination) in response to and at a time where a customer subsequently initiates gambling actions through the device.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

In some embodiments, even where a new location reported by a listening application may appear to be within a geofence to the game service provider, the game service provider may not trust the new location. For example, such a listening application may have the potential to be hacked, because it may work on the client's device. Accordingly, a report from said listening application that movement occurred may trigger some different location determination to be performed (eg, verification of a geofence location).

One of skill in the art will recognize that recording a listening application on a device to determine when a device may be moving toward and/or has moved beyond geofence boundaries can be used for other features,

191 services, activities and applications, such as those described herein, as well as to decide whether gaming activities should be allowed, disabled and/or modified on a device.

bLcnen/nznz/q/Yii

In accordance with some modalities and as discussed herein, a gaming service provider, for example, may also use concentric/consecutive geo-fences (including two or more concentric geo-fences) to minimize, for example, determinations and/or inquiries to third parties and/or the communication service provider regarding the locations of a device. Such concentric/consecutive geo-fences can be used, for example, to determine when a location query should be made to a third party and/or a communication service provider. By way of example, an external geofence may correspond to an actual border of an approved area in which gaming activities are permitted. This geofence may include a second geofence, which may include a third geofence, etc. The concentric/consecutive geofences can each be a circle, each can be a polygon (with one or more polygons having the same and/or different shapes from the others), a combination of these, etc. According to some modalities, said

192 series of consecutive geofences, while one may lie within the other, etc., may not be concentric, since one or more of the geofences may not share a common center point. Similarly, one or more geofences may or may not touch another geofence and/or may or may not overlap another geofence. Similarly, a given geofence may include within two or more geofences that do not overlap at all. One skilled in the art will recognize that other geofence formations/configurations may be used.

bLcnen/nznz/q/Yii

Under some modalities, the rate or time at which a game service provider, for example, redeterminates a device's location (to ensure that the device is in a permitted location - for example, that it is still within outermost geofence boundaries) can be based on the last geofence the device was within. For example, Figure 11 shows a state 1101 (eg Nevada) for example, with three geofences 1102a, 1102b and 1102c, within it, for example. The frequency of determining the location of a device can be at a rate (for example, every 5 minutes or approximately every 5 minutes) when the device is within the

193 outermost geofence 1102a but outside of geofences 1102b and 1102c (i.e., it is located in region 1103a), it may be at a second rate (for example, every 10 minutes or approximately every 10 minutes) when a device is within the geofences 1102a and 1102b but is outside geofence 1102c (i.e., located in region 1103b) and at a third rate (for example, every 30 minutes or approximately every 30 minutes) when a device is inside geofences 1102a, 1102b and 1102 (ie, located in region 1103c), etc. For example, rates may take longer, as long as the device is located further from the outermost fence, or in other words, it is located within an innermost geofence. One skilled in the art will recognize that other settings are possible, including seconds, minutes, and hours. Accordingly, a game service provider may use a communication service provider and/or a third party, as discussed herein, to determine which geofence the device is within. Based on which geofence the device is located the gaming service provider can then determine the next time a determination will be made and/or query to a third party and/or communication provider, where the rate is less frequent, for example, when the device is inside an internal geofence.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

194

In accordance with some embodiments, a game service provider, for example, may register a listening application on a device in addition to using multiple concentric/consecutive geo-fences. By way of example, a gaming service provider may determine and/or query a third party and/or a communication service provider regarding the location of a device at times/at a rate based on the last geofence in which the device was located. However, if the listening application reports a change in location, as described herein, for example, the game service provider may reduce the time/rate at which the next location determination/query is made. , including reducing the time to zero so that location determination is made immediately. In accordance with some embodiments, the game service provider may configure/reconfigure the listening application to report location changes based on which of the geofences the device is located. For example, the listening application can be configured to report location changes of a length when a device is located in region 1103a, and can be configured to b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi

195 report changes in the location of a second length when the device is located in region 1103b, where the first length is less than the second length. In other words, the listening application can be configured to report short changes in location the closer the device is to the outermost geofence. As another example, the listening application can be configured to report location changes more frequently (regardless of length of movement) the closer the device is to the outermost geofence.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

In some modes, in addition to or as an alternative to rate or time, some other functionality may depend on which geofence the device/client is located on. For example, when a device is determined to be located in an external border geofence (for example, region 1103a), a game service provider may use some second method of location determination to ensure that a device is within from a permitted location, while the game service provider may not use a certain second location determination method when a device is determined to be located in an internal geofence (eg region 1103b and/or 1103c). As yet another example, the functionality of the

196 The client device itself can be altered to prevent certain actions from being performed or certain data from being accessed when inside border geofences as opposed to inside internal geofences (for example, a client may not be able to betting on certain types of games, a customer may not be able to play for more than a certain amount of money, a client's game participation may be delayed to make consecutive location determinations before the game action is accepted, a client may not be able to access more than a maximum amount of game data between location determinations , etc.) . As yet another example, a customer may be warned about leaving an approved area when inside a border geofence.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

Some embodiments may include a game service provider performing a determination of the location of a client device in response to a cached recognized result transmitted to the game service provider. For example, a communication service provider and/or third party and/or location reporting service may only reload device locations from time to time (for example, redeterminate

197 latitude and longitude coordinates). If a game service provider requests a location at a faster rate than the location reporting service updates its location information, the game service provider may be provided with out-of-date cached location information. If a game service provider recognizes that two consecutive location reports are identical, the game service provider may suspect a cached result is being used. If a device is located on a border fence (for example, the 1103a region), this may cause the gaming service provider to behave differently than when a device is located on an internal fence (for example, the region 1103b and/or 1103c) (for example, because the game service provider may be concerned that a client has left the border to a disallowed gaming location between updates but not so concerned about the internal geofence). Said cached result determination then may, in some embodiments, only be relevant to border geofences. Such suspicion about a cached result may

Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi increment if a listening application has reported that it has

198 movement occurred. In some embodiments, a determination of a cached result may depend on the listening application reporting such movement. In response to determining the transmission of a relevant cached result, the game service provider may determine the location in some other way using a secondary location determination, re-request the location from the same location reporting service Location, request that the location reporting service specifically update the client's/device's location information and/or take any other action (for example, restrict gaming until an uncached result is transmitted).

