JP7521986B2 - Gaming system and fraud detection method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a gaming system and a fraud detection method capable of efficiently detecting fraudulent changes to settings of a managed gaming machine.

Conventionally, gaming establishments often have reel-type gaming machines called slot machines. In such reel-type gaming machines, a player inserts, for example, three medals and operates a start lever, which causes three drums to rotate. When the player presses the three stop buttons to stop each drum, medals are paid out according to the combination of symbols on a specific line on the drum. In this way, with a slot machine, one game is played from when the player inserts a medal until the medal is paid out. Here, slot machines are normally set to settings 1 to 6, with setting 1 being the low setting and the probability of winning a jackpot being low, and the higher the setting, such as setting 6, the higher the probability of winning a jackpot.

As an example of such a slot machine, as described in Patent Document 1, there are known slot machines that have multiple settings with different payout rates, and the settings of the slot machine are changed by, for example, the manager of the gaming establishment. This setting change is usually made before the gaming establishment opens for business, and the settings of the slot machine should not be changed while the gaming establishment is open.

Recently, slot machines that do not pay out medals outside the machine (managed slot machines) have been considered, and in these managed slot machines, settings can be changed in the same way as in conventional slot machines.

JP 2008-43498 A

However, with managed slot machines, there is a problem in that it is difficult to detect fraudulent setting changes. Specifically, when a managed slot machine accepts a setting change operation, it sends a signal to the card unit indicating that setting change detection is in progress, and if one game is subsequently played, it sends a signal to the card unit indicating that setting change detection has ended. For this reason, if a setting change is made before the store opens, and then the gaming store opens without a store employee playing one game, the card unit will receive a signal indicating that setting change detection has ended during business hours. The question is whether this state should be determined to be a "setting change during business hours" and considered fraudulent.

For this reason, an important issue in managed slot machines is how to efficiently detect fraudulent behavior when changing settings. This issue arises not only in managed slot machines, but also in managed pachinko machines, which use game balls sealed inside the machine to play. This is because there may be cases in which settings can be changed in managed pachinko machines.

The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the conventional technology described above, and aims to provide a gaming system and a fraud detection method that can efficiently detect fraud related to changes to the settings of a managed gaming machine.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a gaming system having a gaming machine installed in an amusement facility and capable of setting a setting value according to a plurality of ball payout rates, each machine device communicatively connected to the gaming machine, and a management device capable of communicating with each of the machine devices, wherein each of the machine devices is equipped with a detection means for detecting a change in the setting value of the gaming machine during the business hours of the amusement facility as an unauthorized setting change during the business hours of the amusement facility , and a notification means for notifying the management device of the occurrence of the unauthorized setting change when the detection means detects the unauthorized setting change, and the management device is equipped with a notification means for notifying a staff member of the amusement facility of the occurrence of the unauthorized setting change when notified by each of the machine devices.

In addition, in the above invention, the present invention is characterized in that when each of the machine devices receives information that a setting value change operation has been performed on the gaming machine, it notifies the management device of the setting change start time, and when it receives information that a game start operation has been performed on the gaming machine, it notifies the management device of the setting change end time.

The present invention is also characterized in that, in the above invention, the gaming machine is a reel-type gaming machine in which the set value of the payout rate can be changed in multiple stages.

The present invention also provides a fraud detection method in a gaming system having a gaming machine installed in an amusement facility and capable of setting a setting value according to a plurality of ball payout rates, each machine device communicatively connected to the gaming machine, and a management device communicative with each of the machine devices, the method including a detection step in which each of the machine devices detects a fraudulent setting change during the business hours of the gaming facility based on whether or not the setting value of the gaming machine has been changed during the business hours of the gaming facility, a notification step in which each of the machine devices notifies the management device of the fraudulent setting change when the detection step detects the fraudulent setting change, and a notification step in which the management device notifies a staff member of the gaming facility of the fraudulent setting change when the fraudulent setting change is notified from each of the machine devices .

The present invention makes it possible to efficiently detect fraudulent changes to settings on managed gaming machines.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of a fraud detection system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a system configuration of the fraud detection system according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the external configuration of the management slot machine and the management medal unit shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the management medal unit shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the device status data, the valuable data, and the store opening/closing status data shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of the management device shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the card management data, the device management data, and the member management data shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a detection pattern of a setting change. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the management medal unit according to the embodiment.

