# US 12,762,929 B2 · Gated non-fungible tokens in a gaming environment > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,762,929 B2 - Document ID: US12762929B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/517,689 - Filed: 2023-11-22 - Published: 2025-05-22 - Granted: 2026-10-13 - Earliest claimed: 2023-11-22 - Assignees: Igt - Applicants: Igt - Inventors: Stefan Keilwert; Michael Russ - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12762929B2 ## CPC - G07F 17/3267: {Game outcomes which determine the course of the subsequent game, e.g. double or quits, free games, higher payouts, different new games} - G07F 17/3241: {Security aspects of a gaming system, e.g. detecting cheating, device integrity, surveillance (computer security G06F21/00)} - G07F 17/3251: {involving media of variable value, e.g. programmable cards, programmable tokens} - G07F 17/3258: {Cumulative reward schemes, e.g. jackpots} - G07F: COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS (coin sorting G07D3/00; coin testing G07D5/00; {handling coins or paper currencies apart from payment activated apparatus G07D; payment architectures, schemes or protocols G06Q20/00}) ## Abstract A networked computer system for enabling players of a gaming device to acquire, transfer, and redeem a series of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). Computational power of the networked computer system is also leveraged to support the recordation of NFT transactions, including the acquisition of NFT transactions and the transfer of NFTs. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A gaming system, comprising: a processor; and computer memory coupled with the processor, the computer memory comprising data stored thereon that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to: monitor a plurality of gaming devices in the gaming system to determine a state of the gaming system that is independent of a player's game play; receive, from a gaming device of a player of a game of chance, a request to redeem a Non-Fungible Token (NFT), the NFT providing a benefit from the gaming system available to an owner of the NFT; determine that the state of the gaming system is a first predetermined state, the NFT being redeemable when the gaming system is in the first predetermined state but not a second predetermined state, wherein the first and second predetermined states each comprise one of a system event involving a plurality of gaming devices, a system event involving a plurality of players, an occupancy level of the plurality of gaming devices, and occurrence of a random event; in response to the determination that the state of the gaming system is the first predetermined state, authenticate that the player owns a digital wallet identified by the player; when the player is an authenticated owner of the digital wallet, determine from the digital wallet that the digital wallet contains the NFT; and when the digital wallet contains the NFT, provide the benefit to the player. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the NET is a gated NFT, wherein the benefit is available only to the owner of the gated NFT, wherein the NFT provided benefit comprises one of an additional gameplay feature, a gameplay setting, a gameplay award, membership in a player group, a player loyalty reward, participation in a non-game event, a promotional credit award, and a casino voucher, wherein the NFT provided benefit is defined by a smart contract associated with the gated NFT, wherein the digital wallet is stored in a mobile device of the player, wherein the request is transmitted from an Electronic Gaming Machine (EGM) to the mobile device, and wherein the mobile device is paired with the EGM. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The gaming system of claim 2, wherein the additional gameplay feature comprises one of a bonus game, a bonus spin, a different paytable, a payout, an adjusted reel spinning speed, a bonus award, a new symbol, a new game behavior, and a new game rule and wherein the processor authenticates ownership of the digital wallet by decrypting a hash of a selected message, generated using a player's private key, using a public key associated with an electronic address associated with the digital wallet, the public key being determined using the electronic address and wherein the processor initiates a request to a digital ledger associated with the NFT to record in a block provision of the NFT provided benefit to the player. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The gaming system of claim 1, wherein one of a smart contract and NFT metadata comprises a use counter, wherein the processor changes a value of the use counter for each redemption of the NFT, wherein, when the use counter has a predetermined value, the processor permits no further redemptions of the NFT, wherein the use counter corresponds to a displayed icon, and wherein the displayed icon comprises a display parameter having a value that depends on an NFT state determined by the use counter, and wherein in a first NFT state the display parameter has a first value and in a second NFT state the display parameter has a different second value. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The gaming system of claim 4, wherein the processor returns the value of the use counter to a prior value upon occurrence of a predetermined event, the predetermined event comprising one of receipt of a payment from a player, transfer of ownership of the NFT to a different player, occurrence of a gameplay event, play of the game of chance by the player a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time interval, play of the game of chance by the player using at least a minimum denomination, expiration of a specified time interval, the player being located in a selected physical location, a minimum or determined loyalty level of the player, a minimum or determined promotional credit balance of the player, and the gaming system being in the first predetermined state. