Abstract:
A gaming system and method are disclosed that include anonymous and identified player tracking, wherein gaming data is collected over one, two, or more gaming sessions, the data is analyzed to determine whether a selected criterion or selected criteria have been met, and if so, then initiating a response, such as triggering a flag or transmitting a notification to an operator.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of co-pending U.S. patent application U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/983,021 filed Nov. 5, 2004 which claims the benefit of and incorporates by reference, under 35 U.S.C. §119(e), U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/530,329 filed Dec. 17, 2003 and entitled “METHOD, APPARATUS, AND PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR DETECTING MONEY LAUNDERING ACTIVITIES IN GAMING SYSTEMS.” The entire content of these applications are incorporated herein by explicit reference in their entirety for all purposes. 
     
    
     COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
       [0002]    A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all rights of copyright whatsoever. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0004]    This invention relates to gaming systems and methods. More particularly, the invention relates to gaming systems and related methods including anonymous player tracking, wherein player gaming data may be collected over one or more gaming sessions and analyzed with respect to one or more criteria. 
         [0005]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0006]    A large number of different gaming machines and systems have been developed to provide various methods for wagering. For example, gaming systems may allow a player to insert cash into a machine or hand cash to a cashier and in return receive credit for the play of games in the system. This gaming system credit may take the form of an account accessible by the player or some physical cash equivalent such as a voucher or ticket. Once a player receives their gaming system credit, whether it be in the form of an account set up for the player or some tangible cash equivalent such as a voucher or ticket, the player can then use the gaming system credit to participate in games offered through the gaming system. In the course of participating in various games, the player can make wagers to reduce their remaining credit, and receive winnings to increase their credit. Ultimately, the player can request a cash out transaction to redeem their remaining gaming system credit for cash or other value. 
         [0007]    These game accounting systems are very convenient for the players and for the gaming facility operators. In particular, the players need not carry large amounts of coins or tokens to participate in games. Also, the gaming facilities need not have the physical equipment and security required for coins and tokens. 
         [0008]    Additionally, various operators provide an opportunity for players to sign up for player cards and to receive various awards or benefits based on their play which may be tracked through the accounting systems. Also, the operators may obtain further information concerning possible illegal gaming activities. However, many players play without a player card or anonymously, so operators are not able to collect gaming information on the player. Hence there is a need for a gaming system and method that may provide an operator with anonymous player gaming activity. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    The present invention includes a gaming system and method including anonymous player tracking and gaming activity analysis through the use of deposits, vouchers, and gaming data collected and analyzed through a gaming accounting system. Various thresholds or criteria may be predefined, such that when a threshold is achieved or one or more criteria met, a signal may be transmitted and/or a response may be generated. 
         [0010]    A method embodying the principles of the invention includes collecting data regarding a player&#39;s activity in a gaming system. The gaming system activity data is collected in terms of a series of linked activities or events, and/or objects associated with activities or events. In response to a predefined event such as a cash out or credit redemption transaction request initiated by the player, the method includes evaluating the collected data to identify whether predefined thresholds have been met or playing patterns have been identified to enable an operator to contact the player or otherwise respond. 
         [0011]    A series of linked gaming system activities, events, and/or objects associated with gaming system activities or events will be referred to herein as a “gaming activity network.” Each linked gaming system activity, event, or object included in a gaming activity network will be referred to herein as an “activity node” in the respective network. Example activity nodes include (1) the production of a voucher or other cash equivalent object in a gaming system and (2) a gaming system access at a player station in the gaming system. A gaming activity network within the scope of the invention starts with an initial cash in node and ends with a cash out node. The nodes in the gaming activity network are linked by a representation of gaming system credit. In an example embodiment, it is the cash out node that triggers an evaluation of data collected for the gaming activity network to identify whether a threshold or playing pattern has been identified for which the operator may wish to respond or for which the gaming system is programmed to respond. 
         [0012]    A gaming system embodying the principles of the invention may be implemented in a gaming accounting system in which a player deposits cash and in return receives a cash equivalent object such as a printed or otherwise encoded voucher or ticket representing gaming system credits. The system includes a number of player stations which each act as a player interface through which a player may enter wagers, initiate game plays, and observe the results of the game plays. A preferred implementation of the system also includes an activity data collection device in communication with each player station. The activity data collection device collects data to define a characteristic for a gaming activity network for each respective player. In response to a predefined event, such as a request for a cash out or credit redemption transaction, a suitable evaluation processing device evaluates the data collected for the gaming activity network to determine whether any gaming thresholds or patterns have been met or identified. For example, the evaluation processor may evaluate the relationship between a characteristic defined by the gaming activity network and the target characteristic to determine if the two characteristics bear a predefined relationship to each other. The evaluation processor also may generate an operator alert in the event the evaluation of gaming activity data indicates a threshold, event, or playing pattern has been achieved or occurred. 
