System and method for blockchain tokens for gaming

Abstract

A system and method for in-game tokens or specialized virtual currency which may be used for a variety of transactions, including within a plurality of games, yet for which transactions may be sufficiently controlled to avoid adverse real world effects. The system and method provide blockchain tokens for gaming, in which transactions related to such blockchain transactions are both controlled and flexible.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A server gateway for controlling transactions involving blockchain tokens, wherein the blockchain tokens are configured for use in transactions within a plurality of games from different approved game publishers and the transactions are based on transaction instructions received by the server gateway from user computational devices, the server gateway comprising a computer memory for storing computer program instructions and one or more physical processors for executing the computer program instructions, wherein the one or more physical processors are configured to:
 receive input from an authorized user to set account statuses for different accounts, including an approved service provider status for accounts associated with approved service providers and a game player status for accounts associated with game players; and   process the received transaction instructions to programmatically mediate transactions involving the blockchain tokens to: i) permit accounts with the game player status to conduct transactions to buy the blockchain tokens from the server gateway and spend or earn the blockchain tokens in the games, but prevent accounts with the game player status from conducting transactions to sell the blockchain tokens or send or receive tokens to or from other accounts with the game player status; and ii) permit accounts with the approved service provider status to conduct transactions to send and receive tokens to and from other accounts and exchange the blockchain tokens for a cryptocurrency and/or a fiat currency.   
     
     
         2 . The server gateway of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a server app interface for receiving the transaction instructions received by the server gateway from the user computational devices; and   a token engine configured to communicate with a game server associated with one of the games to enable a user to have a quantity of the blockchain tokens available for use in the game during gameplay, to enable the blockchain tokens to be read from or written to the game and to write blockchain token information of the blockchain tokens to and read the blockchain token information from a blockchain node.   
     
     
         3 . The server gateway of  claim 1 , further comprising a set of token rules corresponding to each of one or more of the games and wherein the one or more physical processors are configured to enforce the token rules during gameplay of the corresponding game. 
     
     
         4 . The server gateway of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to process the received transaction instructions to programmatically mediate transactions involving the blockchain tokens outside of a centralized exchange. 
     
     
         5 . The server gateway of  claim 1 , wherein the server gateway is further configured to monitor transactions, determine if a transaction involving the blockchain tokens is fraudulent and reverse the transaction if determined to be fraudulent. 
     
     
         6 . The server gateway of  claim 1 , wherein the server gateway further comprises a blockchain interface and the server gateway is configured to communicate with a blockchain bridge via the blockchain interface to enable the server gateway to interact indirectly with the blockchain bridge. 
     
     
         7 . The server gateway of  claim 6 , wherein the server gateway is further configured to communicate with one or more game servers. 
     
     
         8 . The server gateway of  claim 1 , wherein the server gateway is further configured to create a server gateway user account for an approved user, create a user wallet for the server gateway user account, store the user wallet online and associate the server gateway user account with a game account. 
     
     
         9 . The server gateway of  claim 8 , wherein the server gateway is further configured to automatically connect the user wallet to the game account when the approved user starts to play the game. 
     
