WO2023126597A1

WO2023126597A1 - Method, device and computer program for establishing user behaviour profiles

Info

Publication number: WO2023126597A1
Application number: PCT/FR2022/052430
Authority: WO
Inventors: Willy LUCAIN; Marion DELACOUR
Original assignee: La Française Des Jeux
Priority date: 2021-12-31
Filing date: 2022-12-20
Publication date: 2023-07-06
Also published as: WO2023126597A8; FR3131650A1

Abstract

The invention relates to the establishment of a behaviour profile of a user provided with a personal device, the profile relating to a set of actions, a medium being sent to the user after they have performed one action from the set of actions. After obtaining an access identifier carried on a medium, a digital game element is supplied to the personal device and a characteristic linked to the action that led to the sending of the medium is obtained and stored in connection with the personal device. These steps are repeated to store a plurality of characteristics linked to a plurality of actions from the set of actions. These stored characteristics are then analysed and a behaviour profile is assigned to the user based on the results of the analysis.

Description

Method, device and computer program for establishing user behavior profiles

[0001] The invention relates in particular to the study of user behavior, for example to prevent certain excesses or to promote offers, in particular to the establishment of profiles of players participating in games available at points of sale, such as lottery games or sports betting games, or the establishment of profiles of consumers making purchases.

[0002] Lottery or sports betting games available at points of sale often use game tickets or receipts. In the case of scratch games, a player purchases a scratch ticket. In the case of draw games or sports betting games, the tobacconist gives the player a game receipt (often physical, but which could be electronic) indicating at least one combination on which a player has bet. Hereafter, a “game medium” will be referred to as a game ticket or receipt (physical or electronic). This game medium carries unique identification information for each game medium, making it possible to establish a link between the game medium and the result of the game. This information can be printed in different forms, for example in alphanumeric form and/or in barcode form.

[0003] These game media are generally purchased or given to players anonymously at a point of sale. After the result of the game, the player will, if he has won, withdraw his winnings at a point of sale, justifying his winnings using his game receipt and the identification information appearing on it. Except in special situations, for example for very high winnings, the player does not need to identify himself. It is therefore not possible for a gaming operator to know the habits of a player in order, for example, to prevent a risk of addiction or, on the contrary, to promote games.

[0004] Similarly, a consumer making purchases cannot be alerted to a risk associated with his purchases, for example the purchase of certain products in excessive quantities, or be informed about offers likely to interest him.

[0005] To alert a player or a consumer to excessive behavior or to promote particular offers, it is necessary for the latter to identify himself, for example when he participates in a game or makes purchases. However, such an approach being tedious and intrusive, a large number of consumers or players do not perform them. [0006] There is therefore a need to establish user profiles such as players or consumers without requiring prior identification.

The present invention aims in particular to solve these problems.

Disclosure of Invention

[0008] A method is thus proposed for establishing a behavior profile of a user provided with a personal device, the profile being relative to a set of actions, a medium being given to the user after he performed an action of the set of actions, the method comprising,

- obtaining an access identifier carried on a medium given to the user after he has performed an action of the set of actions, said access identifier being obtained using the personal device;

- in response to obtaining the code on the remitted ticket, supply of an element of a digital game;

- obtaining at least one characteristic linked to the said action having led to the delivery of the support;

- storage of said at least one characteristic obtained in connection with said personal device;

- repetition of the preceding steps, so as to obtain the memorization of a plurality of characteristics linked to a plurality of actions of the set of actions;

- analysis of the plurality of stored characteristics; And

- assignment of a behavior profile to the user, based on the results of the analysis.

The method according to the invention thus makes it possible to determine the behavior of users, simply and without identification.

According to particular embodiments, the method further comprises obtaining an identifier of said personal device, said at least one characteristic obtained being stored in connection with said identifier of said personal device.

[0011]Always according to particular embodiments, the method further comprises broadcasting a message according to a result of said analysis. [0012] Still according to particular embodiments, said message is a message suggesting an action to be performed or a message to draw a user's attention to a behavior linked to actions performed.

Still according to particular embodiments, the method further comprises the management of game elements received.