As discussed herein, actions taken by a game service provider, communication service provider, third party, location information service, and/or the device, etc., may include actions taken by an entity/ person and/or actions carried out electronically by one or more computers, computing devices, servers, processors, etc., running software, firmware, etc., through one or more b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi communication networks.

199

Examples of lightweight tags

In some embodiments, in addition to and/or as an alternative to geofencing and/or other location determination methodologies, a lightweight tagging system may be employed. Such a system can be used to determine if a device is in an approved location and/or a non-approved location for gaming. In some modalities, said system can be provided by Ekahau to determine approved and/or non-approved zones (for example, red/green).

In some embodiments, said lightweight tag may include game positioning client software. Said software can be used, for example, by a server, workstation, network, mobile device and/or processor, to facilitate the determination of information about a location or position of a mobile device. In some embodiments, such software may be used to identify a location of a user of a mobile and/or handheld device (for example, a mobile processor, such as a laptop computer, mobile phone or smartphone, laptop, other portable electronic device). , etc.) . For example, software running on a mobile device can b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

200 cause the device to transmit or otherwise provide information (for example, to a server or other processor, a unique identifier, a set of signal strengths, etc.) that can be used to determine the position of the customer's mobile device.

bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi

In some embodiments, a game application (eg, a main application, a container application, a lightweight tagging application, etc.) may perform one or more actions to facilitate such features. For example, such an application may be assigned a unique identifier (eg, as part of an enrollment process). As another example, said application may be provided with a list of allowed access points and/or a reference to where such a list can be obtained (eg from a gaming service). In some embodiments, said game application may determine one or more signal strengths of one or more wireless access points and/or one or more access point identifiers accessible from the current location. In some embodiments, an application can determine a network through which the mobile device is accessing a gaming service (for example, a Wi-Fi network at a casino, a Wi-Fi network at a Starbucks in Las Vegas,

201 etc . ) .

In some embodiments, one or more identifiers and/or signal strengths may be transmitted to the gaming service and/or other location (eg, with a request to bet). In some embodiments, an identifier of said network may be used to determine that a network is approved. For example, the network identifier can be compared with a list of allowed networks (eg, from a gaming service, from a mobile device, from an application). If the network is listed, then the network may be in an approved location and the game may be allowed. In some embodiments, a request to a game service may include a network identification, such that such a determination may be made by the game service. In some embodiments, a set of signal strengths and/or access point identifiers may be used to determine if a location is approved. For example, a set of signal strengths and/or access points may be compared to a set of approved signal strengths and/or access points. Some examples of embodiments of such comparisons are described in US Pat. No. 12/197,809, which is incorporated herein by bLcnrn/nznz/q/YiA by this reference.

202

Some modalities may include determining that a network is in an allowed location and/or identifying signal strengths and/or allowed access points. For example, some modalities may include an agent identifying that a network, access point, and/or signal strength are in a permitted location for a gaming service (for example, an agent may observe a network boundary and determine that the network is within the boundary of an allowed location, the agent can send a message to a game service identifying that communication network and that it is in an allowed location, the agent can determine that the signal strengths and/or access points in various locations are valid and/or invalid based on the location compared to legal requirements). In response to receiving such information, a game service may associate the communication network, signal strengths, and/or access points with remaining in a permitted location.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

Said application can run on any supported operating system or systems. Such operating systems may include any operating systems, servers, handheld devices, and/or other devices. Such compatible operating systems may include operating systems of

203

Windows such as Mobile 5 PocketPC, Windows Mobile 6 Classic, Windows Mobile 6 Professional, Windows 8, various versions of Android, Mac operating systems, Linux, and other systems.

In some embodiments, the software may be capable of achieving various functions and have various features, including (but not limited to) one or more (or all) of the following, for example, in some embodiments: supporting client maintenance, for example, from a ranking engine (eg, a ranking engine provided by the company Ekahau); adjust scan settings, eg for multiple devices, eg at the same time (or at multiple different times); display battery level status (for example, from an Ekahau motor) ; no need for an Ekahau client connector; compatible with Ekahau Location and Maintenance Protocols (ELP, EMP) RTLS 4.x; include a new UI in the PPC client: PPG client settings are maintained using the Ekahau positioning engine, laptop client may not have a UI: settings are set in the installer or settings are maintained using the engine Ekahau positioning; and/or may or may not affect b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi association/authentication.

204

Various examples for determining a time period to reverify location are provided elsewhere with respect to modalities of geofencing and/or multi-tier location determination methodologies. Said characteristic can be applied to a light labeling or another modality. For example, particular network sets, access points, and/or signal strengths may be associated with different time periods between location checks based on distance from an edge of an approved area boundary, status, reliability, etc. Similarly, movement speed can be used to determine said time periods in some modalities.

It should be recognized that various examples of lightweight tagging are provided as non-limiting examples only and that other desired methods and/or apparatus may be used. Any desired location services can be used in combination and/or exclusively. For the examiner, some modalities may include determining that a device is using an approved network while being in a geofence.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

205

Examples of limitation of remote control of mobile devices b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

In some embodiments, the ability to remotely access a device may be controlled. Said ability can be restricted, prevented and/or unavailable, for example. In some embodiments, one or more methods and/or devices may be used to prevent remote connections to a mobile device while a customer is engaged in gaming-related activities using a mobile device and/or if the mobile device is authorized to carry out activities of games.

Some examples of mobile devices may include any number of communication interfaces (eg 4) that can be controlled to prevent remote access of the mobile device. It should be recognized that some modalities may include more, fewer, or different interfaces, and the example of interfaces is provided as a non-limiting example only. Such examples of interfaces may include 1. wifi, 2. dock/USB, 3. bluetooth, 4. cellular network (may not support incoming connections).

