FR2830353A1 - Lottery system using mobile phone requires transmission of information from pre-paid card, validated by algorithm, to enable participation - Google Patents

Abstract

Communication is established using a mobile telephone (2) to transmit to the management center the data obtained from a prepaid information support (4). If the transmitted data is recognized, the participation of the user in the lottery game is validated. The procedure provides a secure means of participating in a betting game, such as a lottery, necessitating communication between a player (3) and a center (5) where the lottery is managed. Communication is established using a mobile telephone (2). The process consists of transmitting to the management center the data obtained from a prepaid information support (4), which has previously been obtained by the player. If the transmitted data is recognized by comparison with that held in the storage system of the management center, the participation of the user in the lottery game is validated. The information on the prepaid support card is secured using a quartz-type cryptographic algorithm.

Description

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METHOD AND DEVICE FOR THE SECURE IMPLEMENTATION OF LOTTERY-TYPE GAMES USING A MOBILE TELEPHONE
The present invention relates to a method and a system for the secure implementation of games requiring a bet such as a lottery game using a mobile telephone.

TECHNICAL AREA
The name "card" will be used in the description which follows to designate an on-board system with an electronic chip.

 The mobile telephone can be a portable telephone or a more complex terminal, for example a terminal combining the functions of telephone and organizer or calculator.

 The present invention applies more particularly to the field of mobile telephones comprising one or more reading members which will be called hereinafter an auxiliary reader receiving a so-called auxiliary card. The auxiliary reader is usually in the form of a conventional smart card reader. To do this, it includes a slot into which the smart card is inserted during a transaction.

 Increasingly, service providers are seeking to offer new applications embedded on mobile phones: they provide both said application embedded on the mobile phone and the associated service on the server.

 Thus, the suppliers of games requiring a gamble from a player such as for example a lottery game are now seeking to offer the possibility to said gambler to make a bet from his mobile phone.

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PRIOR ART
There are currently lottery games such as the koodpo game (registered trademark) accessible from a mobile phone consisting in asking a user to choose numbers and to transmit them by means of his mobile phone. If the numbers come out in the draw, the user is notified of the amount of his winnings.

 However, no payment (other than the call) is required from the user: the game is completely free. No financial transaction is required. The user enters the numbers directly on his phone after calling the lottery service in question. The user is forced to a grid per day: the result of the draw is given the next morning. The user must register and communicate personal information in order to receive the prize for the draw for which he is a winner: the user therefore does not remain anonymous as in existing computerized lottery games.

 The invention aims to overcome the drawbacks of the devices and systems of the known art while satisfying the needs which are felt.

 An object of the present invention is to offer mobile phone users the same gaming possibilities as existing lottery computer games.

 Another object of the present invention is to propose a method making it possible to authenticate a bet of a player while ensuring the anonymity of the latter.

 Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for ensuring the confidentiality and securing of exchanges between the mobile telephone and the game service, in particular during financial transactions such as that intended to pay for the ballot played.

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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for the secure implementation of a wagering game such as a lottery game requiring the communication of data from a user to a management center and using a transmission device, characterized in that that it consists in transmitting to said management center said data obtained from a prepaid medium by said user and if said data is found in storage means of the management center, in validating the participation of said user in said game.

 The present invention also relates to the management center capable of implementing this method.

 The present invention relates to a support comprising means for memorizing information and capable of being inserted into a transmission device, characterized in that it comprises at least one masked area capable of being discovered definitively on which is inscribed data and in that the storage means comprise parameters specific to one or more types of wagering game such as a lottery game and / or various elements capable of being used during said game.

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawing schematically illustrating an embodiment of the system according to the invention in which the steps of the method according to the invention are highlighted.

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MANNER OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
The present invention applies, although not exclusively, to mobile telephones according to the "GSM" standard. One of the most widely used standards in Europe is the "GSM" transmission standard (acronym for "Special Group Mobile Public Radiocommunication Systems Operating in the 900 MHz Band"). It should be understood, however, that the invention cannot be reduced to this single standard.

In particular, it can find application within the framework of standards under development such as "GPRS" or "UTMS" or other.

