Data
Data storage is frequently separated from applications and from presentation onto specialised ‘database’ (DBMS) servers, however, some application or processing may occur on database servers and some operators deploy data and applications on the same equipment. The deployment of databases is further complicated because server hardware and the disks that physically store the data may be separate devices. Dedicated (and expensive) data storage equipment is often used by larger operators for performance and management purposes. Operators normally have some form of back-up or archiving that keeps a copy of data that will be used in the event of loss of the main source of data, either directly or following restoration to the production system.
Customer details
Customer details include information about the customer, such as name, address, credit and debit cards and other payment-type information and account number(s). Customers may register their details whether they intend to gamble or not.
Customer account (wallet)
The customer account keeps track of the customer’s balance and the transactions into and out of the account. The balance is amended by other components following deposits/payments, withdrawals, gambling transactions, etc. The information stored may also include monies taken to and from other wallets and/or shadow wallets. The account will be linked in some form to customer’s gambling transaction records and may also be linked to external shadow wallets via a reference number or other identifier.
Shadow account (shadow wallet)
The shadow account or token/chip wallet is only relevant for integrated gambling systems where monies are moved from one product to another. Essentially the shadow account contains the customer's chip/token balance and a reference ID from the originating system.
Gambling transaction record (game/bet history)
This data store may be referred to as a virtual event log, game log, game history, bet log, bet record, or bet history. The gambling transaction record contains the details of the customer's gambling transactions such as selection, stake, odds, and bet type. The gambling transaction record also stores the result (win/loss) of the individual gambling transactions. Gambling transactions are linked to customer accounts, normally via the customer's account number so that account balances may be updated following settling processes. Summarised information about amounts staked, amounts credited as winnings and amounts taken as losses would also be classed as gambling transaction records.
Events and markets
Information about sporting or other 'real events, such as location, time and date, competitors, etc, for example, Arsenal (home) vs Man Utd (away), on the 5th June, at 3pm, are stored along with associated betting markets, (if they exist, eg win/lose/draw) and the current and previous odds (where they exist). This information is commonly received from external sources, such as the Press Association or Satellite Information Services in Britain, and is stored by other non-gambling organisations.
Virtual event state
Gambling systems may need to maintain a record of the event state in order to be able to recover interrupted gambling where, for example, a customer loses connectivity to the server part way through a multi-stage game.
Management and marketing information
Management information is non-production data, that is, data that is not intended to be used in 'live' systems in the provision of facilities for gambling. Management information is normally stored separately to be examined at a later point in time. Management information is used to explore trends, betting patterns, popularity of games or types of betting, successful promotions, etc. This may include data for marketing purposes or for the calculation of bonuses or incentives based on customer’s accumulated gambling activity.
External interfaces
Interfaces to external systems (often referred to as APIs or Application Programming Interfaces) could be deployed anywhere within the infrastructure, though larger operators will often have dedicated equipment. Interfaces support the exchange of information with other organisations or other systems. Gambling systems have a variable number of external interfaces depending on the size and scope of the operation. As noted earlier, many operators offer sportsbook and virtual events including ‘casinos’ and ‘poker rooms’ often hosted/managed on their behalf by third parties. To gamble using these systems the customer purchases chips/token; the Interfaces are used to exchange information about the value of these and minimal information about the customer's identity (often just a reference ID).
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Disaster recovery & backup data
Last updated: 17 March 2021
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