U.S. patent application number 17/118118 was filed with the patent office on 2022-06-16 for mitigating line of credit risks of a gaming establishment credit system.
The applicant listed for this patent is IGT. Invention is credited to Kevin Higgins, Jeffery Shepherd.
Application Number | 20220188919 17/118118 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005323260 |
Filed Date | 2022-06-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20220188919 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Higgins; Kevin ; et
al. |
June 16, 2022 |
MITIGATING LINE OF CREDIT RISKS OF A GAMING ESTABLISHMENT CREDIT
SYSTEM
Abstract
A system that coordinates the issuance of a line of credit or
marker for a user based on financial information associated with
that user. Following a user, such as a player, applying for a line
of credit with a gaming establishment credit system and following
the user authorizing access to a financial institution account
maintained for the user by a financial institution, the system
operates with the financial institution to obtain financial
information associated with the financial account. The system
utilizes the obtained financial information to determine one or
more attributes of the applied for line of credit.
Inventors: |
Higgins; Kevin; (Reno,
NV) ; Shepherd; Jeffery; (Reno, NV) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
IGT |
Las Vegas |
NV |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000005323260 |
Appl. No.: |
17/118118 |
Filed: |
December 10, 2020 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 40/025 20130101;
G07F 17/3244 20130101; G07F 17/3237 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 40/02 20060101
G06Q040/02; G07F 17/32 20060101 G07F017/32 |
Claims
1. A system comprising: a processor; and a memory device that
stores a plurality of instructions that, when executed by the
processor responsive to a request to establish a gaming
establishment line of credit associated with a first amount of
funds, cause the processor to: receive financial information
associated with a financial account of a user maintained by a
financial institution independent of the processor, determine,
based on the received financial information, a parameter of the
gaming establishment line of credit, and responsive to a
determination of a first parameter of the gaming establishment line
of credit, enable an activation of the first amount of funds in
association with the gaming establishment line of credit.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein when executed by the processor
responsive to a determination of a second, different parameter of
the gaming establishment line of credit, the instructions cause the
processor to enable an activation of a second, different amount of
funds in association with the gaming establishment line of
credit.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein when executed by the processor
responsive to a determination of a second, different parameter of
the gaming establishment line of credit, the instructions cause the
processor to deny an establishment of the gaming establishment line
of credit.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the received financial
information comprises at least one of a balance of the financial
account, a credit to the financial account, a debit of the
financial account, a historical transaction of the financial
account, and any designated high risk transactions of the financial
account.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein when executed by the processor
after the determination of the first parameter of the gaming
establishment line of credit and responsive to receipt of updated
financial information associated with the financial account of the
user, the instructions cause the processor to modify the first
amount of funds in association with the gaming establishment line
of credit.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein the modification of the first
amount of funds comprises a reduction of the first amount of
funds.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein when executed by the processor
after the determination of the first parameter of the gaming
establishment line of credit and responsive to receipt of updated
financial information associated with the financial account of the
user, the instructions cause the processor to cancel the gaming
establishment line of credit.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the receipt of financial
information associated with the financial account of the user
occurs following a linkage of the financial account of the user
with a gaming establishment account maintained for the user.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the request to establish the
gaming establishment line of credit occurs in association with a
mobile device application being executed by a mobile device.
10. A system comprising: a processor; and a memory device that
stores a plurality of instructions that, when executed by the
processor responsive to a request to establish a gaming
establishment line of credit associated with a first amount of
funds, cause the processor to: receive financial information
associated with a financial account of a user maintained by a
financial institution independent of the processor, determine,
based on the received financial information, a parameter of the
gaming establishment line of credit, responsive to a determination
of a first parameter of the gaming establishment line of credit and
prior to any scheduling of any transfer of the first amount of
funds from the financial account of the user to any gaming
establishment account of the user, not establish the gaming
establishment line of credit, and responsive to the determination
of the first parameter of the gaming establishment line of credit
and following a scheduling of a transfer of the first amount of
funds from the financial account of the user to a gaming
establishment account of the user, enable an activation of the
first amount of funds in association with the gaming establishment
line of credit.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein when executed by the processor
responsive to a determination of a second, different parameter of
the gaming establishment line of credit and following a scheduling
of a transfer of a second, different amount of funds from the
financial account of the user to the gaming establishment account
of the user, the instructions cause the processor to enable an
activation of the second, different amount of funds in association
with the gaming establishment line of credit.
12. The system of claim 10, wherein when executed by the processor
responsive to a determination of a second, different parameter of
the gaming establishment line of credit, the instructions cause the
processor to deny an establishment of the gaming establishment line
of credit.
13. A method of operating a system, the method comprising:
responsive to a request to establish a gaming establishment line of
credit associated with a first amount of funds: receiving financial
information associated with a financial account of a user
maintained by a financial institution independent of the processor,
determining, by a processor and based on the received financial
information, a parameter of the gaming establishment line of
credit, and responsive to a determination of a first parameter of
the gaming establishment line of credit, enabling an activation of
the first amount of funds in association with the gaming
establishment line of credit.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising, responsive to a
determination of a second, different parameter of the gaming
establishment line of credit, enabling an activation of a second,
different amount of funds in association with the gaming
establishment line of credit.
15. The method of claim 13, further comprising, responsive to a
determination of a second, different parameter of the gaming
establishment line of credit, denying, by the processor, an
establishment of the gaming establishment line of credit.
16. The method of claim 13, wherein the received financial
information comprises at least one of a balance of the financial
account, a credit to the financial account, a debit of the
financial account, a historical transaction of the financial
account, and any designated high risk transactions of the financial
account.
17. The method of claim 13, further comprising, after the
determination of the first parameter of the gaming establishment
line of credit and responsive to receipt of updated financial
information associated with the financial account of the user,
modifying, by the processor, the first amount of funds in
association with the gaming establishment line of credit.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the modification of the first
amount of funds comprises a reduction of the first amount of
funds.
19. The method of claim 13, further comprising, after the
determination of the first parameter of the gaming establishment
line of credit and responsive to receipt of updated financial
information associated with the financial account of the user,
cancelling, by the processor, the gaming establishment line of
credit.
20. The method of claim 13, wherein the receipt of financial
information associated with the financial account of the user
occurs following a linkage of the financial account of the user
with a gaming establishment account maintained for the user.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] In various embodiments, the systems and methods of the
present disclosure employ user authorized third party data to
mitigate the risks involved with offering lines of credit to gaming
establishment patrons.
[0002] Electronic gaming machines and gaming tables may enable a
player to play a game wherein the player may be required to place a
wager.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0003] In certain embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a
system including a processor, and a memory device that stores a
plurality of instructions. When executed by the processor
responsive to a request to establish a gaming establishment line of
credit associated with a first amount of funds, the instructions
cause the processor to receive financial information associated
with a financial account of a user maintained by a financial
institution independent of the processor and determine, based on
the received financial information, a parameter of the gaming
establishment line of credit. When executed by the processor
responsive to a determination of a first parameter of the gaming
establishment line of credit, the instructions cause the processor
to enable an activation of the first amount of funds in association
with the gaming establishment line of credit.
[0004] In certain embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a
system including a processor, and a memory device that stores a
plurality of instructions. When executed by the processor
responsive to a request to establish a gaming establishment line of
credit associated with a first amount of funds, the instructions
cause the processor to receive financial information associated
with a financial account of a user maintained by a financial
institution independent of the processor, and determine, based on
the received financial information, a parameter of the gaming
establishment line of credit. When executed by the processor
responsive to a determination of a first parameter of the gaming
establishment line of credit and prior to any scheduling of any
transfer of the first amount of funds from the financial account of
the user to any gaming establishment account of the user, the
instructions cause the processor to not establish the gaming
establishment line of credit. When executed by the processor
responsive to the determination of the first parameter of the
gaming establishment line of credit and following a scheduling of a
transfer of the first amount of funds from the financial account of
the user to a gaming establishment account of the user, the
instructions cause the processor to enable an activation of the
first amount of funds in association with the gaming establishment
line of credit.
[0005] In certain embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a
method of operating a system, wherein responsive to a request to
establish a gaming establishment line of credit associated with a
first amount of funds, the method includes receiving financial
information associated with a financial account of a user
maintained by a financial institution independent of the processor,
and determining, by a processor and based on the received financial
information, a parameter of the gaming establishment line of
credit. Responsive to a determination of a first parameter of the
gaming establishment line of credit, the method includes enabling
an activation of the first amount of funds in association with the
gaming establishment line of credit.
[0006] Additional features are described herein, and will be
apparent from the following Detailed Description and the
figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is an example configuration of the architecture of a
plurality of different components of the system of the present
disclosure.
[0008] FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C are example graphical user interfaces
displayed in connection with a mobile device application and
pertaining to a player opening a line of credit based on banking
information associated with that user.
[0009] FIGS. 3A and 3B are flow charts of example processes for
operating a system which opens a line of credit based on banking
information obtained via an external funding system.
[0010] FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of one embodiment of an
electronic configuration of an example electronic gaming
machine.
[0011] FIGS. 5A and 5B are perspective views of example alternative
embodiments of an example electronic gaming machine.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0012] In various embodiments, the system of the present disclosure
mitigates the risks involved with offering lines of credit to
gaming establishment patrons.
[0013] In certain embodiments, the system utilizes one or more
interfaces, such as a mobile device application being executed by a
mobile device and/or a remote host controlled service window
displayed by a gaming device, to coordinate the issuance of a line
of credit or marker for a user based on financial information
associated with that user. In these embodiments, following a user,
such as a player, applying for a line of credit with a gaming
establishment credit system and following the user authorizing
access to a financial institution account maintained for the user
by a financial institution, the system operates with the financial
institution to obtain financial information associated with the
financial account. Such financial information includes, but is not
limited to, account balances, account credits, account debits,
historical transactions and/or designated high risk transactions
(e.g., late payment charges, overdraft charges). The system then
utilizes the obtained financial information to determine one or
more attributes of the applied for line of credit, such as
determining whether to approve the applied for line of credit
and/or determining an amount of credit to offer the user.
Accordingly, rather than offering a line of credit to a user
unaware of the user's financial situation outside the gaming
establishment, the system of the present disclosure utilizes
various financial information associated with the user (and
obtained from a third-party) to enable a relatively more informed
decision in offering lines of credit to users. That is, providing
gaming establishment credit systems information about one or more
financial accounts, such as bank accounts, a user has and the
current balances of such accounts aids the gaming establishment
credit system in offering the user an unsecured line of credit
(i.e., a line of credit not backed by any pending transaction or
collateral), thereby reducing the likelihood that such unsecured
debt is extended to an otherwise unqualified user. Such a
configuration thus reduces occurrences of fraud perpetrated on a
gaming establishment (e.g., when an individual commits a felony by
providing a check to a gaming establishment guaranteeing the amount
of the line of credit despite the checking account not having
adequate funds to cover the check) by enabling the gaming
establishment to confirm, prior to approving the line of credit,
that one or more accounts of the individual has adequate funds to
cover the amount borrowed under the line of credit.
[0014] It should be appreciated that obtaining financial
information directly from a user's financial institution and
analyzing the obtained financial information to determine one or
more parameters of any lines of credit overcomes certain recognized
problems with prior line of credit systems. For example, while
certain gaming establishments attempted to reduce the risk of loss
of fraud by performing a credit check on a player and then
leveraging that information to determine how much unsecured credit
to offer the player, such credit checks are problematic both for
the gaming establishment (e.g., if many players request lines of
credit for relatively small or medium amounts, the costs to perform
such credit checks can be prohibitive) and for the player (e.g., if
a player has triggered too many credit checks in a relatively short
timeframe, the accumulation of credit checks can damage the
player's credit, thereby discouraging players from visiting the
gaming establishment). Accordingly, the elimination of performing
credit checks on players prior to issuing any lines of credit not
only benefits the gaming establishment and player via elimination
of these recognized problems, but also results in a more secure
system by reducing the amount of data communicated to third party
credit reporting agencies, thereby minimizing the chances that such
data becomes compromised in any way.
[0015] Moreover, to account for gaming establishment patrons being
uncomfortable venturing into a gaming establishment with large
amounts of cash as well as many gaming establishment patrons being
relatively cash poor (e.g., patrons may have a relatively high net
worth but most of their net worth may be tied up in various
illiquid investments or assets which they are reluctant to sell to
raise cash for gambling), the system employs one or more credit
components of the system, such as a gaming establishment credit
system, to issue one or more lines of credit or markers (to draw
from in association with one or more of the accounts maintained by
one or more of the system components). Such a utilization of one or
more lines of credit or markers paired with an analysis of assets
maintained by a third party provides such relatively cash poor
gaming establishment patrons with the availability of an amount of
funds without exposing the gaming establishment credit system to
substantially increased risks of making such funds available.
[0016] In certain embodiments, in addition to utilizing financial
information associated with a financial account maintained for a
user to determine one or more attributes of an applied for line of
credit, the system secures the applied for line of credit with a
scheduled transfer of funds from one or more financial accounts
maintained for the user. In these embodiments, following a user
employing a mobile device application (or other suitable interface)
to authorize a scheduled transfer of funds from a financial
institution to cover the applied for line of credit, the gaming
establishment credit system issues the user a line of credit or
marker associated with the amount of funds of the authorized
scheduled transfer. Such a line of credit is backed by the transfer
(scheduled to occur when the line of credit becomes due) and thus
represents a relatively more secure transaction by the gaming
establishment than other unsecured lines of credit. That is, by
first obtaining financial information from a financial account
maintained for a user and then requiring that an applied for line
of credit be paired with a scheduled transfer of an amount of funds
from this financial account, the system of the present disclosure
reduces instances of unpaid for lines of credit by not only making
informed decisions regarding amounts of funds in one or more
financial accounts maintained for a user prior to extending any
credit to that user, but also by securing the amount of funds with
a scheduled transfer to pay off part or all of an activated line of
credit.