The gaming system and the fraud detection method according to the present embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a fraud detection system in which a gaming machine consisting of an enclosed managed slot machine and a gaming device consisting of a managed medal unit are arranged side by side so as to be able to communicate with each other.

<Outline of the fraud detection system>
1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an overview of the fraud detection system according to the present embodiment. The managed slot machine 20 shown in FIG. 1 is a reel-type gaming machine of an enclosed type that does not pay out medals to the outside of the device.

As shown in FIG. 1(a), the managed slot machine 20 in the fraud detection system according to this embodiment has a function to notify the managed medal unit 10 that the setting change is ON when the setting of the winning combination lottery probability is changed (S1). It also has a function to notify the managed medal unit 10 that the setting change is OFF when one game has been played (S2).

Next, as shown in FIG. 1(b), if the setting is changed in the managed slot machine 20, the managed medal unit 10 is notified that the setting change is in progress (S11), and the managed medal unit 10 determines whether the time when the setting change is in progress notification was received is during business hours. If the reception time is during business hours, it determines that the setting change was fraudulent and notifies the management device 50 of the fraudulent determination (S12). If the management device 50 receives the fraudulent determination, it notifies an employee terminal, etc., that a fraudulent setting change has been made (S13).

In this way, the fraud detection system can improve the detection of fraudulent setting changes to gaming machines by detecting setting changes to gaming machines during operation and notifying employee terminals, etc.

<System Configuration>
Next, the system configuration of the fraud detection system according to this embodiment will be described. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the system configuration of the fraud detection system according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 2, a gaming establishment is equipped with a plurality of managed slot machines 20 and managed medal units 10 provided corresponding to each managed slot machine 20. The managed medal units 10 are connected to a communication line, which is a network within the establishment, via an island controller 30. The island controller 30, a management device 50, a prize management device 60, and a settlement machine 70 are connected to the communication line.

The managed slot machine 20 is an enclosed gaming machine that provides slot games based on the number of game medals stored in the memory unit, and does not accept physical medals from outside the device, nor does it pay out physical medals to outside the device. This managed slot machine 20 is provided with a MAX BET button, and when this MAX BET button is pressed, three medals are subtracted from the number of game medals and the BET number is set. When the player operates the start lever in this state, the three drums rotate, and when the stop button is pressed, the drums stop sequentially. When a predetermined combination of symbols stops on the reel, the number of prize medals corresponding to this combination of symbols is added to the number of game medals.

The management slot machine 20 notifies the management medal unit 10 of the number of game medals and the number of BETs. The management slot machine 20 also notifies the management medal unit 10 of safe data, out data, special prize data, etc. The safe data is data that is output when a predetermined number of prize medals are generated. The out data is data that is output each time the number of BETs used in the game reaches a predetermined number. The special prize data is data that is output when a jackpot occurs. The safe data, out data, special prize data, etc. are transmitted from the management medal unit 10 to the management device 50.

When the setting of the winning combination probability is changed, the managed slot machine 20 notifies the managed medal unit 10 that the setting is being changed. Also, when one game has been played, the managed slot machine 20 notifies the managed medal unit 10 that the setting is being changed.

The management medal unit 10 accepts deposits, lends out game medals, and communicates with the management device 50. When the management medal unit 10 accepts a bill inserted by a player, it transmits deposit notification data including the amount of the bill to the management device 50, and adds a number corresponding to the amount to the prepaid value managed by the management device 50. Then, when a specified medal lending operation is performed, it transmits a medal lending request to the management device 50, subtracts the prepaid value managed by the management device 50, and instructs the management slot machine 20 to add a number of game medals corresponding to the subtracted prepaid value.

When the management medal unit 10 accepts the insertion of a card, it sends card insertion notification data to the management device 50. When the management medal unit 10 receives data including the prepaid value and the number of held medals from the management device 50, it stores the received prepaid value and the number of held medals. Then, when the number of held medals is stored, the management medal unit 10 sends held medal subtraction request data to the management device 50, thereby clearing the number of held medals managed by the management device 50 to zero.