     
         10 . A system for controlling transactions involving blockchain tokens, wherein the blockchain tokens are configured for use in transactions within a plurality of games from different approved game publishers and the transactions are based on transaction instructions received by a server gateway from user computational devices, the system comprising:
 the server gateway, comprising a computer memory for storing computer program instructions and one or more physical processors for executing the computer program instructions, wherein the one or more physical processors are configured to:   receive input from an authorized entity to set account statuses for different accounts, including an approved service provider status for accounts associated with approved service providers and a game player status for accounts associated with game players; and   process the received transaction instructions to programmatically mediate transactions involving the blockchain tokens to: i) permit accounts with the game player status to conduct transactions to buy the blockchain tokens from the server gateway and spend or earn the blockchain tokens in the games, but prevent accounts with the game player status from conducting transactions to sell the blockchain tokens or send or receive tokens to or from other accounts with the game player status; and ii) permit accounts with the approved service provider status to conduct transactions to send and receive tokens to and from other accounts and exchange the blockchain tokens for a cryptocurrency and/or a fiat currency; and   the user computational devices, programmed with computer instructions for receiving transaction instructions from a user app interface and for transmitting the received transaction instructions to the server gateway.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , the server gateway further comprising:
 a server app interface for receiving the transaction instructions received by the server gateway from the user computational devices; and   a token engine configured to communicate with a game server associated with one of the games to enable a user to have a quantity of the blockchain tokens available for use in the game during gameplay, to enable the blockchain tokens to be read from or written to the game and to write blockchain token information of the blockchain tokens to and read the blockchain token information from a blockchain node.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising a set of token rules corresponding to each of one or more of the games and wherein the one or more physical processors are configured to enforce the token rules during gameplay of the corresponding game. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the system further comprises:
 an input analyzer for receiving the transaction instructions from the server app interface;   a sidechain support engine configured to read the transaction instructions and decide whether a transaction corresponding to the transaction instructions should be written to a blockchain or a sidechain;   wherein transaction instructions for a permitted transaction are converted to a blockchain write function or a sidechain write function; and   wherein the token engine is further configured to communicate the blockchain write function or sidechain write function to a blockchain interface.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to process the received transaction instructions to programmatically mediate transactions involving the blockchain tokens outside of a centralized exchange. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the server gateway is further configured to determine if transactions involving the blockchain tokens are fraudulent and reverse transactions determined to be fraudulent. 
     
     
         16 . The server gateway of  claim 10 , wherein the server gateway further comprises a blockchain interface and the server gateway is configured to communicate with a blockchain bridge via the blockchain interface to enable the server gateway to interact indirectly with the blockchain bridge. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the server gateway is further configured to communicate with one or more game servers. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the server gateway is further configured to create a server gateway user account for an approved user, create a separate user wallet for the server gateway user account, store the user wallet online and associate the server gateway user account with a game account for a game. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the server gateway is further configured to automatically connect the user wallet to the game account when the approved user starts to play the game. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 13 , further comprising an output engine, and wherein the sidechain support engine is further configured to generate an output and provide the output to the output engine, and wherein the output engine is further configured to provide the output to a game server. 
     
     
         21 . A method for controlling transactions involving blockchain tokens, wherein the blockchain tokens are configured for use in transactions within a plurality of games from different approved game publishers and the transactions are based on transaction instructions received by a server gateway from user computational devices, the method comprising:
 operating a server gateway, comprising a computer memory for storing computer program instructions and one or more physical processors for executing the computer program instructions, wherein the one or more physical processors are operable to perform the steps of:   receiving input from an authorized entity to set account statuses for different accounts, including an approved service provider status for accounts associated with approved service providers and a game player status for accounts associated with game players; and   processing the received transaction instructions to programmatically mediate transactions involving the blockchain tokens to: i) permit accounts with the game player status to conduct transactions to buy the blockchain tokens from the server gateway and spend or earn the blockchain tokens in the games, but prevent accounts with the game player status from conducting transactions to sell the blockchain tokens or send or receive tokens to or from other accounts with the game player status; and ii) permit accounts with the approved service provider status to conduct transactions to send and receive tokens to and from other accounts and exchange the blockchain tokens for a cryptocurrency and/or a fiat currency.   
     
     
         22 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium for controlling transactions involving blockchain tokens, wherein the blockchain tokens are configured for use in transactions within a plurality of games from different approved game publishers and the transactions are based on transaction instructions received by a server gateway from user computational devices, the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon, that when executed on a processor, perform the steps of:
 operating a server gateway, comprising a computer memory for storing computer program instructions and one or more physical processors for executing the computer program instructions, wherein the one or more physical processors are operable to perform the steps of:   receiving input from an authorized entity to set account statuses for different accounts, including an approved service provider status for accounts associated with approved service providers and a game player status for accounts associated with game players; and   processing the received transaction instructions to programmatically mediate transactions involving the blockchain tokens to: i) permit accounts with the game player status to conduct transactions to buy the blockchain tokens from the server gateway and spend or earn the blockchain tokens in the games, but prevent accounts with the game player status from conducting transactions to sell the blockchain tokens or send or receive tokens to or from other accounts with the game player status; and ii) permit accounts with the approved service provider status to conduct transactions to send and receive tokens to and from other accounts and exchange the blockchain tokens for a cryptocurrency and/or a fiat currency.