[0017] It should be appreciated that in addition to minimizing
certain risks associated with issuing players lines of credit, the
utilization of one or more lines of credit or markers expedites the
availability of an amount of funds without imposing higher fees
associated with certain types of fund transfers. Put differently,
rather than forcing a user to decide whether they want funds
transferred from a third party account relatively quickly (while
paying a relatively high fee) or relatively slowly (while avoiding
such a relatively high fee), using a line of credit associated with
a scheduled, but not yet completed, transfer of funds as front
money for user's transactions at a gaming establishment eliminates
or drastically lowers the fund transfer fees while also making
those funds immediately available to a user by integrating one or
more credit systems to issue the user a line of credit or marker
with the security of a scheduled transfer from a financial
institution account having a verified amount of funds available.
Additionally, such a configuration of employing financial
information associated with a user in enabling the user to access
funds from a line of credit from an interface remote from
presenting a physical check to gaming establishment personnel
reduces the use of paper ticket vouchers (which a gaming
establishment cage may issue against a line of credit for use at an
electronic gaming machine ("EGM") and/or a gaming table following
the presentation of a physical check) thereby reducing the amount
of waste produced by gaming establishments.
System Accounts
[0018] In various embodiments, the present disclosure is directed
to a gaming establishment fund management system including various
components or sub-systems that are each associated with or
otherwise maintain one or more electronic or virtual accounts. In
these embodiments, the various accounts maintained for a user
collectively form a resort or enterprise account (i.e., a gaming
establishment fund management account) for the user. That is, the
collection of cashless wagering accounts (e.g. cashless gaming
establishment wagering wallets, cashless sports wagering wallets
and/or cashless mobile wagering wallets) and gaming establishment
retail accounts (e.g., gaming establishment retail wallets)
associated with or otherwise maintained for a user, such as a
player and/or retail patron, collectively form a resort or
enterprise account (i.e., an integrated resort or gaming
establishment fund management wallet) that the user may access to
transfer funds and/or view balance information amongst the various
accounts associated with or otherwise maintained for the user.
[0019] In various embodiments, the gaming establishment fund
management system includes or is otherwise associated with one or
more cashless wagering systems. Each cashless wagering system is
associated with or otherwise maintain one or more cashless wagering
accounts. In certain embodiments, the gaming establishment fund
management system includes a first cashless wagering system that
maintains a first cashless wagering account. In these embodiments,
a user, such as a player of an EGM, utilizes a mobile device
application running on a mobile device and/or a physical instrument
(e.g., a smart card or a user issued magnetic striped card which
the user utilizes via inserting the card into a player tracking
unit associated with the EGM) to facilitate the electronic transfer
of any funds between this first cashless wagering account and a
gaming device, such as a component of a gaming table and/or an EGM
(including, but not limited to, a slot machine, a video poker
machine, a video lottery terminal, a terminal associated with an
electronic table game, a terminal associated with a live table
game, a video keno machine, a video bingo, and/or a sports betting
terminal (that offers wagering games and/or sports betting
opportunities)). For example, as seen in FIG. 1, the gaming
establishment fund management system includes a first cashless
wagering system (not shown) that maintains a cashless wagering
wallet 102 (e.g., a first cashless wagering account) which is in
communication with the resort wallet 104. In this example, to
facilitate the transfer of funds from this cashless wagering
account to a credit balance of an EGM 106 and/or a credit balance
of a gaming table component (not shown) associated with a gaming
table 108, the system utilizes a mobile device 110 running a mobile
device application that interfaces with one or more components of
the gaming establishment fund management system to enable a user,
such as a player of the EGM or a player at the gaming table, access
to this first cashless wagering account.
[0020] In certain embodiments, the gaming establishment fund
management system additionally or alternatively includes or is
otherwise associated with a second cashless wagering system that
maintains a second cashless wagering account. In these embodiments,
funds associated with the second cashless wagering account are
utilized to place one or more sporting event wagers and/or wagers
placed remote from an EGM and a gaming table. In such embodiments,
a user utilizes a mobile device application running on a mobile
device and/or a physical instrument (e.g., a smart card or a user
issued magnetic striped card which the user utilizes via inserting
the card into a kiosk) to facilitate the electronic transfer of any
funds between this second cashless wagering account and a credit
balance accessible to wager on sporting events and/or games of
chance (or games of skill) remote from an EGM and a gaming table.
For example, as seen in FIG. 1, the gaming establishment fund
management system includes a second cashless wagering system (not
shown) that maintains a sports wagering wallet 112 (e.g., a second
cashless wagering account) which is in communication with the
resort wallet 104. In this example, to facilitate the transfer of
funds from this cashless wagering account to a credit balance
associated with a sporting event wagering system (not shown) and/or
a remote wagering system (not shown) to enable the placement of one
or more wagers on one or more sporting events and/or one or more
games of chance (or games of skill), the system utilizes a mobile
device 110 running a mobile device application that interfaces with
one or more components of the gaming establishment fund management
system to enable a user, such as a user remote from the gaming
establishment, access to this second cashless wagering account.
[0021] In various embodiments, in addition to or an alternative of
maintaining one or more cashless wagering accounts via one or more
cashless wagering systems, the gaming establishment fund management
system includes or is otherwise associated with one or more gaming
establishment retail wallet systems that each maintain one or more
gaming establishment retail accounts. Such a gaming establishment
retail account (e.g., a gaming establishment retail wallet) of a
gaming establishment retail wallet system integrates with various
retail point-of-sale systems throughout the gaming establishment
(or located remote from the gaming establishment, but otherwise
associated with the gaming establishment) to enable users to
purchase goods and/or services via the user's gaming establishment
retail account. For example, as seen in FIG. 1, the gaming
establishment fund management system includes a gaming
establishment retail wallet system (not shown) that maintains a
retail wallet 114 (e.g., a gaming establishment retail account)
which is in communication with the resort wallet 104. In this
example, to facilitate the transfer of funds from this gaming
establishment retail account to an account associated with a
retailer to purchase goods and/or services from the retailer, the
system utilizes a retail wallet identity, such as a mobile device
110 running a mobile device application that interfaces with a
point-of-sale terminal 116 of a retail point-of-sale system 118 of
the retailer, and one or more components of the gaming
establishment fund management system to enable a user access to
this gaming establishment retail account. In other embodiments, the
gaming establishment fund management system does not maintain a
separate gaming establishment retail account, but rather utilizes
the gaming establishment retail wallet system as a transaction
coordinator to account for any transactions to purchase goods
and/or services from a retailer.
[0022] It should be appreciated that in various embodiments, a
gaming establishment retail account is a retail account associated
with a user having a balance or a pre-paid access account which,
per current regulations from the U.S. Treasury Department Financial
Crimes Enforcement Network ("FinCEN"), cannot be convertible to
cash and can only be used for the purchase of goods and/or
services. In these embodiments, such a gaming establishment retail
account integrates with various retail point-of-sale systems of
various retail establishments throughout or otherwise associated
with a gaming establishment to enable users to purchase goods
and/or services via the user's gaming establishment retail account.
Accordingly, in certain embodiments, based on one or more
jurisdictional regulations, an amount of funds deposited in a
gaming establishment retail account may be used with various retail
point-of-sale systems throughout the gaming establishment (or
remote from, but otherwise associated with the gaming
establishment) to enable users to purchase goods and/or services,
but such funds deposited in the gaming establishment retail account
cannot be converted to cash or check. In certain other embodiments,
based on one or more different jurisdictional regulations, an
amount of funds deposited in a gaming establishment retail account,
such as an account associated with an identified user, may be used
with various retail point-of-sale systems throughout the gaming
establishment (or remote from, but otherwise associated with the
gaming establishment) to enable users to purchase goods and/or
services wherein such funds deposited in the gaming establishment
retail account may be converted to or otherwise redeemable for cash
or check.
[0023] In certain embodiments, the gaming establishment fund
management system is in communication with one or more external
funding sources which maintain one or more external accounts for
the user. For example, as seen in FIG. 1, the gaming establishment
fund management system that maintains the resort wallet 104 is in
communication with an external funding system 120 which is in
communication with a network of one or more banks or other
financial institutions (i.e., the banking networks 122) which
operate to electronically transfer funds from the user's accounts
maintained at such banks or financial institutions to one or more
of the accounts maintained by the gaming establishment fund
management system and/or provide financial information associated
with the user's accounts maintained at such banks or financial
institutions. In certain embodiments, such external accounts
include, but are not limited to, one or more checking accounts
maintained by one or more financial institutions (e.g., one or more
banks and/or credit unions), one or more savings accounts
maintained by one or more financial institutions, one or more
financial institution accounts, such as a brokerage account,
maintained by one or more financial institutions, one or more
credit card accounts maintained by one or more financial
institutions, one or more debit card accounts maintained by one or
more financial institutions, and/or one or more third-party
maintained accounts (e.g., one or more PayPal.RTM. accounts or
Venmo.RTM. accounts). It should be appreciated that while
illustrated as the gaming establishment fund management system
being in communication with one or more external funding sources,
in different embodiments, any component or sub-system of the
present disclosure can be in communication with one or more
external funding sources. In different embodiments, the system
utilizes a mobile device running a mobile device application, a
kiosk, a gaming device, a remote host controlled service window
displayed by a gaming device, a component of a gaming establishment
patron management system, such as a player tracking unit, and/or a
gaming establishment interface to facilitate the transfer of funds
from an external account and/or facilitate the transfer of
financial information associated with such external accounts.
[0024] In certain embodiments, the gaming establishment fund
management system is in communication with one or more credit
systems which each issue the user one or more lines of credit or
markers. For example, as seen in FIG. 1, the gaming establishment
fund management system that maintains the resort wallet 104 is in
communication with a gaming establishment credit system (i.e., the
casino credit system 124) to facilitate the establishment of an
amount of funds in the gaming establishment fund management account
via one or more lines of credits. In this example and as described
below, to facilitate a transfer of funds from the line of credit
issued by the credit system to a cashless wagering account (and
then to a credit balance of an EGM 106 and/or a credit balance of a
gaming table component (not shown) associated with a gaming table
108), the system utilizes a mobile device 110 running a mobile
device application that interfaces with one or more components of
the credit system to enable a user, such as a player of the EGM or
a player at the gaming table, to apply for a line of credit, grant
permission to review financial information associated with the user
and/or access an amount of funds associated with an issued line of
credit. It should be appreciated that while illustrated as the
gaming establishment fund management system being in communication
with one or more credit systems, in different embodiments, any
component or sub-system of the present disclosure can be in
communication with one or more credit systems.
[0025] In certain embodiments wherein the gaming establishment fund
management system is in communication with one or more credit
systems which each issue the user one or more lines of credit or
markers, the gaming establishment fund management system (and/or
the gaming establishment credit system) maintains an outstanding
line of credit balance or account which tracks the amount of funds
owed to the gaming establishment credit system. In these
embodiments, the gaming establishment fund management system
maintains this outstanding line of credit balance or account to
enable greater user flexibility in how they use the activated funds
from a line of credit (when compared to a system that automatically
pays back part or all of the funds from an activated line of credit
with each cash out from each EGM). In such embodiments, since the
activated line of credit need not be repaid with each cash out from
each EGM (and thus remains outstanding until paid back upon an
occurrence of a line of credit repayment event, such as when a
scheduled transfer of funds from an external account is completed),
the user can transition from one EGM to another EGM (or other
gaming device) with complete access to the available amount of
funds of the activated line of credit. That is, since the funds
from a credit balance of an EGM are transferred to a gaming
establishment account, such as a cashless wagering account, upon a
cash out event at the EGM, such funds remain available for
immediate use at another EGM (or another gaming device) without
requiring the user to reactivate any lines of credit with any
gaming establishment credit systems. Such a configuration provides
a user greater control over the funds owed to the gaming
establishment credit system under the activated line of credit.
[0026] In certain embodiments (not shown), the gaming establishment
fund management system is also in communication with one or more
credit reporting/credit risk systems which monitor and report on
various accounts associated with the user. For example, the gaming
establishment fund management system that maintains the resort
wallet is in communication with one or more credit reporting and
risk systems. These credit reporting and risk systems monitor and
report on a credit rating and status of one or more accounts
maintained for the user at various funding sources, such as various
financial institutions. It should be appreciated that while
illustrated as the gaming establishment fund management system
being in communication with one or more credit reporting networks
and one or more credit reporting/credit risk systems, in different
embodiments, any component or sub-system of the present disclosure
can be in communication with one or more credit reporting/credit
risk systems.
[0027] In certain embodiments, the system utilizes one mobile
device application to interact with the different components of the
gaming establishment fund management system to access funds
maintained in the different gaming establishment accounts
associated with the user, apply for one or more lines of credit
and/or to access funds associated with one or more lines of credit
or markers issued to the user. For example, utilizing the same
mobile application, a mobile device interacts with both the first
cashless wagering system of the gaming establishment fund
management system and the credit system in communication with the
gaming establishment fund management system. In certain
embodiments, the system utilizes multiple mobile device
applications to interact with the different components of the
gaming establishment fund management system to access funds
maintained in the different gaming establishment accounts
associated with the user, apply for one or more lines of credit
and/or to access funds associated with one or more lines of credit
or markers issued to the user. In certain of these embodiments, the
mobile device applications include a location based digital wallet
enabled application, such as a Passbook-enabled or Wallet-enabled
application, which is accessible when the user enters a gaming
establishment. In certain of such embodiments, the mobile device
applications are downloaded to the mobile device from an
application store. In certain of such embodiments, the mobile
device applications are downloaded to the mobile device from one or
more websites affiliated with the gaming establishment (which are
accessible directly by the user and/or by a link opened when the
user scans a QR code).
