EP0568814B1 - Game ticket confusion patterns - Google Patents

Game ticket confusion patterns Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0568814B1
EP0568814B1 EP93105312A EP93105312A EP0568814B1 EP 0568814 B1 EP0568814 B1 EP 0568814B1 EP 93105312 A EP93105312 A EP 93105312A EP 93105312 A EP93105312 A EP 93105312A EP 0568814 B1 EP0568814 B1 EP 0568814B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
card
play indicia
removable
confusion pattern
anyone
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP93105312A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0568814A2 (en
EP0568814A3 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow
Inventor
William Frederick Behm
Stanley Litman
Bradley Walter Walton
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Scientific Games LLC
Original Assignee
Scientific Games LLC
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Scientific Games LLC filed Critical Scientific Games LLC
Publication of EP0568814A2 publication Critical patent/EP0568814A2/en
Publication of EP0568814A3 publication Critical patent/EP0568814A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0568814B1 publication Critical patent/EP0568814B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • A63F3/00—Board games; Raffle games
    • A63F3/06—Lottos or bingo games; Systems, apparatus or devices for checking such games
    • A63F3/065—Tickets or accessories for use therewith
    • A63F3/0665—Tickets or accessories for use therewith having a message becoming legible after rubbing-off a coating or removing an adhesive layer
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • A63F3/00—Board games; Raffle games
    • A63F3/06—Lottos or bingo games; Systems, apparatus or devices for checking such games
    • A63F3/065—Tickets or accessories for use therewith
    • A63F3/0685—Tickets or accessories for use therewith having a message becoming legible after a chemical reaction or physical action has taken place, e.g. applying pressure, heat treatment, spraying with a substance, breaking microcapsules

