Centralized licensing services
AssigneeIgt
InventorMichael Kinsley
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods and devices are provided for central management of licenses, particularly those relating to wagering games. A license proxy deployed in and/or dedicated to a gaming establishment may operate under the control of a central licensing manager controlled by another entity, e.g., by a game provider. The license proxy may receive requests to enable features of an electronic gaming machine of the gaming establishment (e.g., game themes, player tracking features and/or peripheral device features) and determine, based on information provided by the central licensing manager, whether to grant such requests. The license proxy may also process requests to enable features of other devices in a gaming establishment, such as server-based features.
Claims9
A licensing proxy for a gaming establishment controlled by a first entity, comprising:
- a network interface system including at least one network interface;
- at least one memory;
- and
- a logic system configured to do the following:
- receive, via the network interface system, a first request to enable a first electronic gaming machine (“EGM”) feature of a first EGM in the gaming establishment;
- communicate with a central licensing manager (“CLM”) controlled by a second entity via the network interface system, the second entity being a software provider;
- receive, from the CLM via the network interface system, CLM instructions, the CLM instructions including license payment timeliness data and a status level indicator to be used in determining whether to approve the first EGM feature or a lower-level EGM feature of the first EGM, wherein the status level indicator represents at least two of the following:
- an account status, a payment history, whether the gaming establishment has a license for the lower-level EGM feature and whether a license has expired;
- determine whether the first request should be granted or denied based, at least in part, on the CLM instructions, wherein if the first request is denied, determine whether the lower-level EGM feature should be enabled on the first EGM based on the license payment timeliness data and the status level indicator;
- and
- send an outcome of the determination to the first EGM.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.