When the management medal unit 10 receives a medal replay operation, it subtracts a predetermined number from the number of medals held stored in the device, and instructs the management slot machine 20 to add a number of game medals corresponding to the subtracted number of medals held.

In addition, when the management medal unit 10 accepts a card return operation, it transmits held medal addition request data, including the number of held medals managed by the management device 10, to the management device 50, and after having the management device 50 add the number of held medals, it transmits card ejection notification data to the management device 50 and controls the ejection of the card.

If the management medal unit 10 receives a notification from the management slot machine 20 that the setting change status is ON between the end of the opening process and the start of the closing process, it determines that the setting is invalid and notifies the management device 50 of the invalid setting.

The island controller 30 is a relay device that bundles a group of managed slot machines 20 and managed medal units 10 installed on the game island.

The management device 50 is a device that manages the prepaid value of the card and the number of medals held as card data, and the information of members registered with the gaming facility as member management data. When the management device 50 receives card insertion notification data from the management medal unit 10, it manages the card ID of the inserted card in association with the device ID of the management medal unit 10, and transmits the prepaid value and the number of medals held associated with the card ID to the management medal unit 10.

When the management device 50 receives held medal subtraction request data from the management medal unit 10, it clears the held medal count to zero. When the management device 50 receives held medal addition request data from the management medal unit 10, it adds the held medal count included in the held medal addition request data to the held medal count managed by its own device.

When the management device 50 receives medal lending request data from the management medal unit 10, it subtracts a predetermined value from the prepaid value associated with the card ID and transmits medal lending permission data to the management medal unit 10. When the management device 50 receives saved medal replay request data from the management medal unit 10, it subtracts a predetermined number from the number of saved medals associated with the card ID indicated in the saved medal replay request data and transmits saved medal replay data including the number of saved medals after the subtraction to the management medal unit 10.

When the management device 50 receives a card ID from the prize management device 60, it notifies the prize management device 60 of the number of medals held and the number of medals saved associated with this card ID. When the management device 50 receives a card ID from the settlement machine 70, it notifies the settlement machine 70 of the prepaid value associated with this card ID.

The management device 50 also accumulates a history of operations such as deposits, card insertions, and card ejections notified by the management medal unit 10, and performs processing such as tallying up the data at a predetermined time, such as after closing time. The management device 50 also accumulates a history of operations related to prize exchanges by the prize management device 60 and settlements by the settlement machine 80, and performs processing such as tallying up the data at a predetermined time, such as after closing time.

Furthermore, when the management device 50 receives a notification of unauthorized settings from the management medal unit 10, it notifies an employee terminal, etc. of the unauthorized settings.

The prize management device 60 is a terminal device for prize exchange that is attached to the prize exchange counter in the gaming facility, and performs the prize exchange process of exchanging the number of held medals and the number of saved medals for prizes. A card reader that reads the card ID from the card and a prize payout device that pays out prizes are connected to this prize management device 60. When the prize management device 60 reads the card ID from a general card or a membership card (or when it reads identification data corresponding to the card ID from a mobile terminal, etc.), it transmits the card ID to the management device 50 and requests the number of held medals for that card ID. When exchanging the number of saved medals for a prize, it requests the number of saved medals from the management device 50.

When a card associated with a prepaid value is inserted, the settlement machine 70 transmits the card ID of the card to the management device 50, obtains the prepaid value associated with the card, and dispenses cash equivalent to the obtained prepaid value.

<External configuration of the management slot machine 20 and the management medal unit 10>
Next, the external configuration of the management slot machine 20 and the management medal unit 10 will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the external configuration of the management slot machine 20 and the management medal unit 10 shown in FIG. 2. As shown in the figure, the management slot machine 20 is not provided with an upper tray and a lower tray, unlike conventional slot machines. This is because it is an enclosed game machine, and medals are not paid out to the outside of the device. Also, unlike conventional slot machines, there is no concept of credits that accumulate 50 medals, and there is no credit display section. This is because instead of credits, a display section is provided that stores the number of game medals that is not limited to 50 medals and displays the number of game medals.