Still according to particular embodiments, the management of game elements received comprises the selection of at least one received game element and the transmission of a proposal for an exchange of said at least one selected received element.

[0015] Still according to particular embodiments, the management of game elements received comprises the selection of a set of game elements received and the transmission of a request to participate in a game on the basis of said set of game items received.

[0016] Still according to particular embodiments, a game element received is a virtual card.

[0017] Still according to particular embodiments, an action is participation in a lottery or sports betting game, a medium is a game ticket or receipt, and a feature linked to an action is a type of game, a bet date, bet place and/or bet amount.

[0018] Still according to particular embodiments, an action is a purchase, a medium is a receipt, and a characteristic linked to an action is a type of purchase, a date of purchase, a place of purchase and/or a purchase amount.

Still according to particular embodiments, the medium is in physical or electronic form.

The present invention also relates to a device comprising a processing unit configured to execute each of the steps of the method described above as well as a computer program comprising instructions for the implementation of the method described above, or of certain parts of this process, when this program is executed by a computer.

This program can use any programming language (for example, an object language or other) and be in the form of interpretable source code, partially compiled code or fully compiled code.

Another aspect relates to a non-transitory storage medium for a computer-executable program, comprising a set of data representing one or more programs, said one or more programs comprising instructions for, during the execution of said one or more programs by a computer comprising a processing unit operationally coupled to memory means and to an input/output interface module, to execute all or part of the method described above .

Brief description of the drawings

[0023] Other characteristics, details and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the detailed description below. This is purely illustrative and should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 illustrates an example of an environment in which the invention can be implemented according to particular embodiments; Figure 2 illustrates an example of a scratch game ticket front side when the masks have not been removed (a), back side (b) and front side when the masks have been removed (c); FIG. 3 illustrates an example of steps implemented in a personal device according to one embodiment of the invention, to collect information characterizing the behavior of a user; FIG. 4 illustrates an example of steps implemented in a personal device to manage game elements; and FIG. 5 illustrates an example of steps implemented in a personal device and in a server of a game operator according to particular embodiments of the invention to determine a player profile; and FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a device that can be used to implement, at least partially, embodiments of the invention, in particular the steps described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5.

detailed description

[0024] Conventionally, a player can participate in gambling offered by a gaming operator, for example lottery games, scratch games or sports betting games, anonymously, by going to a sale. Most of these games are associated with a game medium (a game ticket or receipt) used by a player to collect their winnings. Most of the time, this game medium is physical, but the invention can be applied to electronic game media.

[0025] According to embodiments of the invention, the game media each carry a dedicated access identifier which can be used by a player to participate in a digital game additional to the basic game (per basic game, we hears the game classically linked to the support games), using a personal device such as a mobile phone, tablet or computer. In a particular embodiment, the player can participate in the additional digital game from multiple base games. To participate in the additional digital game, the player can for example scan an access identifier for a game medium via his personal device from an application or a website dedicated to the additional digital game. The transmission of the access identifier to this application or website triggers the reception, by the player, of a virtual element (for example a virtual card) to be collected. In a particular embodiment, a complete collection of virtual cards makes it possible to participate in a complementary game, for example a draw game. Still according to specific embodiments, players can exchange cards with each other, group together in teams to collectively constitute a collection of virtual cards, bet virtual cards, etc.

According to embodiments of the invention, after several participations in the additional digital game, that is to say after the transmission of several access identifiers to the application or website dedicated to the additional digital game, the gaming operator analyses, in the back office, gaming data linked to the access identifiers of the gaming media used, for example information on types of games, dates and times, places and/or types of operation. These analyzes are made for example at regular time intervals, or when a defined number of access identifiers have been transmitted, or even at each update of the digital game application.

The game data allows the game operator to associate the player with a predetermined game behavior profile (for example “occasional player” or “frequent player”), without the latter having to identify himself. These game behavior profiles can be defined beforehand by the game operator. The gaming operator can deduce from the backoffice analysis of gaming data (or some of it), a risk of addiction or, on the contrary, a possibility of suggestions without particular risk.