         [0013]    The present method and gaming system are preferably implemented using a number of processing devices operating under the control of computer program code. The invention encompasses a program product for this computer code. In particular, a program product embodying the principles of the invention includes data collection program code, data evaluation program code, and alerting program code. The data collection program code directs the collection of data that will be used in performing the evaluation according to the invention. The data evaluating program code actually performs the evaluation of gaming activity network data, and the alerting program code responds to the identification of a threshold, event, or pattern having been met by generating a flag or signal response, such as to alert an operator. 
         [0014]    The present invention enables player tracking of an anonymous player who may use gaming credits at several different gaming devices during several playing sessions. These and other advantages and features of the present invention will be apparent from the more detailed description set out below in reference to the figures. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a high level diagrammatic representation of a gaming system in which the present invention may be implemented. 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is a diagrammatic representation of a gaming facility in the gaming system shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  is a diagrammatic representation of a computer system arrangement that may be used for the various processing devices included in the central gaming system and gaming facility systems shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  is a diagrammatic representation of the point-of-sale terminal and player station that may be included in a gaming system implementing the present invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  is a diagrammatic representation showing process steps embodying the principles of the invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  is a representation of an arrangement of data tables that may be used to collect data used in the present invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 7  is a representation of two different gaming activity networks according to the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0022]    The present invention may be used with many different types of gaming systems. The following description of the present invention will be made in reference to a particular gaming system that will be described below with reference to  FIGS. 1 through 4 . However, it should be noted that the invention is not limited to any particular gaming system configuration. Rather, the invention may be used in connection with any gaming system in which there is a danger of players using the gaming system for money laundering and similar illegal activities. 
         [0023]      FIG. 1  shows a gaming system  100  including a central gaming system (CGS)  101  that cooperates with a number of other components to enable players to participate in wagering games. Each gaming site or facility  102  includes a back office system  103  and a number of gaming floor devices including player stations  104 . Generally, player stations  104  each serve as a player interface to allow a player to participate in wagering games such as video lottery games, bingo games, video card games, and other wagering games. The back office system  103  at each gaming site or gaming facility  102  each includes one or more processing devices and other devices to cooperate with the local player stations  104  in allowing players to participate in the various wagering games. In particular, each back office system  103  includes processing devices programmed to facilitate game accounting, including tracking wagers made by the various local players and winnings obtained by the players to provide a current gaming system credit value for each player. The central gaming system  101  may include several different processing devices to facilitate system wide operations, accounting, and management. 
         [0024]    It will be appreciated that the particular configuration of devices shown in  FIG. 1  is shown only for purposes of example. This particular system configuration is well suited for systems providing video lottery games and bingo games. However, the invention is not limited to use with these types of games or this gaming system configuration. A gaming system in which the present invention may be used may omit the back office systems  103  so that the player stations  104  communicate directly with the central gaming system  101 . In these configurations, the game accounting processes and processes making up the present invention as described below, may be performed by the central gaming system  101 . 
         [0025]      FIG. 2  shows further details of a single gaming establishment or facility  102  including back office system  103  and player stations  104 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , a secure communications arrangement facilitates communications between back office system  103  and a gaming floor system  204  in which player stations  104  are included. Communications lines  206  and  207  of the gaming facility system  102  extend from the back office system  103  to the gaming floor system  204  to facilitate communications between the two systems. 
         [0026]    The back office system  103  includes a number of separate processing devices interconnected through a suitable communications arrangement. In the illustrated embodiment, back office system  103  comprises a local area network of individual processing devices and includes a switching hub (network switch)  205  to which each separate processing device connects. The two floor system communication links  206  and  207  also connect into switching hub  205 . 
         [0027]    The illustrated preferred form of back office system  103  shown in  FIG. 2  includes a database computer  208 , a management computer  210 , and two separate central computers or processors  214  and  216 . Each central computer  214  and  216  is programmed to communicate with database computer  208 , and with a particular group of gaming floor devices.  FIG. 2  shows two separate groups of gaming floor devices, group  217  and group  218 , for purposes of example. The central computer  214  may be programmed to communicate with each of the gaming floor devices in group  217 , while the central computer  216  may be programmed to communicate with each of the gaming floor devices in group  218 . 
         [0028]    In addition to communicating with the various gaming floor devices, each central computer  214  and  216  may cause information to be stored in the database computer  208 . For example, the central computer  214  may receive game play requests together with wagers associated with the game play requests from player stations  104  in group  217 . The central computer  214  may respond to a respective game play request by looking up an account credit value for the player in database computer  208  and creating an appropriate entry to modify the player&#39;s account credit value in the database computer  208 . 