 The system 1 according to the invention comprises a mobile telephone 2 of a user 3. The mobile telephone 2 is capable of receiving a card 4. The card 4 is an on-board system with an electronic chip, for example a smart card. The card 4 is of the scratch card type: its surface has at least one masked zone, in this case two zones 4a and 4b, capable of being discovered by scratching or by any other known means. Zones 4a and 4b are called scratch zones. The information entered in the areas to be scratched is a datum called hereinafter identifier and information obtained using a cryptographic calculation process from one or more various elements such as the identifier, called below signature; the information can be entered separately in the two zones 4a, 4b or in more than two zones or in a combined manner in a single zone. The information can also be concatenated or mixed according to certain rules or others in the said zone or zones. The identifier represents the number of the card during its manufacture. The identifier and the signature make it possible to ensure the security of the exchanges between the user and a management center 5 and more precisely the authentication of the user with the management center while allowing him to maintain his anonymity and the verification. that the card used by the user is one of the cards issued by the management center.

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 According to a particular form of the invention, the card 4 comprises several areas to be scratched. The signature consists of all or part of the scratched areas.

 According to another particular form of the invention, the card 4 comprises several areas to be scratched. A zone or a group of zones corresponds to a game. The signature differs according to the game chosen.

 The card 4 comprises means for memorizing the parameters of a given game requiring a bet (or of the combination of several games), used by the mobile telephone, as will be seen below, to transmit to the management center the type of game and bet and the amount played, of information making it possible to ensure security between the user and a payment center 6. The storage means can also contain optional information such as how to play (one or more bets issued).

 The card 4 is distributed to the users 3 by a card seller 7. The card seller 7 comes in any type of form, namely a kiosk, any type of store, supermarket, tobacco bar or the like. The card 4 can be given to a user by any other means such as, for example, sending by post.

 The telephone 2 comprises an on-board application 8 whose function is to allow the entry of the user's bet 3 and the secure transmission of said bet to the management center 5 and to receive and communicate to the user the confirmation of his participation in the draw and the results of the draw. The term "embedded application" should be understood in its most general sense. It naturally concerns applets or similar programs, but also encompasses all kinds of digital data. Application 8 is implemented in telephone 2 or in any card included in telephone 2 such as for example

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 a SIM card or partly in the phone 2 and partly in a card.

 The management center 5 takes the form of a server comprising a module 9 for interfacing with a mobile telephone network 10, a processing module 11, means 12 for memorizing information, for example a database, a security management module 13. The storage means 12 store a list 14 of card identifiers 4. The management center 5 manages the interactive betting service with the user's mobile phone: it centralizes all bets issued for a given draw, confirms with the users receiving said bets, performs the draw in question and notifies the results of the draw and the winnings arising therefrom to the winner (s). The management center manufactures or subcontracts the manufacture of cards 4 which it then sells to card sellers 7.

 The telephone 2 is connected to the management center 5 through the mobile telephone network 10. The term network must be understood in its most general sense. It includes the transmission components proper of the network (radio transmission subsystems, transmission cables, radio-relay systems, terrestrial "wired" subsystems, etc.), but also all systems connected to the mobile telephone network (stations basic, station controllers, switches, directories, etc., and, more generally, all data processing systems and servers connected to the network).

 The application 8 of the subscriber card 4 communicates through the network 10, with one or more applications installed on the server 7, via the short message channel. The so-called short message service technology (GSM-Data service) is known by the acronym SMS (for Short Message Service). This channel is independent of the voice channel and is standardized by the "GSM" standard. Applications, whether installed on the phone or a phone card or on

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le serveur, peuvent à la fois envoyer et recevoir des informations, appelées messages courts qui contiennent du texte ou des données en format binaire. Les messages courts sont codifiés à l'aide de caractères de contrôle (identifiant (PID : Protocole IDentifier), adresse de l'émetteur, nombre d'octets,...).

the server, can both send and receive information, called short messages that contain text or data in binary format. Short messages are coded using control characters (identifier (PID: Protocol IDentifier), address of the sender, number of bytes, ...).

It should be noted that depending on the embodiment, depending on the type of network chosen, the communication technologies may differ. The term message is used in the following to designate a short message or any other type of message.

The system 1 comprises a center 6 for payment of the winnings made by the user 3. The payment center can take various forms: for example, the payment center can be an entity forming part of the gaming organization, distinct or not from the management center 5, a bank, the gains made being directly paid into a user account, the card seller 7 ...

The method according to the invention comprises the following steps.