Definitions

  • the invention relates to the field of game tickets and in particular to security features in instant type game or lottery tickets.
  • Game cards such as lottery tickets and promotional game cards typically contain hidden play indicia such as numbers, symbols or messages that indicate whether or not the card is a winner or has a certain value to the player.
  • the play indicia is normally covered by a opaque coating material for example a latex compound which can be scratched off by the player to reveal the play indicia after the ticket has been purchased or otherwise obtained by the player.
  • a latex compound which can be scratched off by the player to reveal the play indicia after the ticket has been purchased or otherwise obtained by the player.
  • Examples of various game card and instant lottery ticket construction are disclosed in U.S. Patents: 4,174,857, 4,273,362, 4,299,637, 4,725,079 and 4,726,608.
  • aluminum foil can present problems and costs to game card manufacturers along with the users of game cards such as state lottery administrations. For example used lottery tickets must be collected from the public and then the foil has to be separated from the rest of the ticket before it can be recycled.
  • a second approach to prevent candling is to imprint confusion patterns on the ticket.
  • a confusion pattern obscures or otherwise confuses the image of the play indicia when visible light is shined through the game card thus making it difficult or impossible to read the indicia before the latex covering is removed.
  • a confusion pattern is printed on the back of a lottery ticket.
  • confusion patterns printed on the back of the ticket help to prevent candling, other methods exist for compromising the security of the ticket. For example, delamination can be used to overcome the security provided by confusion patterns printed on the back of the ticket. The back ticket layer containing the confusion layer is separated or delaminated from the ticket. Once delaminated, the indicia can be read by candling.
  • Confusion patterns consisting of irregular opaque areas have also been printed on the top surface of the card stock below the opaque mask.
  • Another technique is described in U.S. Patents Nos. 4,095,824 and 4,241,942.
  • a confusion pattern is printed over the play indicia using a transparent media or a media having a color differing from the color of the play indicia so that the confusion pattern will not obscure the play indicia when the opaque mask is removed by a player.
  • Another confusion pattern is then printed below the play indicia on the card material immediately below the play indicia.
  • One disadvantage of this approach is that unless the upper confusion pattern is completely transparent its existence will be apparent to those individuals who may be considering methods for breaching game card security. In addition the upper confusion pattern as described makes very little contribution to the prevention of candling.
  • a game card comprising a card substrate having an upper surface and a lower surface, a play indicia affixed to said upper surface of said card substrate, a removable coating secured to said upper surface of said card substrate over said play indicia, and a bar code located on the card.
  • the bar code of this known game card does not prevent from candling as the bar code is transparent and does not visually interfere with the play indicia.
  • Document US-A-4 850 618 discloses a game card with a protective coating covering a confusion pattern of the ticket.
  • the protective coating is a clear coating or varnish to protect the ticket form physical wear and any heat damage during thermal activation but cannot be used to avoid candling.
  • Wicking is another technique that has been used to read the play indicia without having to remove the opaque mask.
  • a solvent containing alcohols, ketones, acetate, esters, alaphtic or amine solutions is applied to either the back or the front of the game card resulting in the bleed through of an image of the play indicia. This makes it possible to determine if a game card is a winner before the opaque coating is removed.
  • One approach to prevent wicking is to place solvent responsive dyes in the opaque coating as described in U.S. Patent 4,726,608. This is a relatively expensive process however. Confusion patterns, as described above, have not generally been effective in countering wicking.
  • Security can be further enhanced by providing a second confusion pattern printed on a release coat that covers the play indicia.
  • Fig. 1 shows in exploded form a representative example of the construction of a game card 10 which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention. For clarity only a portion of the various internal layers of the card 10 are shown in Fig. 1.
  • the first layer of the card 10 is a substrate 12 preferably composed of paper.
  • a primer layer 14 is applied to the substrate 12 and then a blue along with a red banday pattern 16 and 18 are printed on the substrate primer 14.
  • the purpose of the bandy patterns 16 and 18 is to detect vertical ticket splitting.
  • a set of play indicia 20 is printed which in the example of Fig. 1 include a bell, a cherry and a plum.
  • a seal coat 22 is applied over the play indicia 20 and then a release coat 24 is applied on top of the seal coat 22.
  • a removable opaque mask or coating 26 is applied to the release coating 24.
  • An overprint layer 28 which can include game information such as a set of game play indicators 30A-D forms the top most layer of the game ticket 10. A more detailed description of the basic components of the game ticket 10 is provided in U.S. Patent No. 4,726,608.
  • candling can be inhibited by a permanent confusion pattern 32 printed on the substrate 12 underneath the primer coating 14 and a removable confusion pattern 34 printed on the top of the release coat 24 beneath the removable coating 26.
  • a permanent confusion pattern 32 printed on the substrate 12 underneath the primer coating 14
  • a removable confusion pattern 34 printed on the top of the release coat 24 beneath the removable coating 26.
  • the removable confusion pattern 34 Since the removable confusion pattern 34 is located between the removable coating 26 and the release coat 24 it will be removed when the opaque mask 24 is scratched off by a player. Thus this confusion pattern 34 will likewise not interfere with the observation of the play indicia 20 when the mask 26 has been removed by the player nor will its existence be apparent to the public.
  • one or both of the confusion patterns 32 and 34 can be printed with an ink that includes visible materials that go into solution or dispersion when they come in contact with various solvents such as alcohols, ketones, acetate, esters, alaphtics or amine solutions that are typically used in wicking. In this manner breaching the security of the game card 10 by wicking can be prevented because the confusion patterns 32 and 34 will tend to bleed through the ticket with the play indicia 20 making the play indicia 20 indiscernible.
  • Another advantage of using a solvent responsive ink in the removable confusion pattern 34 is that in some cases it eliminates the need to use dyes in the removable mask 26 to prevent wicking. This object can be achieved by incorporating solvent responsive dyes into the confusion pattern ink.
  • the confusion pattern inks 32 and 34 should have the same bleed characteristics as the play indicia ink 20 in order to inhibit wicking. For example, if the play indicia 20 is not subject to bleeding then the confusion pattern inks should not be subject to bleeding.
  • a suitable confusion pattern ink for use with play indicia 20 that have the color black would include a gray or black grind base.
  • Ink having a 16% gray or black ink grind base by weight component along with 16% by weight methyl ethyl ketone; 6% by weight K-1717B resins; 10% by weight pentalyn 255 resin; 8% by weight DM-55 acrylic resin and 16W6 N/C white base components will bleed on contact with solvents containing ammonia or other amines as well as alcohols.
  • other types of dyes that will form a solution or dispersions with the solvents can be used for the confusion pattern ink including inks of different colors than black or gray.
  • the solvent responsive dye match the color of the play indicia ink.
  • the density of the dye should match the density of the play indicia ink as well otherwise it may be possible to read the play indicia 20 through the confusion patterns 32 and 34.
  • the preferred form of the confusion patterns 32 and 34 is a random series of portions of the symbols used in the play indicia 20 having the same line weight.
  • An example of such a confusion pattern is provided in Fig. 2.
  • the confusion pattern 32 should also have the same general printing characteristics as the play indicia 20, to increase the apparent similarity between the confusion pattern 32 and the play indicia 20.
  • the confusion pattern 32 should also be printed as groupings of small dots. It may also be desirable to vary the print characteristics of the play indicia 20 and the confusion pattern 32.
  • the individual symbols in the play indicia 20 may be desirable to print with different print densities and line weights.
  • the individual symbols or portions of the confusion pattern 32 would then also be printed using varied characteristics.
  • Printing the confusion pattern 32 and the play indicia 20 with varying characteristics helps to overcome difficulties in matching the specific characteristics, such as print density, of the play indicia 20 and the confusion pattern 32 and thus increases the apparent similarity between the play indicia 20 and the confusion pattern 32.
  • a uniform coating of, for example, black ink can be used instead of one or the other or even both of the confusion patterns 32 and 34.
  • the confusion patterns 32 and 34 are printed with ink that provide the same general appearance as the play indicia when the game card 10 is candled. In some cases due to materials used in constructing the card 10, it is possible that the confusion patterns 32 and 34 may have to be of a different color or print type in order to match the play indicia 10 when candled.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Educational Technology (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Credit Cards Or The Like (AREA)
  • Pinball Game Machines (AREA)
  • Display Devices Of Pinball Game Machines (AREA)
EP93105312A 1992-05-07 1993-03-31 Game ticket confusion patterns Expired - Lifetime EP0568814B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US87982792A 1992-05-07 1992-05-07
US879827 1997-06-20