[0028] It should be appreciated that in different embodiments, in
addition to or alternatively from utilizing a mobile device running
a mobile device application to access funds associated with
different gaming establishment accounts, apply for one or more
lines of credit and/or to access funds associated with one or more
lines of credit issued to the user, the system utilizes a kiosk, an
EGM, a remote host controlled service window displayed by an EGM, a
display device/input device associated with a seat-level gaming
table component, a display device/input device associated with a
table-level gaming table component, a display device/input device
associated with a mobile gaming table component, a component of a
gaming establishment patron management system, such as a player
tracking unit, and/or a gaming establishment interface, such as a
casino desk, to access the funds associated with such gaming
establishment accounts, apply for one or more lines of credit
and/or to access funds associated with one or more lines of credit
issued to the user. It should be further appreciated that while
illustrated in FIG. 1 as using a mobile device running a mobile
device application to access funds associated with different gaming
establishment accounts (e.g., a cashless wagering account and a
gaming establishment retail account), apply for one or more lines
of credit and/or to access funds associated with one or more lines
of credit issued to the user, a physical instrument, such as a
smart card or a user issued magnetic striped card may additionally
or alternatively be utilized to enable a user access to such gaming
establishment accounts, apply for one or more lines of credit
and/or to access funds associated with one or more lines of credit
issued to the user.
Issuing a Line of Credit
[0029] In various embodiments, prior to activating any funds
associated with an issued line of credit, a user, such as a player,
must first open a line of credit or marker with the gaming
establishment credit system. In these embodiments, utilizing an
interface, such as a mobile device application being executed by a
mobile device, a mobile website accessed from a browser of a mobile
device and/or a remote host controlled service window displayed by
EGM (or other gaming device), the user applies for a line of credit
through one or more interactive forms. For example, as part of
applying for a line of credit with a gaming establishment credit
system, a user (whom has already logged into one or more gaming
establishment fund management system accounts via a mobile device
application) makes one or more inputs via the mobile device
application to provide certain information, such as, but not
limited to, additional address details, a social security number
and/or a mother's maiden name.
[0030] Following the providing of such information, the system
prompts the user to associate one or more gaming establishment fund
management system accounts maintained for that user with one or
more external accounts maintained for that user by a third party,
such as one or more financial institution accounts maintained by
one or more financial institutions for the user. In addition to
associating one or more gaming establishment fund management system
accounts with one or more external accounts, the system prompts the
user to log into such external accounts and provide access to the
gaming establishment credit system to view information associated
with such external accounts. Such information includes any
financial information (e.g., account names, account numbers,
account balances, account credits, account debits, historical
transactions and/or designated high risk transactions, such as late
payment charges, and/or overdraft charges) or non-financial
information that will assist the gaming establishment credit system
in determining whether to approve the applied for line of credit
and/or determining one or more parameters of the applied for line
of credit. For example, as seen in FIG. 2A, a mobile device
application 220 of a mobile device 210 displays a message 230a to a
player that they have applied for a line of credit of $10,000 (or a
line of credit for a gaming establishment credit system determined
amount) and now need to select a bank to associate with the applied
for line of credit and log into their bank account and approve the
release of their bank account information.
[0031] In certain embodiments, once the user grants access to the
gaming establishment credit system to retrieve information
associated with one or more external accounts, one or more
components of the gaming establishment fund management system, such
as the external funding system and/or the gaming establishment
credit system operates with one or more servers of the financial
institution that maintains the external account to gather
information associated with such external accounts. For example, a
mobile device application of a mobile device operates with the
external funding system (which communicates, via one or more
banking networks, with a financial institution) to obtain
information regarding deposits and withdrawals for a linked
financial account maintained by the financial institution. In
certain embodiments, once the user grants access to the gaming
establishment credit system to retrieve information associated with
one or more external accounts, the gaming establishment credit
system leverages one or more application programming interfaces,
such as Plaid Auth, Plaid Balance and/or Plaid Transactions, to
gather information associated with one or more external
accounts.
[0032] In certain embodiments, in addition to granting access to
the gaming establishment credit system to retrieve information
associated with one or more external accounts to aid the gaming
establishment credit system in approving an applied for line of
credit, the system enables the user to designate such external
accounts as the source of paying off the line of credit (if the
line of credit is approved) when the line of credit is due. It
should be appreciated that unlike certain embodiments wherein in
applying for the line of credit, the user schedules a transfer of
funds from an external account to pay off the line of credit at a
future point in time, these embodiments involve one or more user
actions, such as one or more inputs made via the mobile device
application or gaming establishment website, to trigger or
otherwise schedule the paying off of the line of credit (including
any fees, such as any late fees, any interest payment fees, any
daily or periodic fees accrued, and/or any penalties) independent
of the opening of the line of credit.
[0033] In various embodiments, following the user applying for a
line of credit with a gaming establishment credit system and
following the gaming establishment credit system (and/or other
component of the gaming establishment fund management system)
obtaining access to information from one or more financial
institution accounts maintained for the user by one or more
financial institutions, the system utilizes the obtained financial
information to determine one or more attributes of the applied for
line of credit, such as determining whether to approve the applied
for line of credit and/or determining an amount of credit to offer
the user. In certain embodiments, the gaming establishment credit
system leverages the obtained financial information to determine
the user's current assets and liabilities for the particular bank
account the user linked to the gaming establishment fund management
system.
[0034] If the system determines, based on inspecting the obtained
financial information, that the user is ineligible to be issued a
line of credit from the gaming establishment credit system, the
system denies the user the use of the requested amount of funds.
That is, upon a line of credit disapproval event (which occurs,
based at least in part on financial information obtained from a
linked financial account), the system does not enable the user to
utilize the requested amount of funds of the applied for line of
credit. In these embodiments, the system proceeds with
communicating a denial of a line of credit message to the user,
such as via a mobile device application displaying a line of credit
or marker denial to the user.
[0035] On the other hand, if the system determines, based on
inspecting the obtained financial information, that the user is
eligible to be issued a line of credit from the gaming
establishment credit system, the system approves an amount of funds
available to the user in association with the issued line of
credit. That is, upon a credit approval event (which occurs, based
at least in part on financial information obtained from a linked
financial account), the system enables the user to utilize the
requested amount of funds associated with the applied for line of
credit. For example, as seen in FIG. 2B, following the gaming
establishment credit system determining, based on bank account
information retrieved from a player's bank, that the player's
application for a $10,000 line of credit is approved, a mobile
device application 220 of a mobile device 210 displays a message
230b to the player that, following the review of the released bank
account information, the applied for line of credit of $10,000
application is accepted and the player now has access to up to
$10,000 to activate on the approved line of credit.
[0036] Accordingly, rather than offering a line of credit to a user
unaware of the user's financial situation outside the gaming
establishment, the system of the present disclosure utilizes
various financial information associated with the user (and
obtained from a third-party) to enable a relatively more informed
decision in offering lines of credit to users. That is, providing
gaming establishment credit systems information about one or more
financial accounts, such as bank accounts, a user has and the
current balances of such accounts aids the gaming establishment
credit system in offering the user a line of credit, thereby
reducing the likelihood that a line of credit is extended to an
otherwise unqualified user whom poses a relatively high risk of not
paying back the funds activated from the line of credit.
Accordingly, as seen in the example of FIG. 3A, a plurality of
different components of the system of the present disclosure (i.e.,
a mobile device application being executed by a player's mobile
device, a casino credit system, an external funding system and a
bank) interact with each other, including communicating data
(including, but not limited to, line of credit application data,
bank account data, and line of credit offer data) and validation
tokens, to open a line of credit with the casino credit system
after the system analyses bank account information provided by the
bank to determine the creditworthiness of the user.
[0037] In certain embodiments, in determining, based on the
obtained financial information, one or more attributes of a line of
credit to offer to a user, the system accounts for both assets and
liabilities in determining the terms to offer the user under a
proposed line of credit. For example, the system employs a
designated ratio, such as 10%, applied to the user's determined
assets minus determined liabilities (i.e., the user's net worth
based on the provided financial information) to determine one or
more aspects of a line of credit offered to the user. In certain
such embodiments, the system employs a universal designated ratio
for different users each having a different net worth. In other
such embodiments, the system employs different designated ratios
for different users each having a different net worth. For example,
if the system determines, based on the provided financial
information, that a first user has net worth of less than $5000,
the system employs a designated ratio of 0% of assets minus
liabilities and thus determines that no gaming establishment credit
will be offered to the user. In this example, if the system
determines, based on the provided financial information, that a
second user has net worth of more than $5000, but less than
$10,000, the system employs a designated ratio of 10% of assets
minus liabilities in determining an amount of gaming establishment
credit to offer the user. In this example, if the system
determines, based on the provided financial information, that a
third user has net worth of more than $10,000, but less than
$50,000, the system employs a designated ratio of 20% of assets
minus liabilities in determining an amount of gaming establishment
credit to offer the user.
[0038] In certain embodiments, in addition to or alternative from
employing a user's net worth (as determined based on the provided
financial information) in determining one or more attributes of the
applied for line of credit, to further reduce any credit risk in
issuing any lines of credit, the system employs one or more
validation or security checks on the provided financial information
in determining one or more attributes of the applied for line of
credit. In one such embodiment, the gaming establishment credit
system inspects the historical transactions that have been obtained
for one or more associated financial accounts to determine if any
transactions indicate any risky activity on part of the user. For
example, in determining one or more attributes of the applied for
line of credit, the gaming establishment credit system accounts for
the presence or absence of any overdraft charges, the presence or
absence of any late payment fees charged or paid, the presence or
absence of any bounced check transactions and/or any information
related to any failed transactions that may have occurred (e.g., a
failed automated clearing house ("ACH") transaction. It should be
appreciated that such validation or security checks are performed
prior to and/or after the user's creditworthiness has been
determined based on the current outstanding account balances as
provided. It should be further appreciated that the system
leverages the information obtained via these validation or security
checks to reduce or eliminate the amount of credit to offer to the
user. For example, if the gaming establishment credit system
determines the presence of any risky activities, such as the
presence of one or more overdraft charges associated with the
financial account linked to the gaming establishment fund
management system, the gaming establishment credit system
determines to deny the applied for line of credit (e.g., the gaming
establishment credit system employs a designated ratio of 0% of
assets minus liabilities and thus determines that no gaming
establishment credit will be offered to the user).
[0039] In certain embodiments, the system additionally or
alternatively analyses data from other data sources in determining
one or more attributes of the applied for line of credit. For
example, the gaming establishment credit system operates with a
gaming establishment credit reporting/credit risk systems in
determining one or more attributes of the applied for line of
credit. In another example, the gaming establishment credit system
accounts for historical information pertaining to the user, such as
the user's historic information regarding paying off outstanding
lines of credit, in determining one or more attributes of the
applied for line of credit. It should be appreciated that the
system leverages the information obtained from these data sources
to modify the amount of credit to offer to the user. For example,
if the gaming establishment credit system determines that the user
has a history of successfully paying off past lines of credit from
the gaming establishment, the gaming establishment credit system
determines to increase the amount of the applied for line of credit
(e.g., the gaming establishment credit system employs a designated
ratio of 110% of assets minus liabilities and thus increases the
amount of gaming establishment credit to be offered to the
user).
[0040] In certain embodiments, the determination of one or more
attributes of the applied for line of credit, such as the
determination of whether to approve the applied for line of credit
and/or the determination of an amount of credit to offer the user
is additionally based on one or more attributes or characteristics
of the user, such as a player ranking status of the user in a
gaming establishment player tracking system. In certain
embodiments, the determination of one or more attributes of the
applied for line of credit, such as the determination of whether to
approve the applied for line of credit and/or the determination of
an amount of credit to offer the user is additionally based on any
outstanding lines of credits (for any pending transfers) for the
user. In certain embodiments, the determination of one or more
attributes of the applied for line of credit, such as the
determination of whether to approve the applied for line of credit
and/or the determination of an amount of credit to offer the user
is additionally based on an amount of the requested funds by the
user (or an amount of requested funds for multiple users).
[0041] In certain embodiments, the system additionally or
alternatively monitors activity in the linked external accounts to
determine whether any modification of an issued line of credit is
warranted to limit risk to the gaming establishment credit system.
In one such embodiment, the gaming establishment credit system
triggers additional balance requests to the user's linked accounts
over the period when the line of credit is available to the user
and takes action if the balances in the user's linked accounts
change drastically or otherwise threaten the user's ability to pay
back the issued line of credit. In another such embodiment, the
gaming establishment credit system periodically requests additional
transaction history for the user's linked accounts and takes action
if any designated high risk transactions (e.g., overdraft fees,
late payment fees) are detected that may threaten the user's
ability to pay back the issued line of credit.
[0042] In certain embodiments, if the gaming establishment credit
system determines that one or more designated changes have occurred
in the balances of the user's linked accounts and/or one or more
designated high risk transactions are detected, then the gaming
establishment credit system prevents the user from further
activation of funds in the issued line of credit. For example, upon
receiving financial information from a player's linked bank account
indicating that the balance of the player's linked bank account has
been reduced by a certain percentage and/or below a minimum amount,
then the gaming establishment credit system prevents the player
from further activation of funds in the issued line of credit.
[0043] In certain other embodiments, if the gaming establishment
credit system determines that one or more designated changes have
occurred in the balances of the user's linked accounts and/or one
or more designated high risk transactions are detected, the gaming
establishment credit system places a block on the user's access to
one or more gaming establishment fund management system accounts,
such as the user's cashless wagering account, thereby prohibiting
the user from performing any further transactions with the funds
they have in such gaming establishment fund management system
accounts. For example, upon detecting that a player has bounced
multiple checks in their checking account after the approval of the
line of credit, the gaming establishment credit system prevents the
player from accessing the funds in their cashless wagering account
until the activated amount of the issued line of credit is paid
back. In another example, upon detecting that the funds in a
player's checking account are otherwise put on hold by the player's
bank for suspicious activities, the gaming establishment credit
system automatically initiates a paying back of the activated
amount of the issued line of credit with the funds in the player's
cashless wagering account.