206

In some embodiments, incoming remote connections from a mobile device over a cellular connection network may be disabled, not possible, and/or otherwise prevented. In some embodiments, one or more communication interfaces may be disabled at a time relative to when a player performs gambling-related activities (eg placing a bet). In some embodiments, such disabling may include preventing a customer from remotely controlling a phone, so that the customer may be at the location of the phone at the time the gambling activity takes place. In some embodiments, if the customer activates a disabled communication interface while in the sports betting application, and/or a remote connection is established through said interface, in response to a determination that such activation occurs and/or or such a connection is made, a customer's sports betting session may be closed and/or deactivated (for example, with a warning message, without a warning message, a sports betting application may be closed, a communication session may be closed, a gaming service may be notified, b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi

207

In some embodiments, a mobile game application may check to determine if a communication interface is enabled and/or if a communication session through said interface is active. For example, an application could occasionally, in response to an action, periodically, etc., check to see if a communication interface is enabled and/or if a communication session is active. Such checking can be done by calling one or more APIs. For example, an Android OS API can be used with UiModeManager, WifiMaanger, and BlueToothAdapter classes.

In some embodiments, a betting application on a customer device may include one or more programs. A first application may include, for example, an AIR 2.5 application designed on the Android 2.2 platform using Flash AS3. A second application may include, for example, an Android container application that launches and monitors the current state of the device. In some embodiments, a client-facing application may include a launcher that can launch the AIR 2.5 application after checking the status of remote connection access points such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and dock. The application can be launched if all connection methods b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

208 External are disabled. Once successfully launched, the application can be closed if the client enables one or more of these access points. If the service that validates compliance shuts down and is unable to provide status to the application, the application can be shut down.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

Some modalities may prevent a user from making and/or accepting phone calls. For example, an application may be closed if a call is made and/or received during a game session and/or while a game application is running. In some embodiments, a user may be prevented from changing a focus, running multiple applications, running other applications, etc., while a game application is running. It should be recognized that any desired set of actions may cause remote access to be prevented, as desired.

It should be recognized that the various examples of applications are not exhaustive and that other modalities may include a single application, any number of applications, no application, any language, any technology, any device, any operating system, etc.

209

Other Component Examples

Some modalities may include one or more actors, programs, devices, servers, components, entities, architectures, etc. Some examples may include:

A customer and/or mobile device user, a customer service representative associated with a gaming operator who may be located on a gaming-related property, a customer service support center that may be accessible via a number free to provide support to mobile customers (for example, support information can be displayed to the customer whenever any validation fails), an Android wrapper application (for example, an application written in the Android OS language and/or another language used to authenticate the device and monitor the state of the phone), an AIR Mobile game client (for example, an Adobe Flash application approved by the Gaming Control Board of Nevada [NGCB] installed on the phone that can be the current user interface to allow customers to log in, play mobile games and view their account history), a device authentication service (for example, a service b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

210 protected by SSL that provides the mechanism for the Android container application to authorize the phone, a provider of an internal interface (that is, accessible only inside the firewall) to validate requests made to systems from approved devices), a gateway (for example, an NGCB-approved SSL-protected middleware communication that transmits requests to the DAS and account-based mobile gaming system), a Win32 wrapper application (for example, an application written in the Win32 language used to authenticate devices and monitor PC status. It should be recognized that Win32 PCs and language are provided as non-limiting examples only and may be used any technology desired.In some embodiments, a mobile device may include a data adapter, mobile phone, smartphone, laptop, pda, etc.

Figure 8 illustrates an example of architectures that can be used in some modalities. Some modalities may include a mobile device as indicated. Said device can communicate with a game service (for example, a gateway). Such a device can be used by a customer to enter game actions, b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

211 selecting games to play, choosing decisions in a game, logging into an account, etc. Some modality may include such a gateway and/or any desired component of a gaming service and/or third party services that can communicate with a mobile device. Such a component can perform any desired action (eg authentication, location, etc.). Some modalities may include a location service. Said location service can provide any desired action related to determining if a mobile device is in an approved location. Said location service may communicate with a mobile device and/or game service. Said location service may include a communication provider for the mobile device, a game service itself, a third party, etc. Some modes may include a gaming component. Said gaming component can be used to place bets, determine betting results, track accounts, etc. Said betting component may be part of a gaming service provider. Said games component may receive bets, determine betting results, receive actions to be taken in a game, facilitate the use of a game, transmit indications of an action result, facilitate adjustments to an account in response to said b Lcnen/nznz /q/Yi

212 results etc

The figures illustrate that some devices can perform some actions. It should be recognized that any desired action can be performed by any device in other modes. It should be recognized that any computing device may be used in any combination in other modalities.

Some modalities may use MD5 hashing and/or any encoding scheme to encode information, such as system parameters. Information on MD5 hashing can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MD5. MD5 may include a message-digest algorithm for encoding data. MD5 can help ensure that 1) Once encrypted, the data cannot be recovered by means of decryption (i.e., the original data is lost) 2) Use the MD5 Hashing process with two different pieces of data (even if they are similar) produces different results and/or 3) Using the MD5 Hashing process with identical data produces the same result.

Some modalities may use an HTTPS SSL protocol to facilitate secure communication between entities. In b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

213 In some embodiments, communication between client devices and DAS, gateways, and/or a component of a gaming system may be over the HTTPS SSL protocol. This can guarantee the integrity and/or security of the data. Information about the HTTPS protocol can be found at h 11 p : / / e n. wikipedia . org/wiki/H11. .

bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi

Some modalities, such as those that may use an Android operating system, may use a private key signature to protect applications. For example, the operating system can ensure: 1) that two applications signed with different private keys do not write to each other's data file and/or 2) that two applications signed with the same private key write to each other's data file. the other. Information about this type of security can be found at http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/security/security.html.

Some modes, such as those using Win32, can use process IDs to protect applications. For example, a Win32 container application can ensure: 1) that two applications run under the same user ID and/or 2) that

214 two applications are the only two processes running with the same user ID.

Said examples are provided solely as non-exhaustive. It should be recognized that various modalities can include any actor, program, device, server, component, entity, architecture, etc. desired, in any combination.

Examples of game rules

Some modalities may work according to one or more rules. It should be recognized that any rule and/or no rule may be used as desired. Any number of mechanisms, penalties, validations, etc., can be used to ensure that one or more of any of the rules is respected. Some examples of rules may include:

one. Wagers are accepted within approved locations within the state of Nevada under Regulation 22.140 and Regulation 266.160. Nevada law prohibits wagers originating outside of the state of Nevada, so such wagers will not be permitted. Account holders can understand that it is illegal to place a bet b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

215 originating outside of the state of Nevada.