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The gaming system of claim 1, wherein redemption of the NFT is in a first token state in the absence of occurrence of a predetermined event and in a second token state after occurrence of the predetermined event, the first token state preventing redemption of the NFT and the second token state enabling redemption of the NFT and the predetermined event comprising one of the predetermined event comprising one of receipt of a payment from a player, transfer of ownership of the NFT to a different player, occurrence of a gameplay event, play of the game of chance by the player a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time interval, play of the game of chance by the player using at least a minimum denomination, expiration of a specified time interval, the player being located in a selected physical location, a minimum or determined loyalty level of the player, a minimum or determined promotional credit balance of the player, and the gaming system being in the first predetermined state. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the NFT is a gated NFT, wherein the benefit is available only to the owner of the gated NFT, wherein the gated NFT is associated with a smart contract comprising a unique token identifier of the gated NFT and associated metadata, the associated metadata comprising an identity of a blockchain hosting the gated NFT, and wherein the processor determines ownership of the gated NFT by review of one of (a) a transaction history associated with the gated NFT recorded in the host blockchain and (b) a digital certificate comprising a name of the gated NFT owner, a status of the gated NFT, the unique token identifier, and the gated NFT owner's digital signature. ### Claim 8 A method, comprising: monitoring a plurality of gaming devices in a gaming system to determine a state of the gaming system that is independent of a player's game play; receiving, from a gaming device of a player of a game of chance, a request to redeem a Non-Fungible Token (NFT), the NFT providing a token benefit from a gaming system available to an owner of the NFT; determining, by a processor, that the state of the gaming system is a first predetermined state, the NFT being redeemable when the gaming system is in the first predetermined state but not a second predetermined state, wherein the first and second predetermined states each comprise one of a system event involving a plurality of gaming devices, a system event involving a plurality of players, an occupancy level of the plurality of gaming devices, and occurrence of a random event; in response to the determination that the state of the gaming system is the first predetermined state, determining, by the processor, that the NFT is redeemable upon occurrence of a predetermined gaming event; determining, by the processor, that the predetermined gaming event, upon which redemption of the NFT is contingent, has occurred, in response to occurrence of the predetermined gaming event, verifying, by the processor, that the player owns a digital wallet identified by the player; when the player is a verified owner of the digital wallet, determining, by the processor, from the digital wallet that the digital wallet contains the NFT; and when the digital wallet contains the NFT, providing, by the processor, the token benefit to the player. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein the NFT is a gated NFT providing an exclusive token gated benefit from the gaming system available only to an owner of the gated NFT, wherein the predetermined gaming event comprises one of receipt of a payment, transfer of ownership of the gated NFT to a different player, occurrence of a gameplay event, play of the game of chance a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time interval, play of the game of chance using at least a minimum denomination, expiration of a specified time interval, the player being located in a selected physical location, a loyalty level of the player, a promotional credit balance of the player, and the gaming system being in a predetermined state, and further comprising initiating, by the processor, a request to a digital ledger associated with the NFT to record in a block provision of the exclusive token gated benefit to the player. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9 wherein the exclusive token gated benefit comprises one of an additional gameplay feature, a gameplay setting, a gameplay award, membership in a player group, a player loyalty reward, participation in a non-game event, a promotional credit, and a casino voucher and wherein the verifying comprises: decrypting a hash of a selected message, generated from a player's private key, using a public key associated with an electronic address associated with the digital wallet. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the additional gameplay feature comprises at least one of a bonus game, a bonus spin, a different paytable, a payout, an adjusted reel spinning speed, a bonus award, a new symbol, a new game behavior, and a new game rule and wherein the gated NFT is associated with a smart contract comprising a unique token identifier of the gated NFT and associated metadata, the associated metadata comprising a blockchain hosting the gated NFT, and further comprising: determining, by the processor, ownership of the gated NFT by reviewing one of (a) a transaction history associated with the gated NFT recorded in the host blockchain and (b) a digital certificate comprising a name of the gated NFT owner, a status of the gated NFT, the unique token identifier, and the gated NFT owner's digital signature. ### Claim 12 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein one of a smart contract and NFT metadata comprises a use counter, wherein the processor decrements the use counter for each redemption of the NFT, and further comprising, when the use counter has a predetermined value, the processor placing the NFT in a first token state blocking further redemptions of the NFT, wherein the use counter corresponds to a displayed icon, and wherein the displayed icon comprises a display parameter having a value that depends on an NFT state determined by the use counter, and wherein in a first NFT state the display parameter has a first value and in a second NFT state the display parameter has a different second value. