VLT Platform

First-class server-based platform that comprises two different systems both of which have a downloadable games capability: LYKOS and WINGS. The VLT Platform is designed to provide solutions to the different VLT regulations across the global market including:

• American Class II Bingo
• Electronic Instant Lottery
• Central Determination RNG
• AWP
• Skill/Stop Games Redemption Market
• American Class III
• Casino Interconnection
• RNG Gaming Machines

VLT Platform is a complete solution for the management of Central Based Systems that perform the main task of supervising and controlling games, characterized by a centralized administration, offering tools to provide transparency, downloading of games and full control of the entire operation of the system.

Functionality

List of Functions

The VLT platform comprises the following set of integrated functions:

• Central Determination
• Games management and operation
• Remote game downloading and control
• Centralized administration of financial transactions
• Tools for the full control of the system
• SDK (Software Development Kit) to allow third party games
• Smart Card and Cashless subsystem
• Security Management
• Jackpot Management
• Auditing
• Accounting
• Financial and Statistical Reports
• Help Desk
• Agency Accounting including EFT
• Invoicing system
• Remote Diagnostics

Main Functions Description

Central Determination Downloadable Server

VLT Platform is a server based system with centralized capabilities to manage from Electronic Instant Tickets to RNG functionally.

Ticket Series or casual numbers are randomly generated in the Central System and randomly distributed to Agency Servers. If required, prize determination can always be done at central server level.

VLT Platform is also a server based downloadable games system for any type of games or lottery.
Game terminal software is managed at the central server and downloaded to agency servers. Optionally even game terminal operating system can be upgraded from central system.

Remote Games Downloading and SDK

The platform provides a virtually unlimited range of games that can be downloaded from the central system. The inbuilt Software Development Kit (SDK) can be used by a third party game-developer.

Jackpot Management

Jackpot is considered the factor that increases revenues generated by VLT games.

VLT Platform offers different levels of Jackpots providing the possibility to customize distribution parameters definition. The system manages global Jackpots that are created by accumulating part of the sales and randomly assigned to an Agency, which grants the Jackpot to a random player of the VLT Kiosk.
The system also offers the option to manage alternative Jackpots (up to three), option that allows managing smaller jackpots.

SDK and Remote Games Downloading

VLT platform provides a virtually unlimited range of games, by implementing the built-in Software Development Kit (SDK) to build the necessary partnership alliances with third party game-developers.
LYKOS manages the games in its Central system, providing download capability to remotely update the kiosks content.

Network

Hierarchies

The VLT platform presents the classical approach of hierarchical network, with one central location and a variable number of remote sites (agencies) talking through a number of communication channels.

Most of the logic and resources are placed in the central location, leaving in the remote terminals the presentation logic and the minimum communication resources to communicate with the center. The agency server, located physically with the VLT kiosks, provides management and control in agencies, retailers and local game halls. The functions performed by the Agency server are:

• Sale and Activity reports
• Prize Payments
• Voucher Reprint
• Smart Card management

Components

Central System – This is the main component of the system. It performs the primary tasks of supervising and controlling games and also provides a wide range of administrative, commercial and marketing support tools including Games and prize plans configuration, Sales reports in real-time, Remote software download management, Instant monitoring of online/offline agencies, Regional Options configurations, among many others.
The central Systems provide transparency and a full control of the entire operation.

Communication network – The VLT platform has a hierarchical network, with a central location and a variable number of remote sites (agencies) communicating through a variety of channels. The communication network provides the transportation of data between the Central System and the retailers. The Central System communicates with the Agency Servers on a scheduled (non-continuous Batch mode) or non-scheduled (continuous Online mode) timeframe, while the Agency Server communicates with the Kiosks in a constant fashion (LAN connection).

Retailers/Agencies – The commercial retailers or agencies are the sites in which the VLTs/Lottery kiosks are located. The basic equipment for each site is composed by:

Agency server: It is a special console that manages the local operation of the commercial agency. It is composed by Software and Hardware that concentrates, controls, and manages the operation of VLTs/Kiosk Terminals. This console is only accessible by the Agency manager/operator and is not suitable for playing or selling instant games tickets.

The functions performed by the Agency server are:

• Sales and Activity reports,
• Prize Payments,
• Voucher Reprint,
• Smart Card management, etc

VLT/Lottery kiosk terminal: It is the end-user device, operated directly by the clients. It comprise a graphical touch-screen interface and accepts money bills or a Smart Card as payment method. VLT Platform allows up to 128 VLTs/Lottery kiosks terminals per Agency Server. Each kiosk is connected to the Agency server within the retail location.

The VLTs/Lottery kiosks terminals have Video Capability for Advertising and might also have an upper display management for Jackpot information.

System Design

Platform architecture

VLT platform architecture is a Full Three-tiered architecture, providing:

• Distributed processing to ensure Fault Tolerance
• Easy expandability
• Built-in Load Balancing
• Communications based on TCP/IP
• Central Database running on Unix Cluster for optimal performance (Windows is also available)
• Application servers running under Windows Server 2003

Scalability and Availability

The VLT platform is a fully scalable system. The Database Cluster is internally expandable, whilst the Transaction Managers are configured to work in parallel, enabling the system to grow as needed, by simply adding more TM servers.

The system is also a high availability system, which ensures transaction continuity by enabling one Transaction Manager (TM) to take over a failed TM´s transaction in a wholly automatic and transparent manner. In this way, no transaction is lost in the shuffle, and the system can deliver 100% uptime. The obvious benefits apart from scalability and availability are enhanced security and redundancy, should one of the server fails.

Security

• Full encryption of standalone data (3DES)
• Safe transmission of data (3DES) between center and agencies
• RSA encryption (1024 bits) used to transmit specially sensitive data

Advantages and Benefits

Reliability

• Architecture schema assures that no failure of a single point will incapacitate the entire Central System.
• The application as well as the cluster can guarantee reliability of service and transparency against service failure through built-in failover mechanisms.

High Availability

• Application and database implemented across a high availability schema.
• Services are duplicated across multiple servers.

Load Balancing and Failover

• Load balancing is done at all platform levels: between the clients and the front-ends (application servers) and between the front-ends and back-ends (database servers).

Scalability

• Cluster’s ability to add or remove servers without altering the basic application architecture allows the application to grow with the business while continuing to leverage the initial investment in the application’s design and development.
• Application architecture has the ability of adding or removing servers without the need of altering or modifying the application.

Fault Tolerance.

• Fault tolerance offered at many levels: ability of the system to respond gracefully to an unexpected hardware or software failure.

Open System Connectivity

• The system operates using a relational database manager system based in Oracle to storage the operation data on the central system. This conception allows widely data import/export to interface with other systems without imposing any special restriction.

Software updates without changing the OS

• The system offers the possibility to update software versions on any subsystem of the central system without changing the operating system. The modularity implemented in the system allows upgrading the software version of any subsystem without changing the others.

Software and Games downloads to Gaming Terminals

• The system is able to manage and perform software versions updates remotely with site systems and gaming terminals from the central system without having to perform any additional operation on the remote systems.

Flexibility and Modularity for expansion in Sites, Gaming Terminals and further applications

• The system was designed with a modular architecture having several subsystems, each of them with a specific objective; this modularity in subsystems makes easy using the applications and allows subsystem expansion on applications without affecting the whole system. New Site systems and Gaming terminals can be added into the system at any time without needing to stop operations or affect the others that already exist. The capability of expansion of the system was specifically designed to be applied while the system is in Operational mode.

Parameter driven

• The system was conceived to offer the possibility to modify all the operation parameters thru the different graphical interfaces provided in its GUI.