[0044] In various embodiments, in addition to utilizing financial
information associated with a financial account maintained for a
user to determine one or more attributes of an applied for line of
credit, the system secures the applied for line of credit with a
scheduled transfer of funds from one or more financial accounts
maintained for the user. That is, unlike the systems of certain
embodiments which utilize provided financial information to make
one or more informed decisions in issuing the user an unsecured
line of credit (i.e., a line of credit in the form of unsecured
debit not backed by any pending transaction or collateral), the
systems of these embodiment not only utilize provided financial
information to make one or more informed decisions regarding
issuing a line of credit, but additionally employs a scheduled
transfer of funds in association with the issued line of credit
thereby securing the line of credit against any potential defaults
or non-payment events. In such embodiments, the scheduled transfer
of funds operates to cover the applied for line of credit (plus any
applicable fees, such as any late fees, any interest payment fees,
any daily or periodic fees accrued, and/or any penalties) and
reduce risks inherent with offering debt to gaming establishment
patrons. In other words, the line of credit of these embodiments is
backed by the transfer (scheduled to occur when the line of credit
becomes due) and thus represents a relatively more secure
transaction by the gaming establishment than other unsecured lines
of credit. Accordingly, by first obtaining financial information
from a financial account maintained for a user and then requiring
that an applied for line of credit be paired with a scheduled
transfer of an amount of funds from this financial account, the
system of the present disclosure reduces instances of unpaid for
lines of credit by not only making informed decisions regarding
amounts of funds in one or more financial accounts maintained for a
user prior to extending any credit to that user, but also by
securing the amount of funds with a scheduled transfer to pay off
part or all of an activated line of credit.
[0045] In certain embodiments, in recognition that existing forms
of opening secured lines of credit (via a user writing a check to a
gaming establishment to secure the line of credit with the
understanding that the gaming establishment will only cash the
check if the user does not pay off the line of credit by the time
the amount of funds owed on the line of credit is due to be paid
back) are not readily accessible due to the lack of use of checks,
the system of these embodiments secure a line of credit with an
electronically scheduled transfer of funds to the gaming
establishment credit system to pay off the balance due on a line of
credit issued to the user. In these embodiments, after, as
described above, (i) the user requests a line of credit, and
associates one or more of their gaming establishment fund
management system accounts with one or more funding institutions,
and (ii) the gaming establishment credit system inspects the
associated accounts and determines an amount of credit to offer to
the user, the gaming establishment credit system will then require
the user to schedule an electronic transfer of funds from one or
more associated bank accounts to the gaming establishment credit
system to pay off the offered line of credit when the line of
credit is due (e.g., seven days from approval of the line of
credit). For example, as seen in FIG. 2C, following the gaming
establishment credit system reviewing financial information
associated with a linked bank account and otherwise determining
that a player is creditworthy for a secured line of credit, a
mobile device application 220 of a mobile device 210 displays a
message 230c to the player that prior to approving the player's
application for a $10,000 line of credit, the player needs to
schedule a transfer from the linked bank account to be completed
when the line of credit is due.
[0046] Following the user authorizing the scheduling of the
transfer to secure the line of credit, the gaming establishment
credit system operates with the external funding system (or other
component of the gaming establishment fund management system) to
schedule a transfer, such as an ACH transfer, a wire transfer or a
debit card transfer, from the user's bank account (or set of bank
accounts) to a gaming establishment bank account (or set of bank
accounts) when the user's line of credit is due. Accordingly, as
seen in the example of FIG. 3B, a plurality of different components
of the system of the present disclosure (i.e., a mobile device
application being executed by a player's mobile device, a casino
credit system, an external funding system and a bank) interact with
each other, including communicating data (including, but not
limited to, line of credit application data, bank account data, and
line of credit offer data) and validation tokens, to open a secured
line of credit with the casino credit system after the system
analyses bank account information provided by the bank to determine
the creditworthiness of the user and in association with a
scheduled transfer of funds to secure the amount of the line of
credit.
[0047] In certain embodiments, while the user schedules a transfer
of funds at a future date (e.g., when a line of credit would be
due) when applying for the line of credit, when that future date
arrives, one or more components of the gaming establishment fund
management system may modify or cancel the previously scheduled
transfer, such as cancelling the previously scheduled transfer or
altering one or more aspects (e.g., amount, funding source) of the
previously scheduled transfer. For example, if a player pays off
the activated amount of funds from a line of credit before such
funds are due, the gaming establishment credit system cancels the
transfer previously scheduled by the player when they were offered
the line of credit. In another example, if the player has only
partially paid off the activated amount of funds from a line of
credit by the time the line of credit is due, the gaming
establishment credit system adjusts the previously scheduled
transfer to reflect the outstanding amount of funds due on the line
of credit (plus any applicable fees, such as late fees, extra
interest, interest accrued, any daily or periodic fees accrued,
and/or penalties). In another example, if a player has an amount of
funds in an associated gaming establishment account, such as the
player's cashless wagering account, to cover the amount of funds
due on a line of credit, the gaming establishment credit system
cancels (automatically or upon the player's request) the previously
scheduled transfer and requests a transfer of funds from the
associated gaming establishment account, such as the player's
cashless wagering account, to the gaming establishment credit
system to cover the amount of funds due on the line of credit. In
certain of these embodiments, since one or more components of the
gaming establishment fund management system may modify or cancel a
previously scheduled transfer based on the current state of the
line of credit, when the due date for an outstanding amount of
funds owed on a line of credit is approaching, one or more
components of the gaming establishment fund management system, such
as the gaming establishment credit system notifies the player to
pay off their outstanding line of credit liability (plus any
applicable fees, such as any late fees, any interest payment fees,
any daily or periodic fees accrued, and/or any penalties), wherein
such notification takes any suitable form, such as one or more of
an email, SMS message, and/or a notification with the mobile device
application.
[0048] It should be appreciated that in certain embodiments, the
modification and/or cancellation of a scheduled transfer of funds
depends on the funding source/funding instrument initially set up
by the user when applying for the line of credit. In such
embodiments, if a transfer of funds transaction is executed
immediately by a funding source, the funding source does support
scheduling of future transfers of funds and/or the application
programming interfaces employed to trigger a transfer of the
selected funding instrument do not permit changes to the
transaction before the transaction is committed (e.g., no
cancellation of a transaction is permitted if a user pays part or
all of the amount of funds activated from a line of credit off
before being due), the system accounts for such circumstances when
initially scheduling the transfer of funds or otherwise noting a
potential scheduling of a transfer of funds. For example, if the
funding instrument used when applying for a line of credit was a
credit card or debit card, then the external funding system
schedules the transfer internally and does not communicate the
transfer request to the bank (or associated payment gateway) until
the transaction needs to be executed.
Accessing Funds from an Issued Line of Credit and Transferring
Accessed Funds to/from a Gaming Device
[0049] In various embodiments, following the approval of a line of
credit based on financial information obtained from one or more
linked external accounts, the system enables a user, such as an
identified player at an EGM, to make one or more inputs to cause a
deposit an amount of funds associated with an issued line of credit
into a gaming establishment account. The system further enables the
user to make one or more inputs to initiate a transfer of funds
from the gaming establishment account to a credit balance of a
gaming device, such as an EGM, wherein upon being cashed out, such
funds return to the gaming establishment account (and are not
automatically used to settle part or all of the amount owed on the
line of credit).
[0050] In certain embodiments, if a user wants to access the funds
associated with a line of credit or marker at a gaming device, such
an EGM, then following the user establishing the line of credit or
marker with a gaming establishment credit system as described
above, the user pairs or links their mobile device with the gaming
device, wherein this pairing or linkage between the mobile device
and the gaming device occurs via one or more applications being run
or executed on the mobile device.
[0051] Following the pairing between the mobile device and the
gaming device (or a component of the gaming device, such as a slot
machine interface board ("SMIB") or other component of a gaming
establishment management system supported by the gaming device),
the system enables the user to utilize a mobile device to view
information about one or more issued lines of credit (e.g., an
available amount of funds associated with the issued line of credit
and/or an amount of funds associated with the issued line of credit
previously accessed) as well as the balance of zero, one or more
gaming establishment accounts. In addition to enabling the user to
view, via the mobile device application of the paired mobile
device, information about one or more issued lines of credit, the
system enables the user to activate all or part of the available
amount of funds associated with the issued line of credit. That is,
the system enables the user to access the issued line of credit
from the mobile device application wherein the accessed amount of
funds are transferred to a gaming establishment account associated
with the user, such as the user's cashless wagering account and
then transferred to a credit balance of the gaming device. In these
embodiments, interfacing with the mobile device application (or
alternatively the gaming device or a component of the gaming
device), the system enables the player to make one or more inputs
regarding the requested access to the line of credit, such as, but
not limited to, one or more inputs to indicate an amount of funds
to be accessed from the line of credit, one or more inputs to
approve the indicated amount of funds to be accessed from the line
of credit, and/or one or more inputs to confirm the accessing of
the line of credit.
[0052] It should be appreciated that certain jurisdictional
regulations and/or gaming establishment policies require the user
to approve their transaction to access the funds on their issued
line of credit. In one such embodiment, the user acknowledges the
approval of accessing the issued line of credit by entering a
personal identification number ("PIN") via the mobile device
application, providing a signature and/or presenting a biometric
identifier to the mobile device. In another embodiment, the user
acknowledges the approval of accessing the issued line of credit by
entering a PIN, providing a signature and/or presenting a biometric
identifier to the gaming device or a peripheral device associated
with the gaming device, such as a display device or input device
associated with a SMIB in communication with a EGM.
[0053] In these embodiments, following receipt of the user inputted
data associated with the determined amount of funds to be accessed
from the issued line of credit and a confirmation from the user
that they approve of the transaction and agree to any terms
associated with the transaction, the mobile device application
(and/or the gaming device or a component of the gaming device, such
as the SMIB) communicates one or more messages to the gaming
establishment credit system to log the user into the gaming
establishment credit system (if necessary) and request an
activation of the amount of funds to be accessed from the issued
line of credit of the user. Upon receiving the messages from the
mobile device application (and/or the gaming device or the
component of the gaming device, such as the SMIB) and verifying the
request, the gaming establishment credit system proceeds with
operating with the gaming establishment fund management system or a
component of the gaming establishment fund management system, such
as a gaming establishment cashless wagering system, to log the user
into a gaming establishment account associated with the user (if
necessary) and potentially transfer the amount of funds to be
accessed from the issued line of credit of the user to the gaming
establishment account associated with the user, such as to a gaming
establishment cashless wagering account associated with the
user.
[0054] In certain embodiments, to complete a transfer of an amount
of funds associated with a line of credit to a gaming establishment
account, the gaming establishment credit system determines whether
to authorize the activation of the determined amount of funds from
the issued line of credit. In these embodiments, if the gaming
establishment credit system determines not to authorize the
activation of the determined amount of funds from the issued line
of credit (e.g., the gaming establishment credit system determines
that the requested amount exceeds the maximum amount available
under the issued line of credit), the gaming establishment credit
system communicates a denial to the mobile device application
(and/or the gaming device or a component of the gaming device). In
certain embodiments, following the denial, one or more display
devices associated with the mobile device (and/or the gaming device
or a component of the gaming device) display a denial of line of
credit activation to the user.
[0055] On the other hand, if the gaming establishment credit system
determines to authorize the activation of the determined amount of
funds from the issued line of credit, the gaming establishment
credit system updates the amount available of the issued line of
credit and communicates an authorization of the requested amount of
funds to the gaming establishment fund management system. Upon
receiving the authorization, the gaming establishment fund
management system updates a balance of a gaming establishment
account by the requested amount of funds activated from the line of
credit. Additionally, in certain embodiments, upon receiving the
authorization, the gaming establishment fund management system
updates an outstanding line of credit balance to reflect the amount
of funds activated from the line of credit. As such, upon an amount
of funds activated from a line of credit being accessed by a user
(and, in certain instances, the gaming establishment credit system
exposing the gaming establishment fund management system to
information about the amount owed by the user to repay the
outstanding amount of the line of credit), the amount of funds from
the line of credit is not only added to any funds residing in the
destination gaming establishment account, such as a cashless
wagering account, but the amount of funds from the line of credit
is separately added to an outstanding line of credit balance (which
is maintained by the gaming establishment fund management system
and/or the gaming establishment credit system).
[0056] In certain embodiments, in association with the transfer of
an amount of funds associated with activated line of credit, the
system communicates a transfer of funds confirmation, wherein one
or more display devices associated with the mobile device (and/or
the gaming device or a component of the gaming device) display a
confirmation of the transfer of the amount of funds from the line
of credit to the gaming establishment account.
[0057] In certain embodiments, following the completion of the
transfer of an amount of funds associated with the line of credit
to the gaming establishment account, such as a cashless wagering
account associated with a user, the system enables the user to
utilize a mobile device application to facilitate a transfer of an
amount of funds from the gaming establishment account to a gaming
device, such as an EGM. In certain embodiments, the mobile device
application enables the user to input an amount of funds to be
transferred to the gaming device, wherein the amount of funds may
be part of or all of the amount accessed from the line of
credit.