Figure 1 illustrates an example of an environment in which the invention may be implemented according to particular embodiments. As shown, a user can buy or be given a physical or electronic game medium 100 (ticket or game receipt), for example at a point of sale also called “point of sale” in Anglo-Saxon terminology (POS).

To obtain payment for any prizes, the player can go to a point of sale provided with a terminal 105 connected to a server 110 of the game operator in question, via a communication network 115. The terminal 105 includes means input such as a keyboard or reading means such as a scanner to obtain identification information from the game medium. It also comprises communication means for sending requests to the server 110, in particular requests comprising this information identification. Thus, after having read the identification information, the terminal 105 sends a request to the server 110 to know the amount of the gain. In response, the terminal receives the winnings information. If necessary, the point of sale can then pay the winnings to the player.

[0030] The game medium further comprises, here, an access identifier for an additional digital game of the basic game (for example the lottery game, the sports betting game or the scratch game). The access identifier is, for example, a numeric code, an alphanumeric code, a barcode or a QR code. A player can use a personal device, for example a smartphone 120, a tablet 125 or a personal computer (not shown) to access said digital game. For these purposes, he can use a specific application or a web interface. This application obtains the access identifier, which can be entered by the user or obtained by a means of reading, for example by scanning a barcode printed on the ticket. The access identifier is transmitted to a server of a gaming operator, for example the server 130, preferably with information identifying the personal device, for example a MAC address or information derived from this address. The game operator's server can then complete a database, for example the database 135, storing game data derived from the access identifier, and transmit to the personal device a virtual element, for example a virtual card. The game data includes, for example, the types of games in which the player participates, the bet amounts, dates and times of play, places, etc. Alternatively, the data specific to a player from this database can be stored in the player's personal device and subsequently transmitted to a server of a gaming operator for analysis. According to particular embodiments, they can be analyzed by the player's personal device.

[0031] With each new access identifier transmitted to the digital game application, the game database is completed. Ultimately, it becomes possible, thanks to the accumulation of game data, to assign a game behavior profile to the player. The gaming behavior profiles are here predetermined by the gaming operator, for example "occasional player" or "frequent player".

[0032] Tables 1 and 2, in the appendix, illustrate an example of data characteristic of the profile of a player and of a buyer, respectively. As illustrated, each operation (eg each participation in a game or each purchase) is identified and, for each operation, are stored information relating to the operation such as date, time, place, type of operation and amount. Of course, other information can be stored. Also, some of the information shown in Tables 1 and 2 can be ignored.

The means of communication between a personal device and an operator's server can be wired, wireless or partially wired and partially wireless, and can be based on standard communication protocols, for example the TCP/ IP (abbreviation for Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol in Anglo-Saxon terminology).

[0034] Figure 2 illustrates an example of a game medium, here a scratch game ticket front side when the masks have not been removed (a), back side (b) and front side when the masks have been removed (c). As illustrated, the ticket 200 here comprises a graphic reference 205 to the game for which the ticket was edited, here the "Fetish Number" game, a contextual element 210 corresponding here to the lucky number "1" as well as scratch zones, for example scratch areas 215-1 and 215-2. As indicated, scratching the masking area 215-2 voids the ticket. The back of the ticket includes for example an excerpt from the rules of the game as well as references, for example a ticket number 220, or validation code, and corresponding barcodes 225. As illustrated, the ticket here includes an identifier of access to an additional digital game, reference 230.

Figure 3 illustrates an example of steps implemented in a personal device according to a first embodiment of the invention, to collect information characterizing the behavior of a user. Such steps are for example implemented in an application offered by a gaming operator and installed on the personal device of a player.

As illustrated, a first step aims to obtain an access identifier for an additional digital game (step 300). This access identifier can be entered manually by the player on his personal device or can be obtained by reading, for example by scanning a barcode using a camera integrated into the personal device. This code can also be entered using a "copy - paste" type function if the ticket is an electronic ticket. An identifier of the personal device is preferably also obtained to associate game data with this device.