During the manufacture of the cards 4, the management center 5 registers or causes the identifier to be registered in one of the masked zones 4a and the signature on the other zone 4b. The center 5 registers all the identifiers of the cards produced on the list 14 of identifiers. It should be noted that the identifier, and the identifier only, can be written in clear on the card. The identifier entered on the card 4 distributed is known to the management center.

The management center 5 distributes the cards 4 to the card sellers 7.

The user 3 buys a card 4 (Step 1 in FIG. 1) from the seller of the card 7 corresponding to the game (s) in which he wishes to participate.

Card 4 is prepaid from the card seller 7 who issues it which

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 avoids any monetary transaction between the user and the management center: the amount of the amount paid by the user to the card seller to obtain the card is stored in the card storage means so as to allow the user to play multiple times. If the user only wants to play once with the card they acquire, the amount does not need to be memorized.

 In addition, the user decides when he issues his bet. He can place his bet a few minutes before the draw from any geographic location: a bet issued by a user is only validated by the management center once the betting has closed for a given draw.

 When the user 3 wishes to participate in a draw, he takes cognizance of the identifier and the signature of the card 4 by scratching the masked areas 4a, 4b. The user 3 inserts (Step (2) in FIG. 1) the card 4 into his phone 2 and launches an interactive menu allowing him to make his bet. Application 8 manages said menu and exchanges with the user.

 The user begins by entering the identifier and signature of which he has become aware. It should be noted that recognition interfaces or optional peripherals can be provided to read the information written on the card 4.

 An adapted contextual menu offers a user-friendly predefined list of choices. The user can also prepare his bet manually without accessing a particular menu. The profile of the user, and for example the preferred way of playing of the user 3, may be prerecorded in a telephone application 2 (application of the telephone or of a card included in the telephone such as a card SIM) or the management center 5. Icons and sound signals decorate the menu route.

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 The choice of a draw is offered to the user in the form of a calendar or multiple choice selections. The user selects the desired print.

 The user is asked a grid of numbers selected for the draw. User 3 chooses numbers from a displayed grid or enters a series of numbers. Application 8 can perform an automatic preselection of its favorite numbers at the request of the user.

The application 8 can also include a mechanism of known type making it possible to draw numbers in a random manner and to propose to the user numbers chosen at random by means of said mechanism. A summary is displayed as the numbers are entered by the user.

The bet amount can be entered by the user or automatically obtained from the parameters of the card 4. The application 8 prepares a message intended for the management center from the data entered by the user and from data contained in the card 4 and telephone 2. The message includes, for example, the following fields:

<Tb>
<tb> Identifier <SEP> and <SEP> call number <SEP>
<tb> Signature
<tb> Bet
<tb> Date <SEP> and <SEP> hourly <SEP> of the <SEP> draw
<tb> Amount <SEP> of the <SEP> bet
<tb> Anonymity
<Tb>

In the following example, the identifier and the signature are supplied by the user. The bet can come from several origins: either the grid is entirely or partially chosen and provided by the user, or the bet is in fact only a request by the user that a bet is made for him by

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 the management center, either the bet comes from the random draw mechanism of the phone, or the grid is provided by the profile saved in the management center or the phone. The date and time of the draw are only part of the data prepared if the SMS technology is not used; indeed, this information is automatically sent in SMS messages.

The amount is given by the card but is optional as seen above. Anonymity is data provided by the user to indicate whether he wishes or does not wish to remain anonymous. The call number is given by the telephone or the application 8 and allows the management center to send an acknowledgment of receipt to the user. In the event that the Anonymity field of the message indicates that the user wishes to remain anonymous, all information concerning the user, such as the telephone number, is destroyed after use. In addition, the user is not necessarily the owner of the phone: he is the owner of the prepaid card allowing him to make his bet. It remains anonymous even if it wins since the prepaid card is not nominative: the winner is identified by the possession of the card and the certificate returned by the management center to the user as will be seen below.

 All or part of the information collected can be either optional, or filtered, or pre-initialized by the user, by mobile phone or by the application 8.

 Other information can be included in the message transmitted to the management center to enable it to know the profile of the user and to have the best dialogue with him via his telephone. The information is as follows: the user's telephone type 2 in order to interpret the entry of the data transmitted to the management center in a manner specific to said telephone and to allow the management center to return a response to the telephone in the format that suits ;

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 . the place and country of issue of the message by the user in order to determine the origin of the messages received and to consider the legislation in force in certain countries; . the network 10 used in order to promote partnerships between operators and management center and to allow special pricing; . the format of the message transmitted, the language used, characteristics specific to the message (alphabet, currency ...); * the profile of the user so as to record his preferences and his habits of play, to list the needs of the users in general.