2. Requests for wagers must be made in person at a race and/or sports wager. Applicants may complete the Approved Account Based Betting Application and provide valid and sufficient proof of their identification and/or social security number as provided in Regulation 22 and 26c.

3. Account applicants must be 21 (twenty-one) years of age or older.

Four. Account transactions must be made by the account holder. Accounts may be limited to the use of the person named in the application. Account deposits and withdrawals can be made in person. Agents or other representatives may not be authorized.

5. A minimum deposit of USD 100.00 can be made to open an account. Deposits into accounts can be made in cash. Funds may be transferred to a sponsor's account in accordance with Nevada gaming regulations.

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216

6. Deposits and withdrawals from accounts may be signed and authorized by the guest in the racing and sports book during normal business hours. No agents or representatives will be allowed.

7. Account withdrawals and subsequent deposits may be made at the location where the funds were initially deposited.

8. Account sponsors may be required to provide their account number and valid and acceptable identification when conducting account transactions in person.

9. Bets may not be accepted if they exceed the account balance.

10. Bets may be subject to established betting limits.

eleven. The rules may be subject to change, at any time, upon regulatory review.

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12. The minimum deposit can include USD 100.00 and the stake

217 minimum may include USD 5.00.

13. Any desired house rules and/or regulations may be applied to betting accounts.

14. Sponsors may be provided, within a reasonable period of time, with a statement of their account showing deposits to the betting account, withdrawals from the betting account, credits to a betting account and/or debits to the account of bets made during the time period of which the account statement informs. The request for such information may be made in writing and may be signed by the sponsor, whose signature on the request will be verified. Within the application, the sponsor can provide details by completing the requested information. All postal delivery can be made through normal mail to the address requested by the sponsor. If the sponsor's request is to personally receive the information, the information may be provided to the sponsor, who may provide valid identification upon receipt of the information. Information may not be personally provided to anyone other than the account sponsor, unless required by law or court order.

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218

fifteen. Sponsors may dispute any transaction in accordance with Nevada Gaming Commission regulation 7A.

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16. Casinos may make a paper, electronic or other approved record of each sports transaction and will not be able to accept any wager or transaction if the recording system is down. Recorded betting transactions can be held for 60 days, in accordance with Regulations 22 and 26c. The registration of the sponsor's confirmation of all wagering information may be considered the registration transaction, regardless of what is recorded by the computerized betting or parimutual system. Records may be made available to the Nevada Gaming Control Board upon request.

17. Guests can acknowledge that a bet placed through the system is binding on both parties only when the BET IS APPROVED in the system or when the message BET ACCEPTED is displayed.

Examples of multiple accounts

219

Some modalities may include a multiplicity of accounts related to a multiplicity of respective casinos and/or other places. In some modalities, said accounts of this type can allow games in a casino, sports book, etc. in particular. In some embodiments, for example, a user may have a respective casino gaming monetary account associated with each of a multiplicity of gaming operators (eg casino, sportsbooks, mobile game providers, internet gambling sites) and a respective monetary account for sports betting associated with one or more of the multiplicity of gaming operators (for example, casinos, sports books, mobile game providers, betting sites on the internet). A game provider may operate such accounts and/or allow games related to such accounts.

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Some modalities may include preventing funds from a gaming account from being used within a casino or at a location not associated with that gaming account. Some methods may include preventing funds in a gaming account from being used for gambling and/or activities (for example, making purchases, playing gambling games, etc.)

220 casino, play sports games) that are not approved for the account. A location determination may be made as described herein to determine such functionality.

Some modes may include a feature that allows you to transfer funds from one gaming account to another gaming account. Such funds may be transferred between accounts associated with the same gaming operator and/or between accounts associated with different gaming operators.

In some modalities, a transfer may include an adjustment to an electronic record that identifies a sum of money in an account. For example, a single gaming operator may reduce one account and increase another account by the same amount (for example, an internal transfer of ownership between casino and sportsbook accounts). In some modalities, several parties may be involved in a transfer. For example, a first game operator can reduce an account and a second game operator can increase an account by the same amount. In some embodiments, an intermediary (for example, a mobile gaming operator or an account operator) may provide accounting service on behalf of a b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

221 or more entities (for example, you can maintain accounts for several entities and, in this way, make adjustments on your behalf).

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In some embodiments, such an account transfer feature may allow a user to grant permission for a transfer of an amount of money from an account to be made. Any permitted amount (or less) of money may be transferred to another account. Accordingly, such money from the other account can be used to carry out gaming actions and/or perform activities, even if the money in the account cannot be used to carry out gaming action and/or perform the same activities. .

In some embodiments, a first account related to a first game provider may be established. For example, a first account may relate to a first casino (eg, the M Resort) or a first gaming service provider (eg, a mobile gaming provider such as Cantor Gaming). A game provider, a user and/or a financial institution may establish such an account (for example, by creating an account and/or placing money in an account). A user can place money in and/or withdraw money from said account. This account can be

222 used to carry out gaming actions in one or more games with money placed on the account. Such account may be used to play games at the casino or Prime Game Provider and/or otherwise through the Prime Game Provider (for example, by using an application provided by the Prime Game Provider, where the Prime Game Provider performs game actions) . In some modalities, said account can be associated with one or more activities (for example, sports games and/or casino games). In some embodiments, multiple accounts associated with different activities may be established in connection with the first game provider (for example, one for sports games and one for casino games).

In some modes, a second account may be established in connection with a second game provider. For example, a second account may be associated with a second casino (eg, Hard Rock Casino) or a second gaming service provider (eg, a mobile gaming provider such as the Venetian Pocket Casino Service). The second game provider, a user and/or a financial institution may establish such an account (for example, by creating an account and/or placing money in an account). A user can put money in said account and/or Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi

223 extract money from it. Such an account may be used to carry out gaming actions in one or more games with money placed in the account. Such account may be used to play games on the Second Game Provider and/or otherwise through the Second Game Provider (for example, by using an application provided by the Second Game Provider, when the Second Game Provider carries out out game actions). In some modalities, said account can be associated with one or more activities (for example, casino games and/or sports games). In some embodiments, multiple accounts associated with different activities may be established in connection with the second game provider (eg, one for sports games and one for casino games).