         [0029]    Database computer  208 , along with its associated data storage device or devices (such as one or more hard drives accessible to the database computer for example), serves as a data storage repository for storing all player records and system usage information in the illustrated implementation of back office  103 . In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the database computer  208  stores data regarding gaming system activity data for various players. This gaming system activity data in the form of gaming activity networks may be evaluated by suitable means to identify illegal or prohibited activity. In one form of the invention, the gaming activity data or gaming activity network for a given player is evaluated to define an activity network characteristic. One or more target characteristics may also be stored at the database computer  208  against which an activity network characteristic may be compared to identify potentially illegal activity. This evaluation process and others according to the present invention will be described below with reference to  FIG. 5 . Database computer  208  also preferably maintains all data necessary for game accounting including account balances and transaction records. 
         [0030]    Numerous different database structures for use in database computer  208  will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in database development and applications. Embodiments of the invention encompass any suitable database structure for maintaining the player information, the gaming activity network information, and other information that may be required in the operation of the gaming facility system  102 , and the processes described below with reference to  FIG. 5 . 
         [0031]    In the implementation shown in  FIG. 2 , management computer  210  operates under the control of management software to provide system reports including real-time reports and system usage and performance reports of interest to the system operators, managers, or regulators. The software executed at management computer  210  also may be used to schedule administrative functions required or helpful for database computer system  208 . Management computer  210  may include a suitable display for providing a user interface and for displaying reports and other information. 
         [0032]    Each of the processing devices or computers included in central gaming system  101  and a respective back office system  103  may comprise a computer system such as the basic system shown in  FIG. 3 . The basic system may include one or more processors  300 , nonvolatile memory  301 , volatile memory  302 , a user interface arrangement  303 , and a communications interface  304 , all connected to a system bus  305 . It will be appreciated that user interface arrangement  303  may include a number of different devices such as a keyboard, a display, and a pointing device such as a mouse or trackball for example, although not shown in  FIG. 3 . Alternatively to the integrated user interface arrangement  303  shown in  FIG. 3 , a user interface for a respective processing device may be provided through a separate computer (not shown) in communication with the respective processing device. 
         [0033]    Referring now to the gaming floor devices shown in  FIG. 2 , each group  217  and  218  includes a number of player stations  104  and a point-of-sale or cashier terminal (POS)  220 , all connected to a local area network communications hub or switch  221 . Although not shown in the figure, each group may also include one or more remote point-of-sale (RPOS) terminals, and one or more kiosks also connected to communications hub  221 . The communications hub  221  of each gaming floor group is connected to hub  205  of the gaming facility system  102  through one of the communications lines  206  or  207 . 
         [0034]      FIG. 4  shows further details of a player station  104  and POS  220  in the illustrated gaming system  100  of  FIG. 1 . The illustrated player station  104  includes a processor  400 , nonvolatile memory  401 , volatile memory  402 , and a communications interface  403 . The nonvolatile and volatile memories  401  and  402  store computer program code that may be executed by the processor  400  to cause the processor  400  to perform or direct the various functions provided by the player station  104 . The communications interface  403  allows communications between the player station  104  and its respective back office system  103  and/or central gaming system  101 , both of  FIG. 1 . 
         [0035]    The player station  104  also includes a special user interface arrangement to facilitate player participation in the games offered through the gaming system  100  shown in  FIG. 1 , and to display results in an exciting and attractive format. This interface includes player controls  404 , a display or touch screen display  405 , a sound system  406 , and perhaps other features  407  such as alarms or special displays or alerting devices. Each player station  104  also preferably includes a convenient system for allowing the player to input player-specific information and value for gaming credit, and for receiving wagers. For example, the player station  104  shown in  FIG. 4  includes a player card reader  408  that is adapted to read player-specific information from a player card inserted into the reader. A player card may, for example, include player information or simply a player identifier encoded on a magnetic medium (mag stripe) associated with the card, or encoded on bar code, or a memory device associated with the player card. The illustrated player station  104  also includes a device  409  for receiving value from the player and a device  410  for issuing vouchers or receipts to the player. The device  409  may accept or present currency, vouchers, and/or tokens, for example. The device  410  may comprise a suitable printer for printing vouchers or receipts. 