On the surface of the managed slot machine 20, there are provided drums 21a, 21b, and 21c (hereinafter collectively referred to as "drum 21"), a game medal count display unit 22, a max bet button 23, a start lever 24, stop buttons 25a, 25b, and 25c (hereinafter collectively referred to as "stop buttons 25"), a bet number display unit 26, and a count button 27. Although not shown here for ease of explanation, a liquid crystal display unit that displays effects and the like and a prize medal count display unit can also be provided.

The drum 21 is a reel on which symbols are printed, and is controlled to rotate when the start lever 24 is operated with three coins bet. It is also controlled to stop when the stop button 25 is pressed.

The medal count display unit 22 is a display unit that displays the number of medals stored inside the managed slot machine 20. The max bet button 23 is a button for betting three medals. When the max bet button 23 is pressed, the bet number is displayed in the bet number display unit 26. When the max bet button 23 is pressed when there are three or more medals, "3" is displayed in the bet number display unit 26. When the max bet button 23 is pressed when there are two medals, "2" is displayed in the bet number display unit 26, and when the max bet button 23 is pressed when there are two medals, "2" is displayed in the bet number display unit 26. Note that the bet payout button for canceling the bet is not shown in the figure.

The start lever 24 is a lever for controlling the rotation of the drum 21, on the condition that three of the game medals have been bet. Here, the managed slot machine 20 is a dedicated machine for betting three medals, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the rotation of the drum 21 can also be controlled when the start lever 24 is operated in a state where one medal or two medals have been bet.

The stop button 25 is a button for stopping the drum 21. When the stop button 25a is pressed, the drum 21a is controlled to stop, when the stop button 25b is pressed, the drum 21b is controlled to stop, and when the stop button 25c is pressed, the drum 21c is controlled to stop.

The count button 27 is a button for transferring the number of game medals stored in the management slot machine 20 to the number of held medals stored in the management medal unit 10. When the count button 27 is pressed and held, the number of game medals is incremented while the button is pressed and held, and the number of game medals identified at the time the count button 27 is released is transferred to the number of held medals.

Next, we will explain the management medal unit 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the surface of the management medal unit 10 is provided with a base lamp 11, a bill insertion slot 12, a display operation unit 13, and a card insertion slot 14.

The stand lamp 11 is a status display lamp that displays the status of the managed slot machine 20 and the managed medal unit 10. The bill insertion port 12 is an insertion port for inserting bills. Bills inserted into this bill insertion port 12 are transported to a bill processing device called a bill validator and stored there.

The display operation unit 13 is an input device and display device consisting of a liquid crystal panel or the like for displaying and inputting operations. By operating the display operation unit 13, it is possible to perform operations such as a held medal number replay operation that changes the number of held medals to the number of game medals.

The card insertion slot 14 is an insertion slot that accepts the insertion of a general card or a membership card. When a player acquires a certain number of medals using game medals lent by inserting a bill, the number of medals is associated with a card stored inside the device (not shown) and returned from the card insertion slot 14.

<Configuration of management medal unit 10>
Next, the configuration of the management medal unit 10 will be described. Fig. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the management medal unit 10. As shown in Fig. 4, the management medal unit 10 has a display operation unit 13, a reader/writer 14a, a communication unit 15, a communication unit 16, a memory unit 17, and a control unit 18. Note that the display operation unit 13 has already been described, so its description will be omitted here.

The reader/writer 14a is a processing unit that reads the card ID stored in the card inserted through the card insertion slot 14. Note that in preparation for offline operation, it is also possible to write the prepaid value and number of medals held to the card, but the data stored in the management device 50 will be correct.

The communication unit 15 is a communication interface for communicating with the management device 50 etc. via a communication line. The communication unit 16 is an interface for communicating with the managed slot machine 20 via a board called an SC board.

The memory unit 17 is a storage device consisting of a non-volatile memory or a hard disk drive, and stores device status data 17a, card ID 17b, value data 17c, and store opening/closing status data 17d. Card ID 17b indicates a card ID that uniquely identifies the card.