[0037] After having obtained this access identifier and, where applicable, an identifier of the personal device, the game database, here stored in the player's personal device, without this being limiting, could belong to another device, example a server of the game operator, is updated (step 305). This step can, for example, comprise the addition of a row in a table comprising the player's participation in games during a predetermined period, for example during the last 6 months. The information corresponding to this new operation is stored. They include, for example, game type, bet amount, location, date and time. They are preferably obtained automatically or partially automatically (in this case, only part of the information is entered by the player). This information is for example obtained using the modules of the personal device such as a clock module providing the date and time and a positioning module (capable of implementing a GPS receiver, acronym for Global Positioning System in Anglo-Saxon terminology).

In addition, after having obtained an access identifier, the latter is transmitted to a server of a game operator to participate in an additional digital game (not shown).

In response to the transmission of the access identifier, the player's personal device receives a game element such as a virtual card (step 310). The game element can be determined in different ways, for example randomly, or even according to a type of ticket, this type being able to be obtained, for example, from the access identifier received or by depending on the profile of the owner of the personal device.

This game element is then assigned to a family or collection (step 315). In one embodiment, when a family or a collection is complete, a player can apply to try to win a prize during a draw.

As illustrated, this step can be followed by a virtual card management phase (step 320) and, possibly, the draw phase mentioned in the previous paragraph (step 325). The virtual card management phase includes, for example, the display of virtual cards, preferably by family or collection, and offers the possibility of exchanging cards with other players, of betting cards in mini-games in an attempt to win new ones, create groups of players to try to collectively build complete families or collections, etc. Examples of such steps are described with reference to Figure 4. It is observed that steps 320 and 325 can be performed in reverse order, or in parallel. Of course, only one of steps 320 and 325 can be performed, or neither.

As illustrated with the arrows in dotted lines, steps 300 to 320 and/or 300 to 325 can be repeated. The game database can be transmitted to a server of the game operator to be analyzed and determine a player profile, as described with reference to steps 510 and 515 of Figure 5. This transmission and this analysis are made for example at regular time intervals, or when a defined number of access identifiers have been transmitted, or even at each update of the digital game application.

Figure 4 illustrates an example of steps implemented in a personal device to manage game elements such as virtual cards.

According to the example illustrated in FIG. 4, the choices offered to the player are organized by levels. Other arrangements are of course possible. A first level allows the user to display the virtual card or cards received (step 400), provided that at least one virtual card has been received, to create or manage one or more groups of players (step 420), to accept one or more missions (step 425), display one or more prizes associated with collections of virtual cards (step 430) or select one or more collections and apply to try to win an associated prize (step 435). Other actions may be offered to the player and/or some of the actions illustrated in Figure 4 may not be offered. As illustrated with the arrows in dotted lines, it is possible, at each level, to go back to the previous level to choose a new action. It may also be possible to go directly to the next level.

If the player chooses to display the virtual card or cards, the latter are displayed on a screen of the personal device, for example in the form of images. These virtual cards are preferably organized by collections. The player can change the display mode, for example to display them in the order obtained, in an alphabetical order, etc. A collection is, for example, a predefined set of virtual cards having particular values. The collection can be complete if the player has at least one virtual card of each value forming the collection or incomplete if at least one virtual card of a value forming the collection is missing. Some virtual cards can be duplicated, tripled, etc., if several cards of the same family have the same value. After the virtual cards have been displayed, the user can select one or more of them (step 405), for example those that he would have duplicates to exchange them for missing virtual cards in a collection in which he would have virtual cards. (step 410) or to put them into play (step 415), for example to try to win new ones. The user can also select cards that he wishes to obtain in order to allow another user to offer them to him (step 420). As described previously, a user can create and/or manage groups of players (step 425), for example to constitute collections in a community manner and, if necessary, share the batch or batches. An adapted interface makes it possible to create one or more groups, to invite other users, to accept or refuse that other users belong to one or more of these groups, to delete groups, etc. For these purposes, a game identifier, preferably associated with an avatar, is associated with personal devices wishing to join a group. This identifier is, for example, defined by the player himself, it is a pseudonym, or derived from the identifier of the personal device.