         [0036]    In addition to other functions that may be required in a given gaming system, the example POS terminal  220  shown in  FIG. 4  enables a player to initiate a credit redemption transaction to obtain cash or other value for any credit remaining for the player after they have obtained gaming credit and participated in games offered through the player stations  104 . Each POS terminal  220  may also allow a player to obtain gaming system credit in return for cash or other value, open a player account and/or obtain a player card for use in logging into player stations  104  during the course of the player&#39;s participation in games offered through the gaming system  100 . POS terminal  220  comprises a computer system having a processor  415  and a player/cashier interface including a player card reader  416 , player card printer/encoder  417 , a receipt/voucher printer  418 , a keypad  419 , a voucher reader  420 , and an attendant display/interface  421 . POS terminal  220  may also include a cash drawer  422  which is accessible by a POS cashier or attendant. The processor  415  included in POS terminal  220  executes operational software to use the data input from the card reader  416 , the keypad  419 , the attendant display/interface  421 , and/or the voucher reader  420 , to communicate with the back office system  103  or the central gaming system  101  of  FIG. 1 , and to provide the appropriate outputs to the player card printer/encoder  417 , the printer  418 , and the attendant display/interface  421 . 
         [0037]    So as not to obscure the present invention in unnecessary detail, the following description of the various gaming floor devices such as the back office system  103 , the central gaming system  101 , and the gaming system  100  will focus on those aspects of the components pertinent to the present invention and will omit other aspects of the components. In particular, functions and elements of the gaming floor components involved in the actual play of games beyond game accounting will generally be omitted from the following disclosure. In some types of gaming systems, such as video lottery systems or bingo gaming systems, a great deal of communication and cooperation may be required between the central gaming system  101 , the back office systems  103 , and the player stations  104  simply to identify results of a given game play. At the other end of the spectrum, traditional video poker and reel-type games may require no cooperation between elements of the system to determine or identify the results of a game play, and may determine results according to some algorithm or other method at the respective player station  104 . It will be appreciated that the present invention is not in any way limited to use with any particular type of wagering games. Rather, the present illegal activity detecting system and method may be employed with any type of wagering games. Furthermore, the present system may be used with many different types of game accounting systems. For example, the invention may be used with a purely account-based game accounting system such as that described in US patent publication 2002-0132666 A1, published Sep. 19, 2002, or systems that issue vouchers or tickets showing game credit. 
         [0038]    In the course of participating in games offered through the gaming system  100  shown in  FIG. 1  and its various components described in  FIGS. 2 ,  3 , and  4 , a player generally must first obtain gaming system credit on the system  100 . This may be accomplished in many different ways depending upon the particular implementation of the gaming system  100 . For example, a player may purchase gaming system credit with cash given to an attendant at a POS such as the POS  220  shown in  FIG. 2 . This gaming system credit may be recorded in the system  100  in any suitable fashion. In particular, an anonymous gaming account or player account reflecting the player&#39;s gaming credit may be created and stored at the database computer  208 . Alternatively to opening a player account or anonymous gaming account through a POS, a player may simply insert cash into a bill acceptor at a player station  104 . This insertion of cash at a player station  104  may have the effect of opening an anonymous gaming account or conceivably a player account in the system  100  reflecting an amount of gaming system credit purchased with the inserted cash. 
         [0039]    The above discussion distinguishes between anonymous gaming accounts and player accounts in the gaming system  100 . For purposes of this disclosure and the accompanying claims an anonymous account (also referred to as a session account) is an account that is opened temporarily for tracking gaming credit between an initial purchase of gaming system credit and a final credit redemption transaction which reduces the account value to zero. Such an anonymous account may be maintained for gaming activity over any period of time and may remain as long as there is credit in the account. However, such an anonymous account need not be associated with any particular player. A player account in gaming system  100  is an account that identifies a particular player with player preference and other information specific to that player. Although information on wagering and payout history for the respective player may be maintained for various purposes in a player account, a player account may or may not provide an accounting mechanism to account for the player&#39;s play in a gaming system utilizing the invention. That is, a player account may be used only to collect usage and player preference data for a particular player, and one or more anonymous accounts may be used by the system to maintain a running account of player credit in the gaming system. Alternatively, a player account may be used to maintain a running account of player credit in the gaming system in lieu of or in addition to anonymous accounts. The present invention is applicable to gaming systems utilizing anonymous gaming accounts or player accounts, or both, for gaming credit accounting. It should also be noted that gaming system credit may be quantified in terms of cash value or in terms of arbitrarily assigned credit values. For example, one gaming system credit may be equivalent to five cents or twenty-five cents and converted to an actual cash value only when credits are redeemed for cash. The invention is not limited to any particular way to quantify gaming system credit. 