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0568814A2 EP0568814A2 (en) 1993-11-10
EP0568814A3 EP0568814A3 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1994-03-16
EP0568814B1 true EP0568814B1 (en) 1996-10-16

Family

ID=25374960

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP93105312A Expired - Lifetime EP0568814B1 (en) 1992-05-07 1993-03-31 Game ticket confusion patterns

Country Status (5)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0568814B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
AT (1) ATE144160T1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
AU (1) AU661376B2 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
CA (1) CA2091723C (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
DE (1) DE69305412T2 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Families Citing this family (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB9313806D0 (en) * 1993-07-03 1993-08-18 Opax International Ltd Improvements relating to game tickets
CA2176175C (en) * 1995-06-07 1999-08-24 Jean-Pierre Desbiens Multi-color overprinting of scratch-off lottery tickets
FR2769742A1 (fr) * 1997-10-15 1999-04-16 Herve Michel Gabrie Chastagnol Procede d'etiquetage
CA2217419A1 (fr) * 1997-11-12 1999-05-12 Serge Mersilian Procede d'identification de reperages securises de la zone grattable des cartes de jeux de loterie instantanees
US10543712B2 (en) * 2011-04-22 2020-01-28 Scientific Games International, Inc. Methods for securing variable indicia on instant (scratch-off) tickets
US10279613B2 (en) 2015-05-21 2019-05-07 Pollard Banknote Limited Method of forming a lottery ticket with a translucent substrate
GB2558731A (en) * 2016-11-21 2018-07-18 Pollard Banknote Ltd Method of forming a lottery ticket with a translucent substrate

Family Cites Families (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1489493A (en) * 1975-03-12 1977-10-19 Ciba Geigy Ag Pigment compositions
FR2340357A1 (fr) * 1976-02-04 1977-09-02 Ugine Kuhlmann Compositions pigmentaires a base d'esters d'acides resiniques et d'amino-alcools
US4095824A (en) * 1976-07-01 1978-06-20 Dittler Brothers, Inc. Secure contest card
AU509152B2 (en) * 1977-09-02 1980-04-24 Norton + Wright (Holland) B.V. Secure contest card
US4241942A (en) * 1979-06-25 1980-12-30 Dittler Brothers, Inc. Secure contest card
GB2075918B (en) * 1980-04-23 1983-10-05 Norton & Wright Ltd Lottery ticket
US4850618A (en) * 1986-05-13 1989-07-25 Halladay Incorporated Lottery ticket
WO1987007846A1 (en) * 1986-06-18 1987-12-30 Antonio Di Bella A method of validating information entered on tickets, cards, and the like paper substrates, and paper substrate therefor
US4708369A (en) * 1986-06-23 1987-11-24 Moore Business Forms, Inc. Multiple ply, alteration-inhibited stock for a match-the-hidden-indicia game
US5228692A (en) * 1991-08-23 1993-07-20 Innovative Environmental Tech., Inc. Gaming form

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
AU661376B2 (en) 1995-07-20
DE69305412T2 (de) 1997-05-07
CA2091723C (en) 1997-10-21
EP0568814A2 (en) 1993-11-10
EP0568814A3 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1994-03-16
AU3516893A (en) 1993-11-11
CA2091723A1 (en) 1993-11-08
ATE144160T1 (de) 1996-11-15
DE69305412D1 (de) 1996-11-21

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