A player can take part in one or more specific missions (step 430), for example to try to win additional virtual cards. These missions can be managed by game operators and can for example consist of playing a particular game, at a predetermined time in a given place.

A player can request the display of prizes (step 435), for example prizes associated with the collections for which he has at least one virtual card, associated with all the collections or associated with the collections of which he has all the virtual cards.

[0050] Finally, the interface of the application for managing the virtual cards and accessing the digital game offers the possibility of selecting one or more complete collections and applying to try to win the associated prizes (step 440).

Of course, many other functions can be offered to the player on his personal device.

As described below with reference to Figure 5, a player's personal device may use game data associated with an access identifier (and at least implicitly with a personal device identifier) to update update a game database and allow a server of a game operator to analyze this game data to deduce the behavior of the player and, consequently, his profile. This gaming data can thus be used by the gaming operator to alert the player to a risk of addiction or inform him of opportunities. The game operator can also use this game data to gain better knowledge of its games and refine its development strategy.

According to the example illustrated, the steps 500 are implemented in a personal device of a player while the steps 505 are implemented in a server of a game operator. As illustrated, after having received an access identifier from a game medium, possibly an identifier of the personal device used to access the digital game, and, if applicable, additional information (step 300), data of games relating to the player (ie the owner of the personal device in question), are stored in a database (step 305). As previously described, the database may belong to the personal device or be a database belonging to the gaming operator. Here it is stored in the player's personal device. This step can, for example, comprise the addition of a line in a table comprising the player's participation in games during a predetermined period, for example during the last 6 months, and the storage of the corresponding information. These game data are for example a wager amount and a place as well as information obtained, preferably automatically, by the server of the game operator such as the date and time as well as a type of game, this the latter being obtainable, for example, from the access identifier received.

[0055] All of the game data included in the database is then transmitted punctually, possibly periodically, to a server, in particular to a server of the game operator, or in response to a request (step 510) .

In a next step, these game data are analyzed according to particular criteria, for example predetermined criteria linked to a frequency of play or to a frequency of play and amounts of bets. Tests are in particular carried out to determine a gaming behavior profile to be attributed to the player (step 515), for example an occasional player profile generally playing less than once a week or, on the contrary, a frequent player profile playing more 3 times a week. These profiles may have been previously determined by the gaming operator.

[0057] Optionally, information can be communicated to the player via the personal device (step 520). This indication can be, for example, a visual message to be displayed on a screen of the personal device, a voice message or an indication allowing the personal device to generate a corresponding message. The purpose of this message may be to suggest other games or to draw the attention of the owner of the personal device to a risk of addiction.

If the examples illustrated in Figures 3 to 5 relate to the field of games, it is observed that the determination of a profile of a user is not limited to this field and applies, for example, to a consumer purchasing goods and to whom would be given a ticket, for example a receipt, on which appears an access identifier enabling him to access a digital game.

Figure 6 illustrates an example of a device that can be used to implement, at least partially, embodiments of the invention, in particular the steps described with reference to Figures 3 to 5.

The device 600 is for example a smart phone, a tablet, a personal computer, a terminal or a server.

The device 600 preferably comprises a communication bus 602 to which are connected:

- A central processing unit or microprocessor 604 (CPU, acronym for Central Processing Unit in English terminology);

- a read only memory 606 (ROM, acronym for Read Only Memory in Anglo-Saxon terminology) which can include the operating system and programs such as "Prog";

- A random access memory or cache memory 608 (RAM, acronym for Random Access Memory in English terminology) comprising registers suitable for recording variables and parameters created and modified during the execution of the aforementioned programs; And

- a communication interface 626 connected to a distributed communication network 628, for example a wireless communication network and/or a local communication network, the interface being capable of transmitting and receiving data, in particular to and from a user's device.

[0062] Optionally, the device 600 can also have the following elements:

- a mass memory 620 such as a hard disk, which may include the aforementioned "Prog" programs and data processed or to be processed according to the invention;

- a keyboard 622 and a mouse 624 or any other pointing device such as a light pen, a touch screen or a remote control allowing the user to interact with the programs according to the invention;

- a reader 610 of removable storage medium 612 such as a memory card or a disc, for example a DVD disc; And

- a graphics card 614 connected to a screen 616.