         [0040]    Regardless of how the initial purchase of gaming system credit is effected in the gaming system  100 , the central computer  214  or  216  or the database computer  208  of  FIG. 2  may associate the initial gaming credit value with a gaming activity network identifier according to principles of the present invention. All transactions involving the gaming system credit may be identified with this gaming activity network identifier from the time the gaming credit account is opened to the time remaining credits are redeemed for cash or other value. 
         [0041]    Once a player has obtained gaming system credit, the player may use any player station  104  to participate in games offered through the gaming system  100 . To participate in a game, a player generally selects a wager applied against their gaming system credit and makes a game play request associated with the wager. These actions may be accomplished using various player controls at the respective player station  104  such as controls  404  and/or touch screen  405  shown in  FIG. 4 . In response to the wager and game play request, an appropriate element of the gaming system will determine or identify a result for the game play. This result will be communicated to the player through the player station  104  in some fashion and may be associated with a prize or winnings. From an accounting standpoint, the game play request reduces the player&#39;s gaming system credit by the amount of the wager associated with the request, and any winnings associated with a game play result increase the player&#39;s gaming system credit by the amount of the winnings. Thus, every wager and game play request represents at least one transaction on the player&#39;s gaming credit account, an initial debit in the amount of the wager, and potentially a second transaction comprising a credit in the amount of any winnings associated with the result of the game play. 
         [0042]    Gaming system  100  may allow a player to make wagers and game play requests at one player station  104  and then go to another player station  104  to make additional wagers and game play requests. There are several game accounting arrangements in which the player&#39;s gaming system credits may follow the player from one player station  104  to another in a gaming session. For example, a purely account-based gaming system may allow a player to enter their account/ID information at one player station  104 , terminate play at that player station  104 , and then enter their account/ID information at another player station  104  to play games at that station. This process may be repeated a number of times for the player until the player finally redeems their remaining gaming system credits for cash or other value. As another example, a voucher based (anonymous account type or player account type) game accounting system may allow a player to obtain or purchase a voucher for gaming system credit at a point-of-sale or cashier station and the player may then insert that voucher at a player station  104  to give the player access to their credit for making wagers and game play requests at that player station  104 . The voucher system may also allow the player to “cash out” at the player station  104  and receive a new voucher for their remaining gaming system credit from a suitable voucher printing or issuing device at the player station  104 . The player may then insert this new voucher at any other player station  104  to gain access to the remaining gaming system credit for wagering at that new player station  104 . 
         [0043]    The manner in which the player&#39;s gaming credit account may be reflected in the gaming system  100  may vary widely within the scope of the present invention. Also, the specific manner in which a player interfaces with the gaming system to add gaming system credits and redeem credits may vary widely. Generally, the present invention is applicable to any gaming system in which a player purchases or otherwise obtains gaming system credits for cash or other value and then ultimately may redeem remaining gaming system credits for cash or other value. 
         [0044]    A process according to the present invention may now be described with reference to  FIG. 5 . In the following description of  FIG. 5 , it will be appreciated that the references to the physical components are references to the diagrams in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  3 , and  4  that show those components. The components, such as player stations  104 , back office systems  103 , and central gaming system  101  discussed with reference to the flow charts are generally not shown in the flow charts themselves but are shown particularly in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 , and  4 . 
         [0045]      FIG. 5  shows a process performed for each gaming system credit account opened through a gaming system such as system  100  described above. Referring to  FIG. 5 , a method according to the present invention includes collecting data regarding player activity associated with a respective gaming system credit account. This step of collecting data is shown at process block  501  in  FIG. 5 , and includes collecting data that may be evaluated according to the invention to identify illegal or prohibited activity. In one preferred form of the invention, the step shown at block  501  includes collecting sufficient data to define at least one characteristic for a gaming activity network. Such a characteristic for a gaming activity network may be referred to as an “activity network characteristic.” The data required to define an activity network characteristic under different variations of the present invention will be described further below. 
         [0046]    As indicated at block  502 , a player may initiate a credit redemption transaction in some suitable fashion through the gaming system  100 . In particular, a player may initiate a credit redemption transaction at a POS  220  in the above described example gaming system. In response to a request for a credit redemption transaction, the process proceeds to conduct an evaluation as indicated at process block  503 . In one preferred form of the invention, the evaluation at block  503  includes using an algorithm to evaluate a relationship between at least one activity network characteristic for the respective gaming activity network and a respective predefined target characteristic. This predefined target characteristic comprises a characteristic that is indicative of the illegal activity to be detected such as money-laundering activity. Preferably, the target characteristic is set to clearly distinguish between normal player participation in the gaming system and activity that does not fit normal patterns of play. Defining the respective target characteristic used in a system according to the present invention may be done using a historical analysis of normal gaming activity and prohibited activities to be detected. 