The own device status data 17a is data indicating the status of the managed medal unit 10. This own device status data 17a includes a unit ID, a gaming machine ID, a game type, etc. The unit ID is identification information for uniquely identifying the managed medal unit 10 within the gaming establishment. The game type is data indicating the rate set in the managed medal unit 10. When gaming medals of multiple rates are handled within the gaming establishment, a game type name is set for each rate and managed, such as "medal 1" for a gaming medal with a 20 yen rate, "medal 2" for a gaming medal with a 10 yen rate, and "medal 3" for a gaming medal with a 5 yen rate. The managed medal unit 10 selects a rate to be used for the game from these game types and stores it as the game type. The game type may be a fixed game type for each section in which the managed medal unit 10 is installed, or may be changeable by the player's operation.

The value data 17c includes the prepaid value, the number of medals held, the number of game medals, and the number of bets. The store open/close status data 17d indicates whether the management medal unit 10 is in business mode or closed mode.

The control unit 18 is a control unit that performs overall control of the managed medal unit 10, and has a data management unit 18a, a medal lending processing unit 18b, a held medal processing unit 18c, a store opening processing control unit 18d, a store closing processing control unit 18e, a setting change status receiving unit 18f, an illegal setting determination unit 18g, and an illegal setting notification unit 18h. In reality, by loading these programs into a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and executing them, the processes corresponding to the data management unit 18a, the medal lending processing unit 18b, the held medal processing unit 18c, the store opening processing control unit 18d, the store closing processing control unit 18e, the setting change status receiving unit 18f, the illegal setting determination unit 18g, and the illegal setting notification unit 18h are executed.

The data management unit 18a is a management unit that uses the value data 17c stored in the memory unit 17 to manage the prepaid value, number of medals held, number of game medals, number of BETs, etc. For the sake of convenience, we have omitted the explanation here, but in reality, it also manages the number of medals held at other lending rates that are not handled by the management medal unit 10. The data management unit 18a can also manage data on saved balls and saved medals.

The medal lending processing unit 18b is a processing unit that performs medal lending processing when new bills are inserted or when a medal lending operation is received from the display operation unit 13 while there is remaining prepaid value. This medal lending processing unit 18b does not pay out actual medals as in conventional medal lending machines, but rather instructs the management slot machine 20 to add a number of medals equivalent to, for example, 1000 yen to the number of game medals.

The held medal processing unit 18c is a processing unit that performs processing related to held medals. Specifically, when a payout operation for held medals is received from the display operation unit 13, it instructs the management slot machine 20 to subtract a predetermined number (e.g., 50 medals) from the number of held medals, and then add 50 game medals to the number of medals.

The store-opening process control unit 18d is a processing unit that transitions the managed medal unit 10 from closed store mode to business mode. When the store-opening process control unit 18d receives an opening instruction from the management device 50 or an employee terminal (not shown), it transitions the managed medal unit 10 from closed store mode to business mode and stores the business mode in the store-opening/closing status data 17d.

The store-closing process control unit 18e is a processing unit that transitions the managed medal unit 10 from business mode to closing mode. When the store-closing process control unit 18e receives a store-closing instruction from the management device 50 or an employee terminal, etc., it transitions the managed medal unit 10 from business mode to closing mode and stores the closing mode in the store-opening/closing status data 17d.

The setting change state receiving unit 18f is a processing unit that receives a notification of the setting change in progress state from the managed slot machine 20. When the setting change state receiving unit 18f receives a notification of the setting change in progress state ON from the managed slot machine 20, it passes the processing to the fraudulent setting determination unit 18g.

The fraudulent setting determination unit 18g is a processing unit that determines whether the setting instructions for the managed slot machine 20 are valid or invalid. When the fraudulent setting determination unit 18g receives processing from the setting change status receiving unit 18f, it reads the store opening/closing status data 17d, and if the store opening/closing status data 17d indicates business mode, it passes the processing to the fraudulent setting notification unit 18h.

The fraudulent setting notification unit 18h is a processing unit that notifies the management device 50 that the setting instruction for the managed slot machine 20 is a fraudulent setting. When the fraudulent setting notification unit 18h receives processing from the fraudulent setting determination unit 18g, it notifies the management device 50 that the setting is fraudulent.

Next, we will explain specific examples of data stored in the memory unit 17 of the management medal unit 10 shown in Figure 4. Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of the device status data 17a, valuable data 17c, and store opening/closing status data 17d shown in Figure 4.