[0058] In certain embodiments, the mobile device application
enables the user to select an amount of funds to be transferred
from a listing of available amounts of funds to be transferred to
the gaming device. In different embodiments, the listing of
available amounts to be transferred is previously selected by the
user, selected by a gaming establishment or selected by a
third-party. In certain embodiments, the mobile device application
enables the user, a gaming establishment and/or a third-party to
modify the listing of available amount of funds. In another
embodiment, the mobile device application determines the listing of
available amount of funds based on one or more characteristics
associated with the user, such as the user's prior amounts
transferred, the user's wagering history, and/or the user's status.
In another embodiment, the mobile device application determines the
listing of available amount of funds based on one or more
characteristics associated with the EGM, such as based on the
denomination, game type, minimum bet and/or maximum available wager
amount of the EGM.
[0059] In certain embodiments, following the determination of an
amount of funds to be transferred from the gaming establishment
account, such as the cashless wagering account, to the gaming
device, the mobile device application prompts the user to cause the
mobile device to engage the gaming device or a component of the
gaming device, such as prompting the user to tap the mobile device
to a player tracking card reader or other designated location(s) of
the gaming device. After such engagement (or after the
determination of an amount of funds to be transferred if no mobile
device to gaming device engagement is required), the mobile device
application communicates, via a wireless communication protocol
(including, but not limited to: Bluetooth.TM., Bluetooth.TM. Low
Energy ("BLE"), one or more cellular communication standards (e.g.,
3G, 4G, 5G, LTE), one or more Wi-Fi compatible standards, and one
or more short range communication protocols (e.g., a near field
communication ("NFC") protocol), data associated with the
determined amount of funds to be transferred from the gaming
establishment account to the gaming device. For example, wherein
the transfer of funds is from a cashless wagering account, the EGM
(or a component of the EGM, such as a SMIB and/or the mobile device
application) proceeds with operating with a cashless wagering
system to log the player into a cashless wagering account
associated with the player (if necessary) and request the
determined amount of funds to be transferred from the cashless
wagering account to the EGM.
[0060] Following the mobile device application interacting with the
gaming device to facilitate the gaming device requesting the
determined amount of funds, the gaming establishment fund
management system (or a component of the gaming establishment fund
management system, such as the cashless wagering system),
determines whether to authorize the transfer of the determined
amount of funds. If the component of the gaming establishment fund
management system determines not to authorize the determined amount
of funds, the component of the gaming establishment fund management
system communicates a denial to the gaming device and/or the mobile
device application, wherein the gaming device and/or mobile device
application display a denial of funds transfer to the user.
[0061] On the other hand, if the component of the gaming
establishment fund management system determines to authorize the
determined amount of funds, the component of the gaming
establishment fund management system updates the gaming
establishment account associated with the user and communicates an
authorization to the gaming device. For example, when funds are
being transferred from a cashless wagering account to a EGM, the
cashless wagering system reduces a balance of the cashless wagering
account by the reduced amount of funds. The EGM proceeds with
updating a credit balance of the EGM to account for the determined
amount of funds. In certain embodiments, the EGM further proceeds
with communicating a transfer of funds confirmation to the mobile
device, wherein the mobile device application displays a
confirmation of the transfer of the amount of funds and/or the
updated credit balance of the EGM. Such a transferred amount of
funds is then available for wagering by the player at the EGM.
[0062] It should be appreciated that while described as utilizing a
mobile device running a mobile device application to access funds
associated with different gaming establishment accounts, apply for
one or more lines of credit in association with financial
information obtained from a linked external account and/or to
access funds associated with one or more lines of credit issued to
the user, in various embodiments, the system utilizes any suitable
interface, such as an interface of the gaming device, an interface
of a remote host controlled service window displayed by a gaming
device, and/or an interface of a component of a gaming
establishment patron management system, such as a player tracking
unit, to enable the user at the gaming device to access the funds
associated with such gaming establishment accounts, apply for one
or more lines of credit in association with financial information
obtained from a linked external account and/or to access funds
associated with one or more lines of credit issued to the user.
[0063] In certain embodiments, following the use of zero, part or
all of the transferred amount of funds at an EGM and upon receiving
a "cash out" input from the player, part or all of the credit
balance of the EGM is transferred to the gaming establishment
account, such as the cashless wagering account independent of any
attempt to repay the amount of funds outstanding on any activated
lines of credit. In these embodiments, unlike prior systems which
required that any amount cashed out from an EGM is automatically
applied to repay the amount of funds outstanding on any activated
lines of credit, the system does not mandate that any amount cashed
out from an EGM is automatically applied to repay the amount of
funds outstanding on any activated lines of credit. Rather, the
system continues to maintain the outstanding line of credit balance
prior to and after an amount of funds are cashed out from an EGM
and enables such cashed out funds to flow to a gaming establishment
account, such as a cashless wagering account, thereby reducing user
tension by not having to continually activate the line of credit at
each EGM played. In other words, to facilitate ease of line of
credit fund movement from one EGM to another EGM, the gaming
establishment fund management system tracks such line of credit
funds as a separate balance eliminating the need to repeatedly
reactivate a line of credit after each cash out event (thus saving
the user time).
[0064] In certain embodiments, following one or more inputs to cash
out a credit balance of an EGM to a gaming establishment account
(which may be made in association with the EGM, in association with
a component of the EGM or in association with a mobile device
application of a mobile device paired to the EGM), the EGM (or a
component of the EGM, such as the SMIB) operates with the gaming
establishment fund management system (or a component of the gaming
establishment fund management system, such as the cashless wagering
system), to transfer the amount of funds of the credit balance of
the EGM to the gaming establishment account, such as the cashless
wagering account associated with the player.
[0065] In certain other embodiments, the system determines to
facilitate the transfer of funds from the EGM to the gaming
establishment account, such as the cashless wagering account,
independent of any input by the player. In one such embodiment, if
the system determines that no activity has occurred for a
designated amount of time, as a precautionary measure, the system
transfers the credit balance of the EGM from the EGM to the gaming
establishment account used to transfer funds to the EGM. In another
embodiment, if the system determines that another player is
attempting to log onto the EGM, as a precautionary measure, the
system transfers the credit balance of the EGM from the EGM to the
gaming establishment account used to transfer funds to the EGM.
Such transfers of the credit balance to the gaming establishment
account is associated with a termination of the player's current
gaming session.
[0066] In these embodiments, after a determination to transfer the
credit balance of the EGM from the EGM to a gaming establishment,
the EGM proceeds with operating with the gaming establishment fund
management system (or a component of the gaming establishment fund
management system, such as the cashless wagering system) to log the
player into a gaming establishment account, such as a cashless
wagering account associated with the player (or confirm that the
player remains logged into the gaming establishment account) and
request the determined amount of funds to be transferred from the
EGM to the gaming establishment account. Following such a request,
the EGM proceeds with updating a credit balance of the EGM to
account for the determined amount of funds transferred from the EGM
to the gaming establishment account. The gaming establishment
system (or the component of the gaming establishment fund
management system, such as the cashless wagering system)
additionally updates the gaming establishment account associated
with the player (e.g., the cashless wagering system adds the
determined amount of funds to the cashless wagering account) and
communicates a confirmation to the EGM. The EGM further proceeds
with displaying a transfer of funds confirmation (and additionally
or alternatively communicating a transfer of funds confirmation to
the mobile device), wherein the EGM (and/or the mobile device
application) displays a confirmation of the transfer of the amount
of funds and/or the updated credit balance of the EGM. Such a
transferred amount of funds is available in the gaming
establishment account to be transferred to another gaming device
(such as another EGM or a gaming table component) or another gaming
establishment account, such as to a gaming establishment retail
account.
[0067] Repaying of Activated Line of Credit
[0068] In various embodiments wherein a line of credit is applied
for based on financial information obtained from a linked external
account and independent of any scheduled attempted payoff of the
applied for line of credit, in addition to funding a gaming
establishment account with an amount of funds associated with an
issued line of credit and enabling such funds to be cashed out from
a credit balance of a gaming device to a gaming establishment
account, the system monitors for an occurrence of a line of credit
repayment event. In these embodiments, upon a line of credit
repayment event, the system attempts to repay part or all of the
outstanding line of credit balance.
[0069] Specifically, in instances when a scheduled transfer of
funds to pay off a line of credit at a due date is not part of the
application process to open the line of credit, upon an occurrence
of a line of credit repayment event, the gaming establishment fund
management system (or a component of the gaming establishment fund
management system, such as the cashless wagering system)
communicates one or more messages to the gaming establishment
credit system to log the user into the gaming establishment credit
system (if necessary) and attempts to pay back an amount of funds
accessed from the issued line of credit of the user. Upon receiving
the messages and verifying the request, the gaming establishment
credit system proceeds with operating with the gaming establishment
fund management system (or a component of the gaming establishment
fund management system, such as the cashless wagering system), to
log the user into a gaming establishment account associated with
the user (if necessary) and potentially transfer the amount of
funds accessed from the issued line of credit of the user from the
gaming establishment account associated with the user to the gaming
establishment credit system to pay off part or all of the
outstanding line of credit balance.
[0070] In certain embodiments, to complete a transfer of an amount
of funds associated with a line of credit from a gaming
establishment account, the gaming establishment fund management
system determines whether to authorize the transfer of the
determined amount of funds to pay off part or all of the issued
line of credit. In these embodiments, if the gaming establishment
fund management system determines not to authorize the transfer of
the determined amount of funds to pay off the issued line of credit
(e.g., the gaming establishment account balance lacks the funds to
pay off part or all of the issue line of credit), the gaming
establishment fund management system communicates a denial to the
gaming establishment credit system. In certain embodiments,
following the denial, one or more display devices display a denial
of line of credit payoff to the user.
[0071] On the other hand, if the gaming establishment fund
management system determines to authorize the transfer of the
determined amount of funds to pay off part or all the issued line
of credit (e.g., the gaming establishment account balance has
adequate funds to pay off part or all of the issue line of credit),
the gaming establishment fund management system updates the
outstanding line of credit balance (to reflect a paying off of part
or all of the issued line of credit), updates the balance of the
gaming establishment account (to reflect the transfer of the funds
away from the gaming establishment account) and communicates an
authorization of the transfer to the gaming establishment credit
system. Upon receiving the authorization, the gaming establishment
credit system updates the outstanding line of credit.
[0072] In certain embodiments, a line of credit repayment event
occurs responsive to one or more inputs made by the user indicating
a repayment of part or all of an outstanding line of credit. In
these embodiments, the user may make such inputs via any suitable
interface at any suitable device such as via a kiosk, via a mobile
device application, and/or via a web interface, wherein such inputs
trigger the line of credit repayment event and the gaming
establishment fund management system operating with the gaming
establishment credit system to repay part or all of one or more
outstanding lines of credit. In certain embodiments, a line of
credit repayment event occurs responsive to one or more inputs made
by an operator of the system indicating a request for a repayment
of part or all of an outstanding line of credit. In these
embodiments, the operator may make such inputs via any suitable
interface at any suitable device such as via a device at a gaming
establishment cage, via an operator work station and/or via a web
interface, wherein such inputs trigger the line of credit repayment
event and the gaming establishment fund management system operating
with the gaming establishment credit system to repay part or all of
one or more outstanding lines of credit.
[0073] In certain embodiments, a line of credit repayment event
occurs responsive to one or more events occurring in association
with the gaming establishment fund management system. In these
embodiments, the gaming establishment fund management system (or a
component of the gaming establishment fund management system, such
as the cashless wagering system) determines that a line of credit
repayment event occurs at a designated interval, such as every
hour, every 24 hours, every week, when the gaming establishment's
"end of day" occurs or a date/time when repayment of the line of
credit is required, wherein such events trigger the line of credit
repayment event and the gaming establishment fund management system
operating with the gaming establishment credit system to repay part
or all of one or more outstanding lines of credit. In certain
embodiments, a line of credit repayment event occurs responsive to
one or more notifications being received by the gaming
establishment fund management system. In these embodiments, the
gaming establishment fund management system (or a component of the
gaming establishment fund management system, such as the cashless
wagering system) determines that a line of credit repayment event
occurs upon receiving a notification associated with a user having
an outstanding line of credit, such as upon a player with a
positive outstanding line of credit balance checking out of their
hotel room or upon a player with a positive outstanding line of
credit balance ending their trip to the gaming establishment,
wherein such notifications trigger the gaming establishment fund
management system operating with the gaming establishment credit
system to repay part or all of one or more outstanding lines of
credit.
[0074] In certain embodiments, a line of credit repayment event
occurs responsive to one or more events occurring in association
with the gaming establishment credit system. In these embodiments,
the gaming establishment credit system determines that a line of
credit repayment event occurs at a designated interval, such as
every hour, every 24 hours, every week, when the gaming
establishment's "end of day" occurs or a date/time when repayment
of the line of credit is required, wherein such events trigger the
line of credit repayment event and the gaming establishment credit
system attempting to operate with the gaming establishment fund
management system to repay part or all of one or more outstanding
lines of credit. In certain embodiments, a line of credit repayment
event occurs responsive to one or more notifications being received
by the gaming establishment credit system. In these embodiments,
the gaming establishment credit system determines that a line of
credit repayment event occurs upon the gaming establishment credit
system receiving a notification associated with a user having an
outstanding line of credit, such as upon a player with a positive
outstanding line of credit balance checking out of their hotel room
or upon a player with a positive outstanding line of credit balance
ending their trip to the gaming establishment, wherein such
notifications trigger the gaming establishment credit system
attempting to operate with the gaming establishment fund management
system to repay part or all of one or more outstanding lines of
credit.