         [0047]    The evaluation performed at process block  503  may be accomplished in a number of different ways within the scope of the invention. For the predefined target characteristic example, the target characteristic may comprise simply a value representing the ratio between a value for total gaming system credit added for the player&#39;s gaming activity network to the number of plays in the network. A high ratio between credit added and number of plays before a credit redemption transaction may indicate that the player has not opened their gaming account to participate in games, but merely to launder money through the system. In this example, the evaluation process includes comparing the actual calculated ratio of total gaming system credit to plays for the gaming activity network to the predefined target value to determine if the actual value calculated for the player is greater than the target value. The data collected for the activity network characteristic in this example is simply the sum of all credit added in the activity network and a running total of the number of plays made in the session. The target characteristic comprises a single parameter, the single predefined value of the ratio between the total gaming system credit added for the session to number of game plays in the session, and that single parameter is used as a threshold to indicate potential illegal activity. Other variations in the evaluation performed at process block  503  and different types of data that may be used in the evaluation step will be described further below. 
         [0048]    The results of the evaluation step at process block  503  are used to determine the path followed from decision block  504 . If the evaluation produces a negative result, meaning no illegal activity, then the present process proceeds to decision block  505  and then ends the particular gaming activity network if the credit redemption transaction is a final transaction to close out the credit account, that is to end the gaming activity network. Where the gaming credit account is not being closed out, the process loops back to collect additional data for the gaming activity network. If, however, the evaluation at process block  503  produces a positive result as indicated at decision block  504 , the process continues on to produce or initiate some corrective action at process block  506 . In particular, the present method may include producing a signal to alert the appropriate authorities to the potential illegal activity. The alert may be provided to the cashier at a POS  220  where the player is attempting to redeem game system credit for cash, to a gaming facility operator or manager, or to some government regulatory authority, or all of these entities. Additional or alternative corrective action may include locking the account such that the player may not redeem the gaming system credits for cash or other value pending an investigation by the appropriate authorities. The player may still be allowed to use the gaming system credit for game play even if the player&#39;s account is locked, that is, the player&#39;s gaming credit may not be redeemed for cash or other value. 
         [0049]    The process shown in  FIG. 5  indicates a distinct evaluation step after a request for a credit redemption transaction. However, this evaluation step shown at process block  503  need not occur only in response to a credit redemption transaction request initiated by the player. Rather, a gaming activity network may be routinely evaluated to identify or detect potential illegal or prohibited activity. The subject gaming activity network may be flagged as indicating potential illegal activity any time the evaluation indicates potential illegal activity. When a gaming activity network is flagged, the player may continue to make game play requests in the system and may ultimately use the system sufficiently so that the evaluation does not indicate potential illegal activity. At this point, the system may remove the flag from the respective activity network. In the simple example using a value for the ratio of total gaming system credit added to number of plays as the target characteristic, it will be appreciated that all gaming activity networks may initially be flagged for potential illegal activity. The flag would be removed once the player makes a sufficient number of plays in the activity network to reduce the ratio for their activity network below the predefined target value. 
         [0050]    A number of the different values or characteristics may be used as gaming activity network characteristics according to the present invention. In addition to the total gaming system credit added and number of plays in the network described above, the present system may consider the elapsed time of the player&#39;s gaming activity network, the total amount wagered in the network or average amount wagered, for example. These individual characteristics may be combined in any fashion to produce some combined characteristic that may be used as the target characteristic for evaluation relative to a like calculated gaming activity network characteristic. The invention also encompasses evaluating multiple individual gaming activity network characteristics against corresponding individual target characteristics and combining the evaluation results in some fashion to arrive at a final comparison result. Furthermore, the invention is not limited to a comparison algorithm as described above. Rather, the evaluation step shown at block  503  in  FIG. 5  may be conducted using a suitable pattern matching technique matching patterns in the collected data with target data patterns associated with illegal activity. Neural network techniques may also be used to perform the evaluation indicated at process block  503 . 
         [0051]      FIG. 6  shows an example of an arrangement of data that may be collected for purposes of the present invention. This arrangement includes three different data tables and is particularly adapted for a game accounting system that receives cash from players to obtain gaming system credit and issues vouchers representative of the gaming system credit to be used at player stations or to redeem for cash or other value. Also, the example data tables shown in  FIG. 6  are adapted to evaluate the ratio of total cash-in or value inserted for gaming system credit to the total amount put at risk or wagered in the gaming activity network to identify potentially illegal activity. 