The own device status data 17a shown in FIG. 5(a) indicates a state in which the unit ID of the managed medal unit 10 is "A101", the gaming machine ID of the connected managed slot machine 20 is "B201", and "medal 1" is set as the game type of the managed medal unit 10.

The value data 17c shown in FIG. 5(b) indicates that the prepaid value is "0", the number of medals held is "0", the number of game medals is "2", and the number of BETs is "2".

The store opening/closing status data 17d shown in FIG. 5(c) indicates that the store opening/closing status is in "open mode."

<Configuration of management device 50>
Next, a description will be given of the configuration of the management device 50 shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of the management device 50 shown in Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 6, the management device 50 is connected to a display unit 51 and an input unit 52, and has an external network communication unit 53, a store network communication unit 54, a storage unit 55, and a control unit 56.

The display unit 51 is an LCD panel, a display device, etc. The input unit 52 is a keyboard, a mouse, etc. The external network communication unit 53 is an interface unit for data communication with an authentication key management center via an external network. The store network communication unit 54 is an interface unit for data communication with the island controller 30, the prize management device 60, and the settlement machine 70 via a communication line within the gaming facility.

The memory unit 55 is a storage device such as a hard disk drive or non-volatile memory, and stores card management data 55a, device management data 55b, and member management data 55c.

Card management data 55a is data that associates a card ID with the balance of prepaid value, the balance of owned balls and medals, etc. Device management data 55b is data related to the devices installed in the gaming establishment. This device management data 55b includes the unit ID, installation location, gaming machine ID, model data of the managed slot machine 20, etc. Member management data 55c is data that associates the card ID of the member card issued to the member with the member's name, information on saved balls and medals, etc.

The control unit 56 is a control unit that performs overall control of the management device 50, and has a card management unit 56a, a device management unit 56b, a member management unit 56c, a store opening/closing control unit 56d, a fraud notification receiving unit 56e, and an alarm unit 56f. In practice, these programs are loaded into the CPU and executed, causing the card management unit 56a, the device management unit 56b, the member management unit 56c, the store opening/closing control unit 56d, the fraud notification receiving unit 56e, and the alarm unit 56f to execute processes that correspond to each of them.

The card management unit 56a is a processing unit that manages the card management data 55a. The card management unit 56a communicates with the management medal unit 10, the prize management device 60, and the settlement machine 70 to update the prepaid value and the remaining amount of medals associated with the card ID. In addition, when the card management unit 56a receives a card insertion notification from the management medal unit 10, it notifies the user of the valuable value and the remaining amount of medals associated with the card.

The device management unit 56b is a processing unit that manages the device management data 55b. The device management unit 56b generates and updates the device management data 55b based on the unit ID, installation location, and gaming machine ID obtained from the management medal unit 10.

The member management unit 56c is a processing unit that manages the member management data 55c. The member management unit 56c communicates with the prize management device 60 to update the balance of medals held that are associated with the card ID. In addition, when the member management unit 56c receives a member registration request, it updates the member management data 55c to add the member.

The store opening/closing control unit 56d is a processing unit that notifies the management medal unit 10 of an opening/closing instruction. When the store opening/closing control unit 56d receives an opening/closing instruction from the input unit 52, it notifies the management medal unit 10 of the opening/closing instruction.

The unauthorized notification receiving unit 56e is a processing unit that receives an unauthorized setting notification from the management medal unit 10. When the unauthorized notification receiving unit 56e receives an unauthorized setting notification from the management medal unit 10, it passes the unauthorized setting notification to the notification unit 56f.

The notification unit 56f is a processing unit that notifies an employee terminal, etc. of an unauthorized setting notification. When the notification unit 56f receives an unauthorized setting notification from the unauthorized setting notification receiving unit 56e, it notifies the employee terminal, etc. of the unauthorized setting notification.

Next, a specific example of data stored in the memory unit 55 of the management device 50 shown in FIG. 6 will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the card management data 55a, device management data 55b, and member management data 55c shown in FIG. 6.

In the card management data 55a shown in FIG. 7(b), the card ID "1001" is associated with a prepaid value of "0" points, a balance of held balls for each rate of "0", a balance of held medals for each rate of "0", and a destination unit ID of "A101". In other words, the card with card ID "1001" is inserted into the management medal unit 10 with unit ID "A101", and management of the held medals has been transferred to the management medal unit 10. For this reason, the balance of held medals for each rate is zero.