In some embodiments, a third account related to a first activity can be established. For example, a third account may relate to casino games (eg slots, blackjack, poker). A game provider, a user and/or a financial institution may establish such an account (for example, by creating an account and/or placing money in an account). A user can place money in said account and/or withdraw money from it. Such an account can be used to carry out gaming actions b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

224 in one or more casino games with money placed in the account. Such account may be limited to the first activity and/or may be excluded from being used for any second activity (for example, sports and/or racing games). In some modalities, said account can be associated with one or more game providers.

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In some embodiments, a fourth account related to a second activity (eg, a second activity for which the third account cannot be used) can be established. A game provider, a user and/or a financial institution may establish such an account (for example, by creating an account and/or placing money in an account). A user can place money in said account and/or withdraw money from it. Such an account may be used to carry out gaming actions at one or more sporting, racing and/or other events with money placed in the account. Said account can be limited to the second activity and/or can be excluded from being used for any first activity (for example, casino games). In some modalities, said account can be associated with one or more game providers (for example, a game provider that is the same and/or different from that of the third account).

225

In some embodiments, establishing an account may include receiving information from a user through a gaming operator, receiving money from a user, verifying information about the user, saving money to an account, storing information in a database, etc. For example, in some embodiments, a user may provide identification information to a game provider (eg, name, age, address, social security number, driver's license number, etc.) to establish an account. The game provider may store such information in a database. The game provider may verify one or more pieces of information (for example, ask for photo identification to verify age). Information establishing such verification may be stored in a database (for example, a copy of an ID). Login information can be set for an account. In some embodiments, such information may be established in person at a gaming operator, via the Internet, by fax, by telephone, etc., as desired. In some modalities, money can be placed in the account. For example, physical cash may be delivered to a gaming operator and, in response, a database entry may be adjusted to show that the money is in the account. In some b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

226 Other modalities, electronic transfers can be made to the account (for example, from another account) and an entry can be created in a database to identify that account.

In some embodiments, a single intermediary may maintain information relating to multiple accounts associated with multiple gaming operators (for example, a mobile gaming provider may operate multiple casinos and maintain accounts associated with each casino). In some embodiments, said intermediary may maintain a customer database, in which account information from multiple accounts may be stored. Some modalities may include maintaining consistency in the account in said database. For example, if a player changes their name or address associated with an account, those changes may be propagated through the customer database to affect the entire account. In some modalities, the change may not affect another account. In some modes, the player may be given a choice via a user interface to have the change propagate to other accounts (for example, to choose which account to affect).

In some modes, when a player establishes a new account, the new account may be linked on the b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

227 customer database with other accounts established by the player. Such establishment and/or binding may be part of an enrollment process. For example, identifiers entered by the player may be searched in a database at the time of account establishment to find out if the player has already registered an account (for example, the player may be asked for login information from a previous account, numbers Social Security number, driver's license number, or other unique identifiers can be searched). If a match is found in a customer database with a player establishing a new account, it can be associated with the new account in response to the previous customer registration and all accounts that have been associated with that customer in the past. Such association can facilitate a process, maintain an orderly customer profile, maintain a customer account, transfer money between customer accounts, detect fraud (for example, detect multiple uses of the account simultaneously and take action against fraud in consequence), etc.

Some modalities may be related to games in casinos and/or in jurisdictions where gambling is legal. Such games may be played by using money in one or more b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi established accounts. Databases can be adjusted in

228 response to money risked, money lost, money won, money transferred, etc. In some modes, jurisdictions and/or game providers may require and/or wish to keep some money separate from other money. Such treatment of money can improve accounting, monitoring, solvency guarantee, activity monitoring, age verification, identity confirmation, etc. For example, in some modes, each game provider (for example, house, casino, mobile game provider) may require that its own account (for example, an account established for betting with each provider) be established to place bets through from the provider. As another example, racing and/or sports accounts may be required to be separate from casino gaming accounts. For example, a game provider that offers both sports/racing and casino games may require a user to establish both a sports/racing account and a casino account if that user wishes to place account-based wagers on both sports/racing as well as casino games through the game provider. In some modes, a separate account may be required to make purchases and/or otherwise spend money. For example, game accounts can be prevented from being used to spend money on b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

229 buy products. In some modes, the same account can be used for more than one activity, through more than one game provider and/or in more than one location.

It should be recognized that any combination of location, game provider, intermediary, activity and/or other features that are associated with betting accounts and non-betting accounts may be used in various ways as desired. Various exemplary embodiments are provided as non-limiting examples that can be combined in any way desired. For example, some modalities may include three separate accounts being associated with three respective activities for each of four locations. In some modalities, as an example of some account types and/or associations, one account may be associated with sports games casino A, another account may be associated with casino games at casino B, a third account may be associated with purchases at store C and a fourth account can be associated with investments in a financial institute D.

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Some modalities may include facilitating a transfer of money from one account (eg first account, third account) to another account (eg second

230 bead, fourth bead) . Such money may include money deposited into an account, money transferred to an account, money won through gambling activities, etc. In some embodiments, an account to which money can be transferred may include an account associated with a gaming provider with which the user participates (for example, at a casino in which a user is located) at a time relative to the transfer and/or an account from which money can be withdrawn may include a gaming provider with which the user does not participate (for example, a casino in which the user is not located) at the time of the transfer.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

In some modes, facilitating a transfer may include withdrawing money from one account and depositing money into another account. Some modalities may include charging a fee for said service (for example, for each transaction, a registration fee, etc.). In some embodiments, such a transfer may be facilitated by making one or more changes to the database. In some modalities, accounting, audits and/or reports may be carried out with respect to one or more transfers as desired by a regulatory body.

231

In some embodiments, facilitating may include pre-allowing a transfer, requesting that a transfer be pre-allowed, transferring a pre-allowed amount of money, allowing a user to pre-allow a transfer from an account, etc. In some embodiments, facilitating may include making an automatic transfer, making a transfer from one account to another account in response to placing a wager from the first account, transferring money to fulfill a wager, etc.