         [0052]    A first data comprises an activity network table  600  and contains information on all gaming activity networks at the respective gaming facility. Activity network table  600  includes header information  605  together with an entry for each individual gaming activity network being tracked for a particular gaming facility. The second type of data table comprises a station data table  601  and is maintained for each respective group of gaming activities at a player station  104  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ). Station data table  601  includes header information  606  and an entry  620  for each transaction in the respective group of gaming activities at a player station. The third type of data table shown in  FIG. 6  comprises a voucher data table  602  that includes header information  607 . Each entry  630  in voucher data table  602  is associated with a particular voucher produced in the gaming accounting system and represents gaming system credit. 
         [0053]    Each entry  610  in the gaming activity network table  600  includes a gaming activity network identifier field  611  for an identifier unique to the given gaming activity network and fields for summary information collected for the gaming activity network. In this example table, each entry  610  includes a field  612  for total credit value added for the activity network or total cash in, a field  613  for a running total of the amount wagered or cash played in the activity network, a field  614  for an identifier of a parent gaming activity network, and a field  615  for a flag to indicate that the network has been determined to be suspect. 
         [0054]    The example station table  601  shown in  FIG. 6  includes an entry  620  for each related group of gaming activities at a player station such as station  104  in  FIG. 1 . Each entry  620  includes a field  621  for a gaming activity network identifier to identify a network in which gaming activities are included, a field  622  for an activity group or gaming system access identifier, a field  623  for total cash added or cash in, and a field  624  for the total amount wagered or cash played. 
         [0055]    The example voucher table  602  shown in  FIG. 6  includes an entry  630  for each voucher produced in the gaming system. Each entry  630  includes a field  631  for a voucher identifier, a field  632  for containing the gaming activity network identifier for the network with which the voucher is associated, a field  633  for a total cash in value, and a field  634  for a total cash played value. 
         [0056]    These data tables are shown for purposes of example to help describe one preferred form of the invention. It will be appreciated that any suitable data structure may be maintained to collect the gaming activity data necessary to implement the present invention. In particular, the data required to implement the present invention may be combined with other data kept in tables with other data used in the course of operation of the particular gaming system. Furthermore, the specific fields shown in  FIG. 6  are simply those useful in implementing an embodiment of the invention in which the ratio of cash in to cash played is evaluated to identify potential illegal activity. The present invention is by no means limited to this particular implementation used solely for purposes of example. 
         [0057]      FIG. 7  provides a graphic representation of two different gaming activity networks  701  and  715  according to principles of the present invention. These particular representations are for a system in which vouchers are issued for gaming system credit and where the vouchers may be used to transfer credit from one player station to the next. Also,  FIG. 7  will be discussed in connection with data table activity using the example data tables shown in  FIG. 6 . 
         [0058]    A first gaming network  701  starts with a cash deposit for a voucher at  702 . The system defines a gaming activity network identifier for the voucher issued at  702  because the voucher is not related to an existing network. The player takes the voucher issued at  702  and uses it to conduct gaming activities at gaming system access block  703 , including a game play  709 . Ultimately, the player cashes out at the player station for a new voucher represented at circle  704 . The player next takes the new voucher created at  704  and uses it in another series of gaming activities as indicated at gaming system access  705  at another player station. Series or gaming system access  705  includes a game play  710  and another cash deposit or cash in event  706 . Finally, after cashing out for yet another new voucher at  707 , the player takes the resulting voucher and makes a request to redeem the voucher for cash as indicated at  708 . In the example associated with the tables shown in  FIG. 6 , the redemption request prompts the system to evaluate the network  701  for potential illegal activity. In the example arrangement, the system compares the ratio of cash in to cash played from the network table entry  610  for that particular network to some stored threshold value to determine if the network is associated with potentially illegal activity. 
         [0059]      FIG. 7  also shows a separate gaming activity network  715  that is initiated with a player purchasing gaming system credit in the form of a voucher for cash at  716 . The player next uses the voucher at a player station to conduct a series of gaming system activities represented by gaming system access block  717 . The gaming system activities at gaming system access block  717  include a game play  721 . After playing games through the player station, the player cashes out and obtains a voucher represented at  718 . This voucher represents the remaining credit after play at gaming system access  717 . The player uses the credit represented by the voucher at  718  to access gaming system credit through the same or another player station for another series of gaming system activities shown at gaming system access block  719 . This gaming system access includes adding gaming system credits at  722  in exchange for cash or other value accepted at the player station, and another game play  723 . Finally, the player cashes out from this second series of gaming activities at block  719  in gaming activity network  715  and obtains a voucher  720  representing the remaining gaming system credit in this gaming activity network. It will be noted that the voucher has not been redeemed for cash in the gaming activity network  715 . However, the gaming system according to the invention may still be configured to evaluate the gaming activity network even without a cash out event. 