In the card management data 55a, the card ID "2001" is associated with a prepaid value of "3000", the remaining balls are "1500" for ball 1, "2500" for ball 2, and "0" for ball 3, and the remaining medals are "2000" for medal 1, "500" for medal 2, and "0" for medal 3, but is not associated with a usage unit ID. In other words, the card with the card ID "2001" is not inserted into the management medal unit 10, and the management of the remaining balls is performed by the management device 50.

The device management data 55b shown in FIG. 7(b) indicates that the location of the managed medal unit 10 with unit ID "A101" is "Island 1-1", the ID of the connected managed slot machine 20 is "B201", the game machine number is "11", the game type is "Medal 1", the model of the connected managed slot machine 20 is "EV01", and the serial number is "a". It also indicates that this managed slot machine 20 is in use.

The device management data 55b also indicates that the location of the managed medal unit 10 with unit ID "A201" is "Island 2-1," the ID of the connected managed slot machine 20 is "B506," the game machine number is "21," the game type is "Medal 3," the model of the connected managed slot machine 20 is "DX03," and the serial number is "g." It also indicates that this managed slot machine 20 is in use.

The member management data 55c shown in FIG. 7(c) indicates the name, saved balls, saved medals, etc. associated with the card ID. Specifically, the member management data 55c associates the name "Takken Taro", the balance of saved balls for "Ball 1" of "1500", the balance of saved balls for "Ball 2" of "200", the balance of saved balls for "Ball 3" of "0", the balance of saved medals for "Medal 1" of "1000", the balance of saved medals for "Medal 2" of "500", and the balance of saved medals for "Medal 3" of "0" with the card ID "2005".

<Detection pattern of setting changes>
Next, a detection pattern of the setting change according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a detection pattern of the setting change according to this embodiment. First, when the setting change state is ON in the closed store mode state and the setting change state is OFF in the closed store mode state (pattern 1), it is determined to be normal. Also, when the setting change state is ON in the closed store mode state and the setting change state is OFF after transition to the business mode (pattern 2), it is determined to be normal. In other words, when the setting change state is ON in the closed store mode state, it is determined to be normal regardless of the mode in which the setting change state is OFF.

In addition, if the setting changing state is ON in business mode and then the setting changing state is OFF in the business mode (pattern 3), it is determined to be fraudulent. In addition, if the setting changing state is ON in business mode and then the setting changing state is OFF after transitioning to closed mode (pattern 4), it is determined to be fraudulent. In other words, if the setting changing state is ON in business mode, it is determined to be fraudulent regardless of the mode in which the setting changing state was OFF.

<Processing procedure of the management medal unit 10 according to the embodiment>
Next, the processing procedure of the management medal unit according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, when a setting change in progress status ON is received from the managed slot machine 20 (step S101; Yes), if the store opening/closing status data 17d is in closed mode (step S102; No), the setting on the managed slot machine 20 is determined to be normal, and the process proceeds to step S104.

If the store opening/closing status data 17d is in business mode (step S102; Yes), the settings on the managed slot machine 20 are determined to be fraudulent, and the fraudulent settings are notified to the management device 50 (step S103).

If a closing instruction has not been received from the management device 50 or an employee terminal, etc. (step S104; No), the process proceeds to step S101. If a closing instruction has been received (step S104; Yes), the process ends.

In this way, the fraud detection system can improve the detection of fraudulent setting changes to gaming machines by detecting setting changes to gaming machines during operation and notifying employee terminals, etc.

In the above embodiment, a configuration was described in which if the game settings of the managed slot machine 20 are changed while in business mode, it is considered an illegal setting. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to configure the setting time to allow settings even in business mode.

In the above embodiment, a configuration was described in which if a notification of the setting change in progress state ON is received in business mode, it is determined to be an unauthorized setting, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to configure the configuration so that unauthorized settings can be analyzed by recording a notification history of the setting change in progress state ON/OFF.