[0075] In certain embodiments, a line of credit repayment event
occurs responsive to a deposit of an amount of funds to a gaming
establishment account, such as a cashless wagering account. In
certain such embodiments, the system determines if a line of credit
repayment event occurs upon a deposit of an amount of funds to a
gaming establishment account based on the device utilized to make
such a deposit. That is, the system can determine what type of
device is performing the deposit and whether the deposit with that
type of device warrants an occurrence of a line of credit repayment
event. For example, if an amount of funds is deposited to a gaming
establishment account from an EGM, the system may assume that this
deposit action is the result of a cash-out and this can then
trigger (possibly with the player's prior authorization) an attempt
to repay some or all of the outstanding balance of the line of
credit from the amount transferred from the EGM to the gaming
establishment account. It should be appreciated that since, as
described below, an amount may be deposited into a gaming
establishment as a player directed non-cash out action via an
interface of an EGM, in certain embodiments, the system determines
if a line of credit repayment event occurs upon a deposit of an
amount of funds to a gaming establishment account based on the
device utilized to make such a deposit and one or more actions
undertaken at that device.
[0076] Additional Sourcing of Funds Transferred to Gaming
Establishment Fund Management Account
[0077] In various embodiments, in addition to funding a gaming
establishment account with an amount of funds associated with an
issued line of credit, the system enables the gaming establishment
account to be funded from one or more additional sources.
[0078] In certain embodiments, the gaming establishment fund
management account is associated with one or more external
accounts, such as one or more credit card accounts, one or more
debit card accounts and/or one or more third-party maintained
accounts (e.g., one or more PayPal.RTM. accounts or Venmo.RTM.
accounts). In certain embodiments, the gaming establishment fund
management account is associated with a gaming establishment or a
group of gaming establishments, wherein the user establishes a
gaming establishment fund management account by a deposit of funds
(such as at a kiosk) to be subsequently utilized in association
with the mobile device application. In other embodiments, the
gaming establishment fund management account is funded via a mobile
device electronic fund transfer, such using Apple Pay.TM. or
Android Pay.TM.. It should be appreciated that in different
embodiments, the system utilizes a mobile device running a mobile
device application, a kiosk, an EGM, a gaming table component, a
remote host controlled service window displayed and/or a gaming
establishment interface to facilitate the transfer of funds from a
third-party account.
[0079] In certain embodiments, the system enables funds to be
deposited in a gaming establishment fund management account via a
gaming device, such as an EGM. In certain embodiments, the system
enables a user that has an amount of cash to utilize a gaming
device to convert the cash to an amount deposited into a gaming
establishment fund management account (which may be subsequently
transferred utilizing a mobile device application). In other
embodiments, the system enables funds to be deposited in a gaming
establishment fund management account via a gaming device that
accepts printed ticket vouchers. In these embodiments, the system
enables a user that has one or more printed ticket vouchers to
utilize a gaming device to convert the printed ticket voucher to an
amount deposited into a gaming establishment fund management
account (which may be subsequently transferred utilizing a mobile
device application).
[0080] In certain embodiments, the system enables funds to be
deposited in a gaming establishment fund management account via a
gaming establishment interface, such as a gaming establishment cage
or desk. In certain embodiments, the system enables a user that has
an amount of cash to utilize a gaming establishment interface, such
as a gaming establishment cage or desk to convert the cash to an
amount deposited into a gaming establishment fund management
account (which may be subsequently transferred utilizing a mobile
device application). In other embodiments, the system enables funds
to be deposited in a gaming establishment fund management account
via a gaming establishment interface that accepts printed ticket
vouchers. In these embodiments, the system enables a user that has
one or more printed ticket vouchers to utilize a gaming
establishment interface to convert the printed ticket voucher to an
amount deposited into a gaming establishment fund management
account (which may be subsequently transferred utilizing a mobile
device application).
[0081] In certain embodiments, the system enables funds to be
deposited in a gaming establishment fund management account via a
kiosk that accepts money. In certain embodiments, the system
enables a user that has an amount of cash to utilize a kiosk to
convert the cash to an amount deposited into a gaming establishment
fund management account (which may be subsequently transferred to a
gaming device utilizing a mobile device application). In other
embodiments, the system enables funds to be deposited in a gaming
establishment fund management account via a kiosk that accepts
printed ticket vouchers. In certain embodiments, the system enables
a user that has one or more printed ticket vouchers to utilize a
kiosk to convert the printed ticket voucher to an amount deposited
into a gaming establishment fund management account (which may be
subsequently transferred to a gaming device utilizing a mobile
device application).
[0082] In certain embodiments, the gaming establishment fund
management account is associated with funds associated with one or
more virtual ticket vouchers. In certain embodiments, the system
enables a user associated with an amount of virtual ticket vouchers
to utilize a gaming device (e.g., an EGM, a component of an EGM) a
mobile device running a mobile device application, a kiosk and/or a
gaming establishment interface to convert the virtual ticket
vouchers to an amount deposited into a gaming establishment fund
management account.
[0083] In certain embodiments, the system enables a user to fund
the gaming establishment fund management account independent of the
mobile device and independent of the mobile device application. In
certain other embodiments, the system enables a user to utilize a
mobile device running a mobile device application to fund the
gaming establishment fund management account. More specifically and
utilizing the example of a kiosk, in one embodiment, to utilize a
mobile device and a kiosk to facilitate the funding of a gaming
establishment fund management account, the user wirelessly pairs or
otherwise connects a mobile device with a kiosk. In one example
embodiment, the user moves the mobile device into the range of a
wireless receiver of the kiosk. The kiosk and the launched or
activated mobile device application of the mobile device negotiate
a secure, authenticated connection with the proper functionality,
versions and security settings. It should be appreciated that the
kiosk wirelessly connects with the mobile device running the mobile
device application in the same or similar fashion to how a mobile
device is paired or connected with a gaming device of the present
disclosure.
[0084] After connecting the mobile device to the kiosk, the kiosk
prompts the user to deposit an amount of funds into the kiosk. In
one such embodiment, the kiosk prompts the user to insert one or
more bills into a bill acceptor of the kiosk. In another such
embodiment, the kiosk additionally or alternatively prompts the
user to deposit a physical ticket voucher (associated with an
amount of funds) into the kiosk. In another such embodiment, the
kiosk additionally or alternatively prompts the user to deposit a
card associated with an external account, such as a credit card or
debit card into the kiosk. In another such embodiment, the kiosk
additionally or alternatively prompts the user to enter information
associated with an external account, such as a credit card account,
a PayPal.RTM. account, a Venmo.RTM. account, or a debit card
account into the kiosk. In another such embodiment, the kiosk
additionally or alternatively prompts the user to deposit an amount
of funds into the kiosk using a mobile device electronic fund
transfer, such using Apple Pay.TM. or Android Pay.TM..
[0085] In one embodiment, after a first amount of funds is
accepted, such as after a first bill or unit of currency is
accepted, by the kiosk, the kiosk and/or the mobile device
application enable the user to transfer the deposited amount of
funds (e.g., a "Load Phone Now" button) or continue to deposit
additional amounts of funds with the kiosk. In another embodiment,
for each amount of funds accepted by the kiosk, such as for each
bill or unit of currency accepted by the kiosk, a virtual ticket
voucher is created and deposited in the gaming establishment fund
management account.
[0086] In certain embodiments, upon receiving an amount of funds
from the user and the user indicating to transfer the deposited
amount of funds in association with the mobile device application,
the kiosk communicates with one or more servers to transfer an
amount of money to a gaming establishment fund management account
(to be drawn upon from the mobile device application of the present
disclosure). In another such embodiment, upon receiving an amount
of funds from the user and the user indicating to transfer the
deposited amount of funds in association with an account or balance
associated with the mobile device application, the kiosk
communicates with one or more servers, such as a virtual ticket
voucher server, to create a virtual ticket voucher associated with
the amount of received currency. The system of the present
disclosure transfers the created virtual ticket voucher to the
gaming establishment fund management account.
[0087] Linking Mobile Device to Gaming Device
[0088] In certain embodiments, as indicated above, prior to
enabling a user, such as a player, to take any action related to
the system (such as using a mobile device to facilitate the access
of funds associated with an issued line of credit and causing a
transfer of such funds from a cashless wagering account to a gaming
device), a pairing or linkage occurs between the mobile device and
the gaming device, such as the EGM. The pairing or linkage between
the mobile device and the gaming device occurs via one or more
applications being run or executed on the mobile device.
[0089] In certain embodiments, after a user has opened an
application on a mobile device, logged into the application (if
required) and selected an action to be performed (such as accessing
a line of credit from the mobile device), the system determines if
the mobile device application is associated with an active
authorization token previously created by the system. In these
embodiments, an authorization token is a time-based token which
expires after a designated period of time and which is associated
with an additional level of user authentication beyond a user's
application username and application password.
[0090] If the system determines that the application is not
associated with an active authorization token previously created by
the system, the mobile device application prompts the user to
provide identifying information, such as a personal identification
number or biometric identifier. The mobile device application
stores the provided identifying information as mobile device
encrypted data. Following the user providing identifying
information, the mobile device application prompts the user to
cause the mobile device to engage the gaming device (e.g., the EGM,
a component of the EGM), such as prompting the user to tap the
mobile device to a designated portion of the EGM. It should be
appreciated that any reference herein to a user tapping the mobile
device to a designated portion of the gaming device may or may not
include the user pressing a fingerprint scanner (if the mobile
device is equipped with such a fingerprint scanner) while
concurrently engaging the gaming device. In other embodiments, the
mobile device application verifies the identifying information of
the user by communicating with a verification/authentication server
over one or more wireless communication protocols, such as WiFi
protocol, a cellular communication protocol, to obtain the active
authorization token.
[0091] In certain embodiments, following the user causing the
mobile device to engage the gaming device (e.g., the user taps the
mobile device to a player tracking card reader or other designated
location(s) of an EGM), the mobile device application communicates,
via a wireless communication protocol, the provided identifying
information and the requested action to be performed to the gaming
device. For example, upon the user tapping the mobile device to a
player tracking card reader or other designated location(s) of the
EGM (or otherwise moving the mobile device to within a designated
distance of the player tracking card reader or other designated
locations(s) of the EGM), the mobile device application sends the
identifying information and the requested action to a component of
a gaming establishment management system located inside the EGM,
such as a NexGen.RTM. player tracking component of an IGT
Advantage.RTM. system. NexGen.RTM. and IGT Advantage.RTM. are
trademarks of IGT, the Applicant of the present application.
[0092] Following the communication of the identifying information
and the requested action to the gaming device, the system
determines if the identifying information is valid. For example, a
designated system component configured to operate with a player
tracking system determines whether the identifying information is
valid.
[0093] If the system determines that the identifying information is
invalid, the system communicates an invalid identifying information
response to the mobile device. For example, an identifying
information status message is communicated to the mobile device
which reports whether the identifying information is valid or
invalid. The mobile device application then displays one or more
messages regarding the invalid identifying information and prompts
the user to provide identifying information, such as a personal
identification number or biometric identifier. In certain such
embodiments, if the mobile device receives a communication that the
identifying information is invalid (or alternatively in association
with the initial creation of a token) and if the mobile device
includes a fingerprint scanner, the mobile device application
prompts the user to press the fingerprint scanner while engaging
the gaming device, such as tapping the mobile device to a
designated portion of an EGM.
[0094] On the other hand, if the system determines that the
identifying information is valid, the system creates an
authorization token. The system associates the authorization token
with a timestamp of when the authorization token will expire. In
certain embodiments, a cashless system includes a key distribution
center which generates a session key to encrypt all cashless
messages. The session key is rotated periodically at a configurable
rate from 1 hour to 24 hours. In these embodiments, the system
utilizes this session key to sign the token data and create a
token. As such, the token time-to-live will be less than or equal
to the session key rotation period. In other embodiments, such
authorization tokens are managed utilizing software (and not a key
distribution center).
[0095] In certain embodiments, the authorization token expires
after a designated period of time as an additional level of
security in the transfer of fund data to/from the EGM component
which is facilitated the mobile device. Such a designated amount of
time which an authorization token remains valid enables the user to
move from one gaming device (e.g., one gaming table associated with
one gaming table component) to another gaming device (e.g., another
gaming table associated with another gaming table component) and,
transfer funds to/from each gaming device and a gaming
establishment account, without having to reprovide such identifying
information each time the user switches gaming devices. That is,
the mobile device application of the present disclosure is
configured to communicate with one or more gaming devices (without
having to reauthenticate itself repeatedly) during the designated
amount of time which the authorization token remains valid.
[0096] Following the creation of an authorization token, the system
communicates the created authorization token to the mobile device,
such as via one or more messages including the created
authorization token, for storage by the mobile device application
and proceeds with executing one or more of the requested actions
and communicating a requested action response to the mobile device.
For example, upon the creation of the authorization token, the
component of a gaming establishment management system located
inside the gaming device, such as a NexGen.RTM. player tracking
component of an IGT Advantage.RTM. system, communicates the created
authorization token to the mobile device and proceeds with
executing the requested action.
[0097] On the other hand, following a determination that the mobile
device application is associated with a previously created and
stored authentication token, the mobile device application prompts
the user to cause the mobile device to engage the gaming device,
such as prompting the user to tap the mobile device to a designated
portion of the EGM.
[0098] Following the user causing the mobile device to engage the
gaming device (e.g., the user taps the mobile device to a player
tracking card reader or other designated location(s) of the EGM),
the mobile device application communicates, via a wireless
communication protocol, the previously stored authorization token
and the requested action to be performed to the gaming device. For
example, upon the user tapping the mobile device to a player
tracking card reader or other designated location(s) of an EGM, the
mobile device application sends the stored authorization token and
the requested action to a component of a gaming establishment
management system located inside the EGM, such as a NexGen.RTM.
player tracking component of an IGT Advantage.RTM. system.
[0099] Following the communication of the stored authorization
token and the requested action to the gaming device, the system
determines if the communicated authorization token is still valid.
For example, a system component configured to operate with a player
tracking system determines whether the authorization token is valid
(i.e., active and non-expired).