 After confirmation by the user, the telephone 2 transmits said message to the management center 5 which acknowledges receipt (Step (3) in FIG. 1). The center interface module 9 receives the messages and transmits them to the processing module 11. The processing module finds the relevant information in the message received.

 If an error is detected in the message, an error message is returned to the user. The management center and more particularly the processing module verifies that the identifier transmitted by the telephone 2 is part of the list 14 of the valid identifiers stored in the storage means 12 and if this is the case, strike out the identifier in question from said list. The list 14 allows the management center to detect false cards, incorrect identifiers, because not corresponding to any of the identifiers of the cards distributed by the management center, identifiers already used, the identifier used being crossed out from the list.

 The processing module then proceeds to authenticate the card 4. To do this, it communicates the identifier and the signature received to the security management module 13.

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 The signature on card 4 is calculated using a key from a challenge and the identifier. The challenge is fixed or pseudo random. According to an advantageous form of the invention, the signature is produced according to an algorithm, called quartz, protected in France by patent n02737370 filed on July 27, 1995 by the present applicant. In this way, the signature is unique and short: it contains from 16 to 20 digits maximum.

It can be entered in zone 4a of the scratch card.

 According to a particular form of the invention, certain parts of the signature are not transmitted, for example certain digits among the 16 to 20. The absent digits are found by the module 11 for processing the management center 5 by any kind of process . In this way, the signature is shortened and the user has fewer digits to enter.

 The storage means 12 contain the list 14 of the identifiers of the distributed cards associated with the challenges from which the signatures for each identifier have been calculated. The security management module 13 therefore finds the challenge corresponding to the identifier in question in the means 12. Another solution for finding the challenge associated with the identifier concerned consists in using a given calculation method.

 From the challenge found in the means 12 and from the identifier received, the module 13 calculates the signature using the cryptographic algorithm used to calculate the signature written on the card. The module 13 compares it to that received. If the signatures match, the module 13 authenticates the bet and concludes that the user has made his bet using a card issued by the management center and hitherto unused. The signature certifies the data transmitted to the management center. The management center has the assurance that the data received from a user comes from a card 4 purchased by the latter and from said center.

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 If no error is detected, the management center sends a summary confirmation message (step (4) in FIG. 1). The bet is effective at the issuance of the summary confirmation message. The bet is validated and entered in the betting register. In this way, the user does not have to validate his bet with the card seller and the seller 7 does not need to have a validation device specific to the game in question.

 The summary confirmation message contains a certificate dating and signing the transaction associated with participation in the draw. The certificate represents the seal of the management center certifying participation in the user's draw associated with a given identifier. The certificate corresponds to a signature from the management center on the identifier and the challenge using a cryptographic algorithm.

 The user notes the certificate and its transmitted number grid. According to a particular embodiment, the user records in the storage means of the card 4 the certificate and the grid in question.

According to another embodiment, the user registers in means of memorizing his telephone (of the telephone proper or of the cards it contains such as the SIM card) said certificate and said grid.

 The processing center processing module 11 proceeds to the drawing (step (5) in FIG. 1) and immediately transmits the result of the drawing to the user. Optionally, the management center notifies the user of the amount of his winnings by inviting him to join the nearest payment center 6 as well as statistics supplementing the information transmitted to the user. The user therefore quickly knows with the help of his telephone whether he is one of the winners without resorting to a means such as a television or the card seller who may be difficult or distant access. The management center informs (step (6) in Figure 1) also the center

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 payment of the winners of the draw in question, indicating the certificate, the grid and the identifier of said winners.

 If the user has won the draw in which he participated, he goes to the payment center 6 (Step (7) in Figure 1). He hands over his grid and his card. If the identifier on the card corresponds to that received from the management center and the grids are identical, he receives the amount of his winnings.

 On the other hand, if the identifiers or the grids do not match, the payment center checks the certificate of the management center. If the certificate does not match, it means that the user has not used a card issued by the management center and the user does not receive his winnings. On the other hand, if the certificate corresponds to that received by the payment center, the payment center and the management center look for the origin of the error on the identifiers or the grids in order to be able to give the winners the certificate concerned correspondents.

