(54) SECURED VIRTUAL NETWORK IN A GAMING ENVIRONMENT
(75) Inventor: Binh T. Nguyen, Reno, NV (US)
(73) Assignee: IGT, Reno, NV (US)
( * ) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U.S.C. 154(b) by 748 days.
(21) Appl. No.: 09/732,650
(22) Filed: Dec. 7, 2000
(65) Prior Publication Data
US 2002/0071557 Al Jun. 13, 2002
Int. CI.
H04L 9/08 (2006.01)
U.S. CI 380/278; 463/29
Field of Classification Search 463/29;
350/251; 705/59; 713/200,201; 380/278 See application file for complete search history.
References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
3,931,504 A 1/1976 Jacoby 235/153
4,430,728 A 2/1984 Beitel et al 364/900
4,454,594 A 6/1984 Heffron et al 364/900
5,643,086 A 7/1997 Alcorn et al 463/29
5,671,412 A * 9/1997 Christiano 707/104.1
5,715,403 A * 2/1998 Stefik 705/44
5,762,552 A 6/1998 Vuong et al 463/25
5,768,382 A 6/1998 Schneier et al 380/23
5,836,817 A 11/1998 Acres et al 463/26
5,851,149 A 12/1998 Xidos et al 463/42
5,925,127 A * 7/1999 Ahmad 713/200
5,970,143 A 10/1999 Schneier et al.
5,999,808 A * 12/1999 LaDue 455/412.2
6,002,772 A 12/1999 Saito
6,052,512 A * 4/2000 Peterson et al 709/220
6,099,408 A 8/2000 Schneier et al 463/29
6,104,815 A 8/2000 Alcorn et al 380/251
6,106,396 A 8/2000 Alcorn et al 463/29
A disclosed gaming machine may securely communicate with devices over a public network such as the Internet. The gaming machine utilizes a combination of symmetric and asymmetric encryption that allows a single gaming machine to securely communicate with a remote server using a public network. A wireless or wired communication gateway on the gaming machine may be used to access the public network. Using the encryption scheme, methods are described for providing game licenses, data acquisition and other gaming transactions, such as gaming machine software version management, gaming machine diagnostics and gaming machine configuration management, between a gaming machine and a remote server.
43 Claims, 8 Drawing Sheets