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, wherein the NET is a gated NFT providing an exclusive token gated benefit from the gaming system available only to an owner of the gated NFT, and further comprising incrementing, by the processor, the use counter upon occurrence of a predetermined event, the predetermined event comprising one of the predetermined event comprising one of receipt of a payment from a player, transfer of ownership of the gated NFT to a different player, occurrence of a gameplay event, play of the game of chance by the player a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time interval, play of the game of chance by the player using at least a minimum denomination, expiration of a specified time interval, the player being located in a selected physical location, a minimum or determined loyalty level of the player, a minimum or determined promotional credit balance of the player, and the gaming system being in a predetermined state and wherein when the use counter is incremented, the processor places the NFT in a second token state enabling a further redemption of the NFT. ### Claim 14 A gaming system, comprising: a processor; and computer memory coupled with the processor, the computer memory comprising data stored thereon that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to: determine that a predetermined event has occurred in the gaming system; and in response, changing a value of a use counter associated with a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) associated with a player, wherein the use counter determines a number of possible token redemptions for the NFT, wherein the use counter corresponds to a displayed icon, wherein the displayed icon comprises a display parameter having a value that depends on an NFT state determined by the use counter, and wherein, in a first NFT state, the display parameter has a first value and, in a second NFT state, the display parameter has a different second value, wherein redemption of the NFT by a player is contingent upon occurrence of a predetermined event and a predetermined state of the gaming system independent of the player's game play and the predetermined state of the gaming system comprising one of a system event involving a plurality of gaming devices, a system event involving a plurality of players, an occupancy level of the plurality of gaming devices, and occurrence of a random event. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The gaming system of claim 14, wherein the NFT is a gated NFT that provides an exclusive token gated benefit from the gaming system available only to an owner of the gated NFT and wherein the exclusive token gated benefit comprises one of an additional gameplay feature, a gameplay setting, a gameplay award, membership in a player group, a player loyalty reward, participation in a non-game event, a promotional credit award, and a casino voucher and wherein the processor initiates a request to a digital ledger associated with the NFT to record in a block the changing of the value of the use counter. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The gaming system of claim 14, wherein one of a smart contract and NFT metadata comprises the use counter, wherein the processor changes the value of the use counter for each redemption of the NFT, and wherein the processor authenticates ownership of a digital wallet using a hash of a selected message, generated using a player's private key associated with the digital wallet, using a public key associated with an electronic address associated with the digital wallet, the public key being determined using the electronic address. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The gaming system of claim 16, wherein the processor changes the value of the use counter to a prior value upon occurrence of a predetermined event, the predetermined event comprising one of the predetermined event comprising one of receipt of a payment from a player, transfer of ownership of the NFT to a different player, occurrence of a gameplay event, play of a game of chance by the player a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time interval, play of the game of chance by the player using at least a minimum denomination, expiration of a specified time interval, the player being located in a selected physical location, a minimum or determined loyalty level of the player, a minimum or determined promotional credit balance of the player, and the gaming system being in a predetermined state and wherein a presentation parameter in metadata associated with an NFT icon changes based on a current value of the use counter. ### Claim 18 (depends on 14) The gaming system of claim 14, wherein the predetermined event comprises one of receipt of a payment from the player, transfer of ownership of the NFT to a different player, occurrence of a gameplay event, play of the game of chance by the player a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time interval, play of the game of chance by the player using at least a minimum denomination, expiration of a specified time interval, the player being located in a selected physical location, a minimum or determined loyalty level of the player, and a minimum or determined promotional credit balance of the player. ### Claim 19 (depends on 14) The gaming system of claim 14, wherein metadata associated with the NFT comprises the use counter, wherein the value of the use counter is embedded or encoded in graphical presentation information associated with the NFT such that an appearance of an NFT icon indicates a current value of the use counter, wherein the NFT is associated with a smart contract comprising a unique token identifier of the NFT and associated metadata, the metadata comprising an identity of a blockchain hosting the NFT, and wherein the processor determines ownership of the NFT by review of one of (a) a transaction history associated with the NFT recorded in the host blockchain and (b) a digital certificate comprising a name of the NFT owner, a status of the NFT, the unique token identifier, and the NFT owner's digital signature.