[0100] If the system determines that the communication
authorization token is invalid, the system communicates an invalid
authorization token response to the mobile device. The mobile
device application then displays one or more messages regarding the
invalid authorization token and prompts the user to provide
identifying information, such as a personal identification number
or biometric identifier, to obtain another authentication
token.
[0101] On the other hand, if the system determines that the stored
authorization token is valid, the system proceeds with executing
the requested action. For example, upon the determination that the
communicated authorization token is valid, the component of a
gaming establishment management system located inside the EGM
proceeds with executing the requested action and communicates a
requested action response to the mobile device.
[0102] In certain embodiments, the system enables a user to
interact with the gaming device via the mobile device, without
having to continually reengage the gaming device with the mobile
device for each requested action. In these embodiments, after
initially establishing a secure connection with the gaming device,
subsequent interactions between the mobile device application and
the gaming device occur without any subsequent physical interaction
between the mobile device and the gaming device. That is, to avoid
having the user retrieve the mobile device and repeat the physical
operation of engaging the gaming device with the mobile device,
certain embodiments enable the user to execute one or more
functions without repeating the above-described physical operation
of engaging the gaming device with the mobile device. In certain
such embodiments, the mobile device application utilizes one or
more display devices of the gaming device to display to the user
information and/or user selectable prompts which are otherwise
displayable via the display device of the mobile device.
[0103] In certain other embodiments, for each interaction or
requested action between the gaming device and the mobile device,
the system requires the user to reengage the gaming device with the
mobile device to reestablish or confirm the pairing between the
gaming device and the mobile device. In certain other embodiments,
for each interaction between the gaming device and the mobile
device that occur a designated amount of time after the last
engagement of the gaming device with the mobile device, the system
requires the user to reengage the gaming device with the mobile
device to reestablish or confirm the pairing between the gaming
device and the mobile device.
[0104] Utilizing Paired Mobile Device Application
[0105] In various embodiments, after pairing the mobile device with
the EGM or the component of the EGM, the mobile device application
communicates one or more requested actions to be performed. Such
requested actions generally pertain to an action associated with a
user account, or an action associated with an initiation of a
transfer of funds. It should be appreciated that while certain data
or information pertaining to one or more of the requested actions
are communicated from an EGM or a component of the EGM to a mobile
device, such data or information may additionally or alternatively
be communicated: (i) from one or more servers to a mobile device
via one or more wireless communication protocols, or (ii) from an
EGM to one or more servers via one or more wireless communication
protocols and then from one or more servers to a mobile device via
one or more wireless communication protocols.
[0106] User Accounts
[0107] In certain embodiments, the action to be performed includes
enabling the user to log into a casino loyalty account, such as a
player tracking account, via a wireless communication protocol,
utilizing the mobile device application.
[0108] In certain embodiments, the action to be performed includes
enabling the user to log out of a casino loyalty account, such as a
player tracking account, via a wireless communication protocol,
utilizing the mobile device application. In different embodiments,
upon receiving one or more "cash out" inputs from the user, if the
system determines that no activity has occurred for a designated
amount of time, or if the system determines that another user is
attempting to log in, the mobile device application facilitates a
logging out of the casino loyalty account. Such logging out of the
casino loyalty account is associated with a termination of the
user's current gaming session. Specifically, the gaming device
(e.g., an EGM or a component of the EGM) proceeds with operating
with a user loyalty system (i.e., a player tracking system) to log
the user out of the user loyalty account to complete the player
tracking session at the gaming device
[0109] In certain embodiments, the action to be performed
additionally or alternatively includes enabling the user to log
into a gaming establishment account, such as a cashless wagering
account, via a wireless communication protocol, utilizing the
mobile device application. In certain such embodiments, following
the user selecting an image associated with an electronic casino
loyalty account card stored via a digital wallet application or
following the mobile device application retrieving data associated
with a gaming establishment account stored via a digital wallet
application, the mobile device application prompts the user to
cause the mobile device to engage the gaming device, such as
prompting the user to tap the mobile device to a card reader or
other designated location(s) of the gaming device. After such
engagement (or after the launching of the mobile device application
if no mobile device to gaming device engagement is required), the
mobile device application communicates, via a wireless
communication protocol, user gaming establishment account data
stored by the mobile device to the gaming device. The gaming device
proceeds with operating with the gaming establishment fund
management system to log the user into a gaming establishment
account associated with the user. In one embodiment, the system
determines a balance of the gaming establishment account (in terms
of both cashable credits and non-cashable credits) associated with
the user and causes the gaming device to communicate, via one or
more wireless communication protocols, the determined gaming
establishment account balance to the mobile device.
[0110] Fund Transfers
[0111] In certain embodiments, as described above, the action to be
performed additionally or alternatively includes enabling the user
to facilitate the transfer of funds from a gaming establishment
account to an EGM utilizing the mobile device application.
[0112] In certain embodiments, the action to be performed
additionally or alternatively includes enabling the user to
transfer funds from a virtual ticket voucher to the gaming device
utilizing the mobile device application. In certain embodiments,
following the launching of the mobile device application, such as
following the user selecting an image associated with an electronic
casino loyalty account card stored via a digital wallet
application, the mobile device application determines an amount of
funds to be transferred to the gaming device via the redemption of
a virtual ticket voucher. In these embodiments, the mobile device
application displays to the user images representing any virtual
ticket vouchers associated with the mobile device. The mobile
device application enables the user to select one or more images
representing one or more virtual ticket vouchers associated with
the mobile device. In these embodiments, similar to as described
above with respect to the transfer of funds from a gaming
establishment account to a gaming device via a mobile device
application, following the determination of which virtual ticket
vouchers are to be transferred from the mobile device application
to the gaming device, the mobile device application prompts the
user to cause the mobile device to engage the gaming device. The
mobile device application then communicates, via a wireless
communication protocol, data associated with the selected virtual
ticket voucher to be transferred. The gaming device then
communicates with one or more servers, such as a virtual ticket
voucher server, to request the selected virtual ticket voucher (and
more specifically the amount of funds associated with the selected
virtual ticket voucher) be transferred from to the gaming device.
The server then determines whether to authorize the transfer of the
selected virtual ticket voucher. If the transfer of the selected
virtual ticket voucher is authorized: (i) the server updates a
database of virtual ticket vouchers to reflect the redemption of
the selected virtual ticket voucher, (ii) the gaming device
proceeds with updating a balance of the gaming device (attributable
to the user and redeemable for gaming chips) to account for the
amount of funds associated with the selected virtual ticket
voucher, (iii) a transfer of funds confirmation is communicated to
and displayed by the mobile device, and (iv) the amount of funds
associated with the selected virtual ticket voucher are available
for wagering by the user.
[0113] In certain embodiments, the action to be performed
additionally or alternatively includes transferring non-cashable
credits to the gaming device utilizing the mobile device
application. In various embodiments, the system includes
transferring non-cashable credits to a gaming device in association
with a fund transfer to a cashless wagering account from a gaming
establishment retail account which is part of a gaming
establishment retail system.
[0114] Securing Transactions Between Mobile Device and Gaming
Device
[0115] While the facilitation of the transfer of funds to and from
a gaming device via a mobile device has many advantages described
herein, certain security concerns arise when transferring fund data
wirelessly between a gaming device and a mobile device (or between
a gaming device and the mobile device via one or more servers). For
example, a malicious person may attempt to intercept such a
wireless communication and steal the funds being transferred. Such
a malicious person may devise electronics, such as an antenna or
other electronics placed on or near the gaming device to insert
their mobile device between a "cash out" input and the mobile
device engaging the gaming device.
[0116] More specifically, when facilitating the transfer of
deposited funds and/or an amount of winnings from the gaming device
to a gaming establishment account via the mobile device
application, a user initiates an engagement of the gaming device
with the mobile device, such as tapping the mobile device to a
player tracking card reader or other designated location(s) of the
gaming device. However, before the engagement of the gaming device
with the user's mobile device is complete, an intruder utilizes
such devised electronics to beat the user to the completion of the
engagement. In this example, when the user subsequently actuates a
"cash out" button on the gaming device, the gaming device proceeds
with transferring the amount of the credit balance of the mobile
device of the intruder. Such a concern is also present when a user
attempts to wirelessly transfer funds to a gaming device via a
mobile device wherein the intruder device intercepts such a
transfer and reroutes the funds to the mobile device of the
intruder.
[0117] In view of these security concerns, certain embodiments of
the present disclosure utilize a time window, such as ten seconds,
in association with one or more requested actions. In one such
embodiment, after receiving an initiation of an engagement of the
gaming device with the mobile device, the gaming device assigns or
otherwise associates a time window with such an engagement. If one
mobile device is attempted to be paired with the gaming device
within the associated time window before an action is requested,
the gaming device determines that only one mobile device is
communicating with the gaming device and the gaming device proceeds
with executing the requested action, such as a requested fund
transfer of the present disclosure. On the other hand, if more than
one mobile device is attempted to be paired with the gaming device
within the associated time window before an action is requested,
the gaming device determines that an intruder device may be
present. In such a situation, the gaming device cancels the
requested action and/or prompts the user to reengage the gaming
device with the mobile device.
[0118] In another such embodiment, after receiving a requested
action from the mobile device, the gaming device assigns or
otherwise associates a time window with such a requested action.
Following the requested action, if one mobile device is attempted
to be paired with the gaming device within the associated time
window, the gaming device determines that only one mobile device is
communicating with the gaming device and the gaming device proceeds
with executing the requested action, such as a requested fund
transfer of the present disclosure. On the other hand, following
the requested action, if more than one mobile device is attempted
to be paired with the gaming device within the associated time
window, the gaming device determines that an intruder device may be
present. In such a situation, the gaming device cancels the
requested action and/or prompts the user to reengage the gaming
device with the mobile device.
[0119] It should be appreciated that in addition to thwarting an
isolated attempt by an intruder to intercept a wireless fund
transfer, the system is configured to identify if a device is
involved in multiple attempted engagements with a gaming device
over a designated threshold or time window. In this embodiment,
such a device may be prohibited from being involved in further
wireless fund transfers. For example, if multiple engagements are
detected involving a single device within a twenty-four hour
period, then that mobile device could be banned from participating
in any future engagements. Alternatively, that device could be
prevented from participating in engagements for a designated period
of time, such as a cooling-off period.
[0120] It should be appreciated that the mobile device facilitated
fund data transfers of the present disclosure may occur in addition
to or as an alternative from cash-based fund transfers and/or
ticket voucher-based fund transfers. In one such embodiment, an
amount of funds transferred to an EGM is funded via any of a mobile
device facilitated fund transfer, a cash-based fund transfer or a
ticket voucher-based fund transfer. In another embodiment, an
amount of funds transferred from an EGM is cashed out via any of a
mobile device facilitated fund transfer, a cash-based fund transfer
or a ticket voucher-based fund transfer. In another embodiment, an
amount of funds transferred to an EGM is funded via a mobile device
facilitated fund transfer or a cash-based fund transfer (but is not
funded via any ticket voucher-based fund transfer). In another
embodiment, an amount of funds transferred from an EGM is cashed
out via a mobile device facilitated fund transfer or a cash-based
fund transfer (but is not cashed out via any ticket voucher-based
fund transfer). In another embodiment, an amount of funds
transferred to an EGM is funded via a mobile device facilitated
fund transfer or a ticket voucher-based fund transfer (but is not
funded via any cash-based fund transfer). In another embodiment, an
amount of funds transferred from an EGM is cashed out via a mobile
device facilitated fund transfer or a ticket voucher-based fund
transfer (but is not cashed out via any cash-based fund transfer).
In another embodiment, an amount of funds transferred to an EGM is
funded via a mobile device facilitated fund transfer (but is not
funded via a cash-based fund transfer nor a ticket voucher-based
fund transfer). In another embodiment, an amount of funds
transferred from an EGM is cashed out via a mobile device
facilitated fund transfer (but is not cashed out via a cash-based
fund transfer nor a ticket voucher-based fund transfer).
[0121] It should be further appreciated that any functionality or
process of the present disclosure may be implemented via one or
more servers, one or more EGMs, one or more components of an EGM,
one or more gaming table components, one or more gaming
establishment components (such as a component of a gaming
establishment management system (e.g., a player tracking unit)
supported by or otherwise located inside the gaming table
component), or a mobile device application. For example, while
certain data or information of the present disclosure is explained
as being communicated from an EGM, a component of an EGM, a gaming
table component or a gaming establishment component (such as a
component of a gaming establishment management system (e.g., a
player tracking unit) supported by or otherwise located inside the
gaming table component) to a mobile device via one or more wireless
communication protocols, such data or information may additionally
or alternatively be communicated from one or more servers to a
mobile device via one or more wireless communication protocols.
Accordingly: (i) while certain functions, features or processes are
described herein as being performed by an EGM, a component of an
EGM, or a gaming table component, such functions, features or
processes may alternatively be performed by one or more servers, or
one or more mobile device applications, or one or more gaming
establishment components (such as a component of a gaming
establishment management system (e.g., a player tracking unit)
supported by or otherwise located inside the gaming table
component), (ii) while certain functions, features or processes are
described herein as being performed by one or more mobile device
applications, such functions, features or processes may
alternatively be performed by one or more servers, one or more
EGMs, one or more components of an EGM, one or more gaming table
components, or one or more gaming establishment components (such as
a component of a gaming establishment management system (e.g., a
player tracking unit) supported by or otherwise located inside the
gaming table component), (iii) while certain functions, features or
processes are described herein as being performed by one or more
servers, such functions, features or processes may alternatively be
performed by one or more EGMs, one or more components of an EGM,
one or more gaming table components, one or more mobile device
applications, or one or more gaming establishment components (such
as a component of a gaming establishment management system (e.g., a
player tracking unit) supported by or otherwise located inside the
gaming table component)), and (iv) while certain functions,
features or processes are described herein as being performed by
one or more gaming establishment components (such as a component of
a gaming establishment management system (e.g., a player tracking
unit) supported by or otherwise located inside the gaming table
component), such functions, features or processes may alternatively
be performed by one or more EGMs, one or more components of an EGM,
one or more gaming table components, or one or more mobile device
applications, or one or more servers.