Other modalities

It will be understood that the technologies described herein for performing, using, or practicing various modalities are merely a subset of the possible technologies that may be used for the same or similar purposes. The particular technologies described herein are not to be construed restrictively. Rather, various modalities contemplate alternative technologies for making, using, or practicing various modalities.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the method without departing from the scope of the present invention. The bLcnen/nznz/q/Yi

232 method may include more, less, or other steps. Additionally, the steps may be performed in any suitable order without departing from the scope of the present invention.

While the disclosure has been described in terms of certain embodiments and associated methods in general, alterations and permutations of the embodiments and methods will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the above description of exemplary embodiments does not imply a limitation of the present disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, and alterations are also possible without departing from the spirit and scope of this description, as defined by the present claims.

Examples of combined modalities

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It should be recognized that some modalities may combine several aspects. For example, a game server may allow a variety of clients to play games. The variety of clients can run different operating systems (for example, iPhones, Android devices, laptops, etc.), have different capabilities (for example,

233

GPS) and/or can access the game service through different means (for example, Wi-Fi, mobile network, Ethernet). A game service and/or game client on a client device may take appropriate actions to ensure security based on such considerations. Such actions may combine one or more of the methods described herein that are available to a particular client device.

For example, an Android phone that uses a mobile network to access a game service can run a client program that interacts with the device and the game service. The client software may carry out hash checks of at least a part of the client program and/or operating system or transmit such information to a gaming service for verification. The client software can obtain a phone number from the phone by querying the Android operating system and transmit that number to the game service. The gaming service and/or client software may modify the routing tables to route traffic through an established VPN between the laptop and the gaming service. A VM and/or proxy check can be performed by the client software and any desired access method (by b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

2. 3. 4 example, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi) can be disabled by the client software. The client software may obtain a user's login credentials (eg, login, password, swipe pattern) and transmit such information to a game server for validation and validate one or more parts thereof locally. A gaming service can verify the log-in information obtained and use the phone number to verify a location of the phone through geofencing location verification, for example.

As another example, an iOS phone that uses a mobile network to access a game service may run a client program that interacts with the device and the game service. The client software may carry out hash checks of at least part of the client program and/or operating system or transmit such information to a gaming service for verification. The game service client software may obtain a telephone number from the user during registration or login. The gaming service and/or client software may modify the routing tables to route traffic through an established VPN between the laptop and the gaming service. A VM and/or proxy check can b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi

235 be carried out by the client software and any desired access method (eg Bluetooth, Wi-Fi) can be disabled by the client software. The phone number may be transmitted to the gaming service during login or as part of a registration process. The client software may obtain a user's login credentials (eg, login, password, swipe pattern) and transmit such information to a game server for validation and validate one or more parts thereof locally. A gaming service can verify the log-in information obtained and use the phone number to verify a location of the phone through geofencing location verification, for example. A client software can also check the phone's GPS coordinates and transmit those coordinates to the game service. The game service may use the GPS coordinates as verification that the device's phone number is the real phone number by verifying that the geofencing service's location verification matches the GPS location report.

As a further example, a Windows laptop using a Wi-Fi network to access a gaming service may b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

236 run a client program that interacts with the device and the game service. The client software may carry out hash checks of at least part of the client program and/or operating system or transmit such information to a gaming service for verification. An IP address of the laptop may be determined by the client device and transmitted to the game service and/or determined by the game service from payments received from the game service. The gaming service and/or client software may modify the routing tables to route traffic through an established VPN between the laptop and the gaming service. A VM and/or proxy check can be performed by the client software and any desired access method (eg Bluetooth) can be disabled by the client software. The client software may obtain a user's login credentials (eg, login, password, swipe pattern) and transmit such information to a game server for validation and validate one or more parts thereof locally. A gaming service can verify the login information obtained and use the IP address to verify a location of the laptop through an IP location check, for example.

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Examples of cloud services b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi

One or more features described herein may be available as a cloud service. For example, a game operator may be a cloud service provider, a location service may be a cloud service provider, an authentication service may be a cloud service provider, an account manager may be a cloud service provider, a trademark service can be a cloud service provider, etc. Multiple cloud service providers can interact with each other over a network to provide a consistent set of services for a user. Individual services can be used for multiple purposes. For example, a cloud authentication service can authenticate any device for any game operator, an account manager can provide account services for any user, a game service provider can provide game services for any cloud participant .

The cloud can be accessed through certain access points. For example, a casino may provide a portal

238 of access to a cloud (for example, a kiosk, a mobile application on a phone, etc.). Services available in the cloud may be provided by cloud service providers that are connected to the cloud.

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An account may be held elsewhere such as such a cloud and/or may be held specifically for a gaming operator. Accordingly, a cloud accessing user can use funds from a cloud account provider with a cloud gaming operator. A cloud gaming operator may use authentication and/or location services from a cloud authentication and/or location service provider. Funds at the account provider, for example, can be funds associated with a portal through which the user accesses the cloud (for example, a casino) that can make the funds available to a variety of gaming services. that are connected to the cloud. In some modes, a gaming operator may be limited to using the services it provides (for example, its own account services and/or its own authentication services). Some modalities may include one or more components of such a cloud service that may function to provide gaming functionality and/or provide services to an entity that provides

239 gaming services.

The following sections provide guidance for interpreting this application.

Terms

The terms a modality, modality, modalities, the modality, the modalities, one or more modalities, some modalities, certain modalities, another modality and the like refer to one or more (but not all) modalities of the invention(s) ) described(s), unless expressly specified otherwise.

bLcnen/nznz/q/YiA

A reference to another modality when describing a modality does not imply that the referenced modality is mutually exclusive of another modality (for example, a modality described before the referenced modality), unless otherwise stated. expressly specify otherwise.

The terms including, comprising, and variants thereof refer to including but not limited to, unless otherwise expressly specified. For the

240 Therefore, for example, the sentence the wallet includes a red gadget and a blue gadget refers to the fact that the wallet includes the red gadget and the blue gadget, but may include something else.

The terms a, an and the/the refer to one or more, unless expressly specified otherwise.

The phrase "based on" does not refer to based solely on, unless expressly specified otherwise. In other words, the phrase based on describes both based only on and based on at least. The phrase depending at least on is equivalent to the phrase depending at least partially on.