 For the transaction to be carried out, for the management center to take into account the user's bet, and for the user to be assured of receiving his winnings from the payment center, the mobile phone must transmit an identifier to the management center and an irrevocable signature.

 The security of the process according to the invention is ensured by the card 4 and the certificate returned by the management center. The signature provided by the card 4 and the certificate are proof of validation for both parties, the user and the management center. : no dispute is possible.

 In addition, if an error occurs such as a bad grid, an incorrect signature or identifier or an invalid card, the management center informs the user and asks him to correct the problem to represent a valid request.

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 If the card 4 has already been used, the user easily detects it using the masked areas which have already been scratched to obtain the information necessary for participation in a draw. The identifier of the medium allows the management center to detect a new transmission of data for the same identifier and thus guarantee a unique use of the medium. Other means can be provided to guarantee a single use such as memorizing the identifier in the card and crossing it out or deleting it from the card using for example the telephone once the identifier provided by the card to be transmitted. at the management center.

 The system and method according to the invention allow a user to make a bet from any geographic location.

In addition, the validation of a bulletin at the international level opens a larger market space and therefore a distribution of games on a very large scale. The gains will also be significantly greater and more attractive to a user.

 The present invention can be in any other type of form. As an illustration, the user makes his bet using any domestic or public means of communication. Validation is carried out by voice online.

 The present invention can cover any other type of field. In particular, the card comprising masked zones in which an identifier and a signature are written can be used to secure any other type of operation.

Claims (14)

1) Method for the secure implementation of a wagering game such as a lottery game requiring the communication of data from a user (3) to a management center (5) and using a member (2) transmission, characterized in that it consists in transmitting to said management center (5) said data obtained from a prepaid medium by said user and if said data is found in storage means of the management center, to be validated the participation of said user (3) in said game.  2) Method according to claim 1, characterized in that it consists in keeping the trace of the transmission of said data so as not to validate the participation of said user if said data has already been transmitted to the center (5).  3) Method according to one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that it consists in transmitting to said management center (5) in addition to said data, information calculated from said data and / or one or several other elements by means of a cryptographic calculation process, said information being obtained from said medium (4).  4) Method according to claim 3, characterized in that the cryptographic algorithm is of quartz type.  5) Method according to one of claims 3 or 4, characterized in that it consists in returning to the transmission device (2) of said user a certificate calculated using a cryptographic calculation process from said data and / or said information and / or one or more other <Desc / Clms Page number 17>  elements, certificate indicating to said user that his participation has been validated.  6) Method according to one of claims 3 or 4, characterized in that the management center or any other component calculates information called signature by means of a cryptographic algorithm from the data received and / or an element called challenge, challenge associated with said data received and found by the management center in storage means, and in that the management center validates the participation of the user only if said calculated signature corresponds to said information received.  7) Method according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the transmission member (2) uses and / or transmits in addition to said data to the center (5) for managing the information contained in said medium (4 ) inserted into the transmission device or others and / or information entered in the transmission device (2) by the user (3) and / or information pre-recorded in said transmission device (2).  8) Method according to claim 5, characterized in that the management center transmits the results of the game to the user and to a payment center (6) and communicates said data and said certificate to said payment center.  9) Management center capable of implementing the method according to one of claims 1 to 8.  10) Transmission device such as a mobile telephone capable of implementing the method according to one of claims 1 to 8.  11) Support comprising means for memorizing information and capable of being inserted into a transmission member (2), <Desc / Clms Page number 18>  characterized in that it comprises at least one masked area capable of being discovered in a definitive manner on which a data item is written and in that said storage means comprise parameters specific to one or more types of betting game such as a lottery game eVou various elements likely to be used during the implementation of said game.  12) Support according to claim 11, characterized in that it comprises at least one masked area capable of being discovered definitively on which is written information obtained using a cryptographic calculation process from said given eVou of one or more other elements.  13) Support according to claim 12, characterized in that said data eVou said information is (are) written (es) on one or more masked data areas, the data eVou information being itself (themselves) written (es) in each zone in a normal, mixed or encrypted manner.  14) Computer program comprising program code instructions for the execution of steps of the method according to one of claims 1 to 8 when said program is executed in a computer system or equivalent.