In addition, in the above embodiment, a configuration was described in which pattern 3 and pattern 4 are determined to be fraudulent in the detection pattern of setting changes, but the present invention is not limited to this, and in an arcade that does not take measures against the delay in operation when the drum 21 starts to rotate due to a setting change, pattern 1 can also be configured to be determined to be fraudulent.

In addition, in the above embodiment, a configuration was described in which a notification is sent to an employee terminal, etc., when the setting change status is ON and notification is received in the business mode state, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it can also be configured to notify an employee terminal, etc., when a transition is made from business mode to closing mode while the setting change status is ON.

In addition, in the above embodiment, a configuration was described in which an employee terminal or the like is notified if an unauthorized setting is determined, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to configure the stand lamp 11 to flash and the function of the management medal unit 10 to be locked if an unauthorized setting is determined.

In addition, the configurations illustrated in the above embodiments are merely functional schematics, and do not necessarily have to be physically configured as illustrated. In other words, the form of distribution and integration of each device is not limited to that illustrated, and all or part of the devices can be functionally or physically distributed and integrated in any unit depending on various loads, usage conditions, etc.

The gaming system and fraud detection method according to the present invention are suitable for efficiently detecting fraudulent activity relating to changes to settings of managed gaming machines.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Management medal unit 11 Unit lamp 12 Bill insertion slot 13 Display operation unit 14 Card insertion slot 14a Reader/writer 15, 16 Communication unit 17 Memory unit 17a Apparatus status data 17b Card ID
17c Valuable value data 17d Store opening/closing status data 18 Control unit 18a Data management unit 18b Medal lending processing unit 18c Held medal processing unit 18d Store opening processing control unit 18e Store closing processing control unit 18f Setting change status receiving unit 18g Illegal setting determination unit 18h Illegal setting notification unit 20 Managed slot machine 21, 21a, 21b, 21c Drum 22 Game medal number display unit 23 MAX BET button 24 Start lever 25, 25a, 25b, 25c Stop button 26 BET number display unit 27 Counting button 30 Island controller 50 Management device 51 Display unit 52 Input unit 53 External network communication unit 54 Store network communication unit 55 Memory unit 55a Card management data 55b Device management data 55c Member management data 56 Control unit 56a Card management unit 56b Device management unit 56c Member management unit 56d Store opening/closing control unit 56e Fraud notification receiving unit 56f Notification unit 60 Prize management device 70 Payment machine

Claims (4)

A gaming system having a gaming machine installed in a gaming facility and capable of setting a set value according to a plurality of payout rates, each machine device connected to the gaming machine so as to be able to communicate with the gaming machine, and a management device capable of communicating with each machine device,
Each of the stand devices is
a detection means for detecting, when a setting value of the gaming machine is changed during business hours of the gaming establishment , that this is an unauthorized setting change during business hours of the gaming establishment ;
a notification means for notifying the management device of the occurrence of the unauthorized setting change when the unauthorized setting change is detected by the detection means;
Equipped with
The management device includes:
a notification means for notifying a staff member of the gaming establishment of the occurrence of the unauthorized setting change when the occurrence of the unauthorized setting change is notified from each of the game machines ;
A gaming system comprising : Each of the stand devices is
The gaming system described in claim 1, characterized in that when information is received that an operation to change the setting value of the gaming machine has been performed, the management device is notified of this as the setting change start time, and when information is received that an operation to start play on the gaming machine has been performed, the management device is notified of this as the setting change end time. 3. The gaming system according to claim 1, wherein the gaming machine is a reel type gaming machine in which a set value of a payout rate can be changed in a plurality of stages. A fraud detection method for a gaming system having a gaming machine installed in a gaming facility and capable of setting a set value according to a plurality of payout rates, each machine device connected to the gaming machine so as to be able to communicate with the gaming machine, and a management device capable of communicating with each machine device,
a detection step of detecting an unauthorized change in setting during business hours of the gaming establishment by each of the machine devices based on whether or not a setting value of the gaming machine has been changed during business hours of the gaming establishment;
a notification step of each of the stand devices notifying the management device of the unauthorized setting change when the unauthorized setting change is detected by the detection step;
and a notification step in which , when an unauthorized setting change is notified from each of the machine devices, the management device notifies a staff member of the gaming facility of that fact.

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