The term respective and the like refers to individually considered. Therefore, if two or more elements have respective characteristics, each of said elements has its own characteristics, and these characteristics may be different from each other but not necessarily. For example, the phrase each of the two machines has a respective function refers to the first of said machines having a function and the second of said machines also having a function. The function of the first machine b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

241 it can be the same as the function of the second machine or not.

The term determine and grammatical variants of it (for example, determine a price, determine a value, determine an object that meets a certain criterion) is used in an extremely broad sense. The term determine covers a wide variety of actions, and therefore determine can include calculate, compute, process, derive, investigate, search (for example, search a table, database, or other data structure), establish and the like. Furthermore, determining may include receiving (eg, receiving information), accessing (eg, accessing data in a memory), and the like. Furthermore, determining may include solving, selecting, choosing, setting, and the like.

bLcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

The term determine does not imply certainty or absolute precision, and therefore determine may include calculate, extrapolate, predict, guess, and the like.

The term determine does not imply that mathematical processing must be performed, does not imply that numerical methods must be used, and does not imply that an algorithm or process is used.

242

The term determine does not imply that a particular device should be used. For example, the determination is not necessarily made by a computer.

When an ordinal number (such as first, second, third, etc.) is used as an adjective before a term, that ordinal number is used (unless otherwise expressly specified) simply to indicate a particular feature, such as to distinguish the particular feature from another feature described by the same or a similar term. For example, a first widget may be so named simply to distinguish it from, for example, a second widget. Therefore, the mere use of the ordinal numbers first and second before the term widget does not indicate any other relationship between the two widgets and, likewise, does not indicate any other characteristic of either or both widgets. For example, the mere use of the ordinal numbers first and second before the term widget (1) does not indicate that any widget comes before or after any other in order or location, (2) does not indicate that any widget occurs or act before or after any other in time and (3) does not indicate that any widget is above or above b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi

243 below no other in importance or quality. In addition, the mere use of ordinal numbers does not define a numerical limit regarding the characteristics identified with the ordinal numbers. For example, the mere use of the ordinal numbers first and second before the term widget does not indicate that there should be no more than two widgets.

When describing an individual device, article, or other product herein, more than one device/article (whether cooperating or not) may alternatively be used in place of the individual device/article being described. Therefore, the functionality that the device is described as possessing may alternatively be possessed by more than one device/item (whether cooperating or not).

Similarly, where more than one device, article, or other product (whether cooperating or not) is described herein, a single device/article may alternatively be used, instead of more than one device or article being described. . For example, multiple computing devices can be replaced with a single computing device. Therefore, the various functionalities described as possessed by more than one device or item may alternatively be possessed by one device/item b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

244 individual.

The functionality and/or features of an individual device that is described may alternatively be incorporated by one or more additional devices that are described but not explicitly described as having such functionality/features. Therefore, other embodiments do not necessarily include the described device itself, but may include the one or more devices that, in said additional embodiments, would have said functionality/feature.

While the steps of processes, algorithms, or the like may be described or claimed in a particular sequential order, such processes may be configured to operate in a different order. In other words, any sequence or order of steps that can be explicitly described or claimed does not necessarily indicate a requirement that the steps be performed in that order. The process steps described herein can be performed in any possible order. Also, some steps can be performed simultaneously even though they are described or assumed to occur non-simultaneously (eg, ya b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi that one step is described after the other step). Besides, the

245 Illustration of a process through its representation in a drawing does not imply that the illustrated process is exclusive of other variants and modifications thereof, does not imply that the illustrated process or any of its steps are necessary for the invention(s), and does not imply that it is preferred the illustrated process.

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While a process may be described as including multiple steps, this does not imply that all or any part of those steps are preferred, essential, or necessary. Various different embodiments within the scope of the described invention(s) include other processes that omit all or part of the described steps. Unless otherwise explicitly specified, no step is essential or necessary.

Although a process can be described individually or without reference to other products or methods, in one embodiment, the process can interact with other products or methods. For example, such interaction may include associating one business model with another business model. Such interaction may be provided to enhance the flexibility or convenience of the process.

While a product can be described as including multiple

246 components, aspects, qualities, characteristics and/or traits, this does not imply that all or part of these are preferred, essential or necessary. Various different embodiments within the scope of the described invention(s) include other products that omit all or part of the multiple described elements.

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A numbered list of items (which may or may not be numbered) does not imply that all or any part of the items are mutually exclusive, unless otherwise expressly specified. Also, a numbered list of items (which may or may not be numbered) does not imply that all or any part of the items are exhaustive of a category, unless otherwise expressly specified. For example, the list enumerating a computer, a laptop, a PDA does not imply that all or any part of the three items on that list are mutually exclusive and it does not imply that all or any part of the three items on that list are exhaustive of a category. A numbered list of items (which may or may not be numbered) does not imply that all or any part of the items are equivalent to or easily substituted for one another.

The person skilled in the art will easily understand that the

247 Various processes described herein can be implemented, for example, by appropriately programmed general-purpose computers, specialized computers, and computing devices. In general, a processor (for example, one or more microprocessors, one or more microcontrollers, one or more digital signal processors) will receive instructions (for example, from a memory or similar device) and execute those instructions, thereby performing one or more processes defined by those instructions. The instructions may be embodied, for example, in one or more computer programs, one or more scripts.

A processor refers to one or more microprocessors, central processing units (CPUs), computing devices, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, or similar devices, or any combination thereof, regardless of architecture (for example, chip-level multiprocessing /multicore, RISC, CISC, non-blocking microprocessor in pipeline stages, cascading configuration, concurrent multithreading).

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Therefore, a description of a process is also a

248 description of an apparatus for carrying out the process. The apparatus performing the process may include, for example, a processor and such input devices and output devices as are appropriate for performing the process.

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In addition, programs that implement such methods (as well as other types of data) can be stored and transmitted using a variety of media (eg, computer media) in various ways. In some modes, specialized hardware or hardwired circuitry may be used instead of, or in conjunction with, all or part of the software instructions that may implement the processes of the various modes. Therefore, various combinations of hardware and software can be used instead of just software.