         [0060]    The two gaming activity networks  701  and  715  in  FIG. 7  graphically show how the various nodes of the network are connected. The gaming system access blocks and the vouchers used to access gaming system credit in the gaming system access blocks each represent nodes in the respective gaming activity network. In these examples, it is the voucher representing gaming system credit that links the nodes of the respective gaming activity network. The voucher issued at  702  connects the initial cash in transaction with the first gaming system access  703 , the voucher  704  issued from gaming system access  703  links the credit remaining from that gaming system access to the gaming system access at  705 , and the voucher  707  links the credit remaining from gaming system access  705  to the redemption request  708 . Similarly, the voucher issued at  716  connects the initial cash in transaction with the first gaming system access  717 , the voucher  718  issued from gaming system access  717  links the credit remaining from that gaming system access to the gaming system access at  719 , and the voucher  720  will link the credit remaining from gaming system access  719  to the next player activity in the gaming system. 
         [0061]    Using the example tables shown in  FIG. 6 , the vouchers from  702 ,  704 ,  707 ,  716 ,  718 , and  720  would each be associated with a respective entry in the voucher table  602 . The gaming system access blocks  703 ,  705 ,  717 , and  719  would each be associated with a respective entry in gaming station table  601 . Finally, each network  701  and  715  would be associated with a respective entry in the gaming activity network table  600 . 
         [0062]    The two gaming activity networks  701  and  715  in  FIG. 7  may be used to describe how different gaming activity networks may themselves be linked and considered together to detect potential illegal activities. As indicated above, in the normal course of operation, vouchers produce the links to create gaming activity networks. In particular, a gaming activity network is started with the initial issuance of a voucher or other representation of gaming system credit for cash or other value such as at  702  and  716  in  FIG. 7 . However, some preferred forms of the invention allow a system operator to manually link separate gaming activity networks. Such a linking or merger of two different gaming activity networks merges the data for one network into the data for another. This merger is preferably accomplished on a field by field basis according to a suitable algorithm. For example, cash in value for the two networks would simply be added together to produce the new merged value for cash in value. Also, it should be noted that gaming activity networks may be linked by using a voucher in one network to produce gaming credit in a gaming system access that is part of another network. For example, the voucher at  720  could be used to add gaming system credit in gaming system access  705 . In our example of data tables in  FIG. 6 , adding credit from voucher  720  would have the effect of adding the cash in and cash played values associated with that voucher into the running totals for gaming activity network  701 . Where gaming activity networks are merged according to the invention, the merged data may be maintained in one of the original network entries in a table such as table  600  shown in  FIG. 6 . Alternatively, the invention may include generating a new entry such as an entry  610  in table  600  for the merged gaming activity network data. In either embodiment, where data from different gaming activity networks is merged or linked, the resulting data table entry may include a reference to any parent or related gaming activity network. This reference may be included in a field such as field  614  in the table  600  shown in  FIG. 6 . The parent ID field  614 , could simply contain the gaming activity network identifier for the entry containing data which was merged into the respective entry. 
         [0063]    The process steps described above with reference to  FIG. 5  may be performed with any suitable processing device or devices included in the gaming system. In the example system  100  described above, central computers  214  and  216  of  FIG. 2  may serve as data collection processing devices to direct the collection of data necessary to identify potential illegal activity and the actual data may be stored in data tables maintained at database computer  208 . The central computers  214  and  216  may also perform the actual evaluation described above with reference to process block  503  in  FIG. 5  and direct the production of the alerts or other corrective action in response to the detection of illegal activity. 
         [0064]    It will also be appreciated that the process steps described above in  FIG. 5  are preferably performed by a processing device under the control of operation software or program code. In particular, data collection program code executed at the appropriate processing device or devices such as the central computers  214  or  216  and database computer  208  directs the collection of data to be evaluated for potential illegal activity. Evaluation program code is executed at the appropriate processing device or devices to evaluate the collected data to identify potential illegal activity. Alerting program code responds to the identification of the potential illegal activity by directing the production of an operator alert and perhaps taking some other corrective action such as locking out the session account for cash redemptions. Both the evaluation program code and the alerting program code may be executed at the central computers  214  and  216  in the illustrated example system  100 . 
         [0065]    The above described preferred embodiments are intended to illustrate the principles of the invention, but not to limit the scope of the invention. Various other embodiments and modifications to these preferred embodiments may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, although a particular hardware arrangement is shown for purposes of describing the invention, it will be appreciated that numerous hardware arrangements are possible for implementing the present invention. In particular a single computer system may act both as a game server and provide data storage for the collected data necessary to implement the invention. Also, although the operational software-controlled process steps are described as occurring at certain processing elements in the system, the processing steps may be distributed in any suitable fashion over various data processing elements.