[0122] EGM Components
[0123] In certain embodiments, the above-described embodiments of
the present disclosure may be implemented in accordance with or in
conjunction with an EGM.
[0124] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example EGM 1000 and FIGS.
5A and 5B include two different example EGMs 2000a and 2000b. The
EGMs 1000, 2000a, and 2000b are merely example EGMs, and different
EGMs may be implemented using different combinations of the
components shown in the EGMs 1000, 2000a, and 2000b.
[0125] In these embodiments, the EGM 1000 includes a master gaming
controller 1012 configured to communicate with and to operate with
a plurality of peripheral devices 1022.
[0126] The master gaming controller 1012 includes at least one
processor 1010. The at least one processor 1010 is any suitable
processing device or set of processing devices, such as a
microprocessor, a microcontroller-based platform, a suitable
integrated circuit, or one or more application-specific integrated
circuits (ASICs), configured to execute software enabling various
configuration and reconfiguration tasks, such as: (1) communicating
with a remote source (such as a server that stores authentication
information or game information) via a communication interface 1006
of the master gaming controller 1012; (2) converting signals read
by an interface to a format corresponding to that used by software
or memory of the EGM; (3) accessing memory to configure or
reconfigure game parameters in the memory according to indicia read
from the EGM; (4) communicating with interfaces and the peripheral
devices 1022 (such as input/output devices); and/or (5) controlling
the peripheral devices 1022. In certain embodiments, one or more
components of the master gaming controller 1012 (such as the at
least one processor 1010) reside within a housing of the EGM
(described below), while in other embodiments at least one
component of the master gaming controller 1012 resides outside of
the housing of the EGM.
[0127] The master gaming controller 1012 also includes at least one
memory device 1016, which includes: (1) volatile memory (e.g., RAM
1009, which can include non-volatile RAM, magnetic RAM,
ferroelectric RAM, and any other suitable forms); (2) non-volatile
memory 1019 (e.g., disk memory, FLASH memory, EPROMs, EEPROMs,
memristor-based non-volatile solid-state memory, etc.); (3)
unalterable memory (e.g., EPROMs 1008); (4) read-only memory;
and/or (5) a secondary memory storage device 1015, such as a
non-volatile memory device, configured to store gaming software
related information (the gaming software related information and
the memory may be used to store various audio files and games not
currently being used and invoked in a configuration or
reconfiguration). Any other suitable magnetic, optical, and/or
semiconductor memory may operate in conjunction with the EGM. In
certain embodiments, the at least one memory device 1016 resides
within the housing of the EGM (described below), while in other
embodiments at least one component of the at least one memory
device 1016 resides outside of the housing of the EGM.
[0128] The at least one memory device 1016 is configured to store,
for example: (1) configuration software 1014, such as all the
parameters and settings for a game playable on the EGM; (2)
associations 1018 between configuration indicia read from an EGM
with one or more parameters and settings; (3) communication
protocols configured to enable the at least one processor 1010 to
communicate with the peripheral devices 1022; and/or (4)
communication transport protocols (such as TCP/IP, USB, Firewire,
IEEE1394, Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11x (IEEE 802.11 standards),
hiperlan/2, HomeRF, etc.) configured to enable the EGM to
communicate with local and non-local devices using such protocols.
In one implementation, the master gaming controller 1012
communicates with other devices using a serial communication
protocol. A few non-limiting examples of serial communication
protocols that other devices, such as peripherals (e.g., a bill
validator or a ticket printer), may use to communicate with the
master game controller 1012 include USB, RS-232, and Netplex (a
proprietary protocol developed by IGT).
[0129] In certain embodiments, the at least one memory device 1016
is configured to store program code and instructions executable by
the at least one processor of the EGM to control the EGM. The at
least one memory device 1016 of the EGM also stores other operating
data, such as image data, event data, input data, random number
generators (RNGs) or pseudo-RNGs, paytable data or information,
and/or applicable game rules that relate to the play of one or more
games on the EGM. In various embodiments, part or all of the
program code and/or the operating data described above is stored in
at least one detachable or removable memory device including, but
not limited to, a cartridge, a disk, a CD ROM, a DVD, a USB memory
device, or any other suitable non-transitory computer readable
medium. In certain such embodiments, an operator (such as a gaming
establishment operator) and/or a player uses such a removable
memory device in an EGM to implement at least part of the present
disclosure. In other embodiments, part or all of the program code
and/or the operating data is downloaded to the at least one memory
device of the EGM through any suitable data network described above
(such as an Internet or intranet).
[0130] The at least one memory device 1016 also stores a plurality
of device drivers 1042. Examples of different types of device
drivers include device drivers for EGM components and device
drivers for the peripheral components 1022. Typically, the device
drivers 1042 utilize various communication protocols that enable
communication with a particular physical device. The device driver
abstracts the hardware implementation of that device. For example,
a device driver may be written for each type of card reader that
could potentially be connected to the EGM. Non-limiting examples of
communication protocols used to implement the device drivers
include Netplex, USB, Serial, Ethernet 175, Firewire, I/O
debouncer, direct memory map, serial, PCI, parallel, RF,
Bluetooth.TM., near-field communications (e.g., using near-field
magnetics), 802.11 (WiFi), etc. In one embodiment, when one type of
a particular device is exchanged for another type of the particular
device, the at least one processor of the EGM loads the new device
driver from the at least one memory device to enable communication
with the new device. For instance, one type of card reader in the
EGM can be replaced with a second different type of card reader
when device drivers for both card readers are stored in the at
least one memory device.
[0131] In certain embodiments, the software units stored in the at
least one memory device 1016 can be upgraded as needed. For
instance, when the at least one memory device 1016 is a hard drive,
new games, new game options, new parameters, new settings for
existing parameters, new settings for new parameters, new device
drivers, and new communication protocols can be uploaded to the at
least one memory device 1016 from the master game controller 1012
or from some other external device. As another example, when the at
least one memory device 1016 includes a CD/DVD drive including a
CD/DVD configured to store game options, parameters, and settings,
the software stored in the at least one memory device 1016 can be
upgraded by replacing a first CD/DVD with a second CD/DVD. In yet
another example, when the at least one memory device 1016 uses
flash memory 1019 or EPROM 1008 units configured to store games,
game options, parameters, and settings, the software stored in the
flash and/or EPROM memory units can be upgraded by replacing one or
more memory units with new memory units that include the upgraded
software. In another embodiment, one or more of the memory devices,
such as the hard drive, may be employed in a game software download
process from a remote software server.
[0132] In some embodiments, the at least one memory device 1016
also stores authentication and/or validation components 1044
configured to authenticate/validate specified EGM components and/or
information, such as hardware components, software components,
firmware components, peripheral device components, user input
device components, information received from one or more user input
devices, information stored in the at least one memory device 1016,
etc.
[0133] As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of
the present disclosure may be illustrated and described herein in
any of a number of patentable classes or context including any new
and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter,
or any new and useful improvement thereof. Accordingly, aspects of
the present disclosure may be implemented entirely hardware,
entirely software (including firmware, resident software,
micro-code, etc.) or combining software and hardware implementation
that may all generally be referred to herein as a "circuit,"
"module," "component," or "system." Furthermore, aspects of the
present disclosure may take the form of a computer program product
embodied in one or more computer readable media having computer
readable program code embodied thereon.
[0134] Computer program code for carrying out operations for
aspects of the present disclosure may be written in any combination
of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented
programming language such as Java, Scala, Smalltalk, Eiffel, JADE,
Emerald, C++, C#, VB.NET, Python or the like, conventional
procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming
language, Visual Basic, Fortran 2003, Perl, COBOL 2002, PHP, ABAP,
dynamic programming languages such as Python, Ruby and Groovy, or
other programming languages. The program code may execute entirely
on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a
stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and
partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or
server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be
connected to the user's computer through any type of network,
including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN),
or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example,
through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider) or in a
cloud computing environment or offered as a service such as a
Software as a Service (SaaS).
[0135] Aspects of the present disclosure are described herein with
reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of
methods, apparatuses (systems) and computer program products
according to embodiments of the disclosure. It will be understood
that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block
diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations
and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program
instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided
to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose
computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to
produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via
the processor of the computer or other programmable instruction
execution apparatus, create a mechanism for implementing the
functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram
block or blocks.
[0136] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a
computer readable medium that when executed can direct a computer,
other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to
function in a particular manner, such that the instructions when
stored in the computer readable medium produce an article of
manufacture including instructions which when executed, cause a
computer to implement the function/act specified in the flowchart
and/or block diagram block or blocks. The computer program
instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable
instruction execution apparatus, or other devices to cause a series
of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other
programmable apparatuses or other devices to produce a computer
implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the
computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for
implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or
block diagram block or blocks.
[0137] In certain embodiments, the peripheral devices 1022 include
several device interfaces, such as: (1) at least one output device
1020 including at least one display device 1035; (2) at least one
input device 1030 (which may include contact and/or non-contact
interfaces); (3) at least one transponder 1054; (4) at least one
wireless communication component 1056; (5) at least one
wired/wireless power distribution component 1058; (6) at least one
sensor 1060; (7) at least one data preservation component 1062; (8)
at least one motion/gesture analysis and interpretation component
1064; (9) at least one motion detection component 1066; (10) at
least one portable power source 1068; (11) at least one geolocation
module 1076; (12) at least one user identification module 1077;
(13) at least one player/device tracking module 1078; and (14) at
least one information filtering module 1079.
[0138] The at least one output device 1020 includes at least one
display device 1035 configured to display any game(s) displayed by
the EGM and any suitable information associated with such game(s).
In certain embodiments, the display devices are connected to or
mounted on a housing of the EGM (described below). In various
embodiments, the display devices serve as digital glass configured
to advertise certain games or other aspects of the gaming
establishment in which the EGM is located. In various embodiments,
the EGM includes one or more of the following display devices: (a)
a central display device; (b) a player tracking display configured
to display various information regarding a player's player tracking
status (as described below); (c) a secondary or upper display
device in addition to the central display device and the player
tracking display; (d) a credit display configured to display a
current quantity of credits, amount of cash, account balance, or
the equivalent; and (e) a bet display configured to display an
amount wagered for one or more plays of one or more games. The
example EGM 2000a illustrated in FIG. 5A includes a central display
device 2116, a player tracking display 2140, a credit display 2120,
and a bet display 2122. The example EGM 2000b illustrated in FIG.
5B includes a central display device 2116, an upper display device
2118, a player tracking display 2140, a credit display 2120, and a
bet display 2122.
[0139] In various embodiments, the display devices include, without
limitation: a monitor, a television display, a plasma display, a
liquid crystal display (LCD), a display based on light emitting
diodes (LEDs), a display based on a plurality of organic
light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), a display based on polymer
light-emitting diodes (PLEDs), a display based on a plurality of
surface-conduction electron-emitters (SEDs), a display including a
projected and/or reflected image, or any other suitable electronic
device or display mechanism. In certain embodiments, as described
above, the display device includes a touch-screen with an
associated touch-screen controller. The display devices may be of
any suitable sizes, shapes, and configurations.
[0140] The display devices of the EGM are configured to display one
or more game and/or non-game images, symbols, and indicia. In
certain embodiments, the display devices of the EGM are configured
to display any suitable visual representation or exhibition of the
movement of objects; dynamic lighting; video images; images of
people, characters, places, things, and faces of cards; and the
like. In certain embodiments, the display devices of the EGM are
configured to display one or more video reels, one or more video
wheels, and/or one or more video dice. In other embodiments,
certain of the displayed images, symbols, and indicia are in
mechanical form. That is, in these embodiments, the display device
includes any electromechanical device, such as one or more
rotatable wheels, one or more reels, and/or one or more dice,
configured to display at least one or a plurality of game or other
suitable images, symbols, or indicia.
[0141] In various embodiments, the at least one output device 1020
includes a payout device. In these embodiments, after the EGM
receives an actuation of a cashout device (described below), the
EGM causes the payout device to provide a payment to the player. In
one embodiment, the payout device is one or more of: (a) a ticket
printer and dispenser configured to print and dispense a ticket or
credit slip associated with a monetary value, wherein the ticket or
credit slip may be redeemed for its monetary value via a cashier, a
kiosk, or other suitable redemption system; (b) a bill dispenser
configured to dispense paper currency; (c) a coin dispenser
configured to dispense coins or tokens (such as into a coin payout
tray); and (d) any suitable combination thereof. The example EGMs
2000a and 2000b illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B each include a
ticket printer and dispenser 2136.
[0142] In certain embodiments, rather than dispensing bills, coins,
or a physical ticket having a monetary value to the player
following receipt of an actuation of the cashout device, the payout
device is configured to cause a payment to be provided to the
player in the form of an electronic funds transfer, such as via a
direct deposit into a bank account, a casino account, or a prepaid
account of the player; via a transfer of funds onto an
electronically recordable identification card or smart card of the
player; or via sending a virtual ticket having a monetary value to
an electronic device of the player.
[0143] While any credit balances, any wagers, any values, and any
awards are described herein as amounts of monetary credits or
currency, one or more of such credit balances, such wagers, such
values, and such awards may be for non-monetary credits,
promotional credits, of player tracking points or credits.
[0144] In certain embodiments, the at least one output device 1020
is a sound generating device controlled by one or more sound cards.
In one such embodiment, the sound generating device includes one or
more speakers or other sound generating hardware and/or software
configured to generate sounds, such as by playing music for any
games or by playing music for other modes of the EGM