A description of a process is also a description of a computer medium that stores a program to perform the process. The computer medium may store (in any appropriate format) the program elements that are appropriate for performing the method.

In the same way that the description of several steps in a process does not indicate that all steps are necessary

249 As described, embodiments of an apparatus include a computer/computing device that is executed to perform part (but not necessarily all) of the described process.

Also, just as the description of various steps in a process does not indicate that all described steps are necessary, embodiments of a computer medium that stores a program or data structure include a computer medium that stores a program that, when executed, it can cause a processor to perform part (but not necessarily all) of the described process.

When describing databases, it will be understood by one skilled in the art that (i) alternative database structures to those described may be readily employed and (ii) memory structures other than databases may be readily employed. Any illustrations or descriptions of any sample databases presented herein are illustrative arrangements for stored information representations. Any number of other arrangements may be employed than those suggested, for example, in the tables illustrated in the drawings or elsewhere. Similarly, any illustrated record of the b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

250 databases represents only an example of information, the person skilled in the art will understand that the number and content of records may be different from those described herein. Also, despite any illustration of databases as tables, other formats (including relational databases, object-based models, and/or distributed databases) could be used to store and manipulate the types of data described in the table. Present. In addition, methods or behaviors of database objects can be used to implement various processes, such as those described here. In addition, the databases, in a known manner, can be stored locally or remotely from a device that accesses the data in said database.

Various modalities can be configured to work in a network environment that includes a computer in communication (for example, via a communications network) with one or more devices. The computer can communicate with the devices directly or indirectly through any wired or wireless means (for example, the Internet, LAN, WAN or Ethernet, Token Ring network, a telephone line, a cable line, a radio channel, a line of optical communications, commercial service providers b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

251 online, bulletin board systems, a satellite communications link, a combination of any of the foregoing). Each of the devices may itself comprise computers or other computing devices, such as those based on the Intel® Pentium® or Centrino™ processor, that are adapted to communicate with the computer. Any number and type of device can be in communication with the computer.

In one embodiment, a centralized authority or server may not be needed or desired. For example, the present invention, in one embodiment, can be implemented in one or more devices without a central authority. In such an embodiment, any functions described herein performed by the server or data described herein to be stored on the server may instead be performed or stored on one or more such devices.

When a process is described, in a mode, the process can operate without intervention from a user. In another embodiment, the process includes some type of human intervention (eg, a step is performed by or with the assistance of a human).

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252

Video gambling b Lcnen/nznz/q/Yi

Video gambling games are set up to mimic a board game using adaptations of board game rules and cards.

In one version of video poker, the player is allowed to inspect five cards chosen at random by the computer. These cards are displayed on a video screen and the player chooses which cards they want to keep, if any. If the player wishes to keep all the cards ie stand, press the STAND button. If the player wishes to keep only some of the cards, they choose the cards they wish to keep and press the HOLD keys located directly below each card displayed on the video screen. Pressing the DEAL button after choosing the cards to HOLD automatically and simultaneously replaces the unselected cards with additional cards that are randomly selected from the rest of the deck. After the STAND button is pressed, or the cards have been replaced, the final hand is evaluated by the gaming machine's computer and the player is awarded either playing credits or a coin payout, such as

253 determined by the settlement table. This settlement table is stored in the machine's computer memory and is also displayed on the machine's screen. Hands with higher poker values ​​are awarded more credits or coins. Less frequent poker hands are awarded with payouts of 800 or higher.

Apparatus for playing by means of a communication system

The FIG. 1 shows a component block diagram for a palm reading system on a table 4 of some modalities, an intelligent card reader and dealer 8 with an output 14 and an intelligent card reading and discarding support 12 with an output 18 Player positions 6 are shown, as well as a dealer hand position sensor 10 without output port 16.

The FIG. 2 shows an apparatus for playing the game. There are multiple game units 40-1 to 40-n coupled via a communication system 41, such as the Internet, with a system for playing games comprising an administration unit 42, a player registry 43 and a game unit 45. Each unit 40 is commonly a personal computer with a display unit and control means (a keyboard and a b Lcnrn/nznz/q/Yi

254 mouse).

When a player connects to the system to play games, his unit 40 is identified with the management unit. The system contains the details of the players in record 43, which contains individual player record units 44-1 to 44-n for all possible players, ie for all members of the system.

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Once the player has been identified, the player is assigned to a game unit 45. The game unit contains a set of player data units 46-1 to 46-6, a distribution unit 47, a unit control 48 and a randomization unit 49.

Up to seven players can be assigned to the game unit 45. There can be several such units, as indicated, so that several games can be played at the same time if more than seven system members are connected at the same time. The assignment of a game unit 40 to a player data unit 46 may be arbitrary or random, depending on which player data unit 46 and game units 45 are free. Each unit of player data 46 is loaded from the unit of

255 corresponding player record 44 and also contains basically the same details as the corresponding game unit 40, and is in communication with the game unit 40 to keep the contents of the game unit and the player data unit updated with each other. In addition, the appropriate parts of the content of the other player data units 46 and the distribution unit 47 are passed to the game unit 40 for display.

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The logic unit 48 of the game unit 45 leads the game unit through the various stages of the game, initiating the distribution actions and waiting for the appropriate responses from the game units 40. The random distribution unit 49 distributes the cards basically randomly to the distribution unit 47 and the player data units 46. At the end of the hand, the logic unit passes the results of the hand, ie the wins and/or losses, to the player data units 46 to inform the players of their results. The administrative unit 42 also takes these results and updates the player registration units 44 accordingly.

Game units 40 are arranged to display a

256 display. To identify the player, the player's position is highlighted. As the game progresses, the player selects the various boxes, places bets on them, etc., and the results of said actions are displayed. As the cards are dealt, a series of overlaid card symbols is displayed in the Bonus box. At the player's option, the cards can be displayed in a row below the box, just like the card that is dealt to the dealer. At the end of the hand, a message is displayed informing the player about the results of his bets, that is, the amounts won or lost.

alternative technologies

It will be understood that the technologies described herein for performing, using, or practicing various modalities are merely a subset of the possible technologies that may be used for the same or similar purposes. The particular technologies described herein are not to be construed restrictively. Rather, various modalities contemplate alternative technologies for making, using, or practicing various modalities.