The communication bus allows communication and interoperability between the different elements included in the device 600 or connected to it. The representation of the bus is not limiting and, in particular, the central unit is capable of communicating instructions to any element of the device 600 directly or via another element of the device 600.

The executable code of each program allowing the programmable device to implement the processes according to the invention can be stored, for example, in the hard disk 620 or in ROM 606.

According to a variant, the executable code of the programs can be received via the communication network 628, via the interface 626, to be stored in the same way as described above.

More generally, the program(s) can be loaded into one of the storage means of the device 600 before being executed.

The central unit 604 will control and direct the execution of the instructions or portions of software code of the program(s) according to the invention, instructions which are stored in the hard disk 620 or in the ROM 606 or else in the other aforementioned storage elements. When the power is turned on, the program or programs which are stored in a non-volatile memory, for example the hard disk 620 or the ROM 806, are transferred to the random access memory 808 which then contains the executable code of the program or programs according to the invention, as well as registers for storing the variables and parameters necessary for the implementation of the invention.

[0068] Depending on the chosen embodiment, certain acts, actions, events, or functions of each of the methods described herein may be performed or occur in a different order from that in which they were described, or may be added, merged or otherwise not made or not occurring, as the case may be. Further, in some embodiments, certain acts, actions or events are performed or occur concurrently and not sequentially.

[0069] Although described through a certain number of detailed exemplary embodiments, the proposed method and the equipment for the implementation of the method comprise various variants, modifications and improvements which will be obvious to those skilled in the art. art, it being understood that these various variants, modifications and improvements form part of the scope of the invention, as defined by the following claims. In addition, various aspects and features described above may be implemented together, or separately, or substituted for each other, and all of the various combinations and sub-combinations of aspects and features are within the scope of the 'invention. In addition, some may systems and equipment described above do not incorporate all of the modules and functions described for the preferred embodiments.

[0070] [Table 1]

[0071] [Table 2]

Claims

1. Method for establishing a behavior profile of a user provided with a personal device, the profile being relative to a set of actions, a medium being given to the user after he has performed an action of the set of actions, the method comprising,

- obtaining (300) an access identifier carried on a medium given to the user after he has performed an action of the set of actions, said access identifier being obtained using the device staff ;

- in response to obtaining said access identifier carried on the delivered medium, supply of an element of a digital game;

- storage (305) of said at least one characteristic obtained in connection with said personal device;

- analysis of the plurality of stored characteristics; And

- attribution (515) of a behavior profile to the user, according to the results of the analysis.

2. Method according to claim 1, further comprising obtaining (300) an identifier of said personal device, said at least one characteristic obtained being stored in connection with said identifier of said personal device.

3. Method according to claim 2, further comprising broadcasting (520) a message based on a result of said analysis.

4. Method according to claim 3, wherein said message is a message suggesting an action to be performed or a message to draw the attention of a user to a behavior related to actions performed.

A method according to any of claims 1 to 4, further comprising managing (320) received game elements.

6. Method according to claim 5, according to which the management of received game elements comprises the selection of at least one received game element and the transmission of a proposal for an exchange of said selected at least one received element.

A method according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein managing received game elements comprises selecting a set of received game elements and transmitting a request to participate in a game based on said set of game elements received.

8. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a game element received is a virtual card.

9. Method according to one of claims 1 to 8, according to which an action is a participation in a lottery or sports betting game, a medium is a ticket or a game receipt, and a characteristic linked to an action is a type of game, a date of entry into play, a place of entry into play and/or an amount bet.

10. Method according to one of claims 1 to 8, according to which an action is a purchase, a medium is a receipt, and a characteristic linked to an action is a type of purchase, a date of purchase, a place of purchase and/or a purchase amount.

11. Method according to one of claims 1 to 10, according to which the medium is in physical or electronic form.

12. Computer program comprising instructions for implementing each of the steps of the method according to one of claims 1 to 11, when this program is executed by a processor.

13. Device comprising a processing unit configured to execute each of the steps of the method according to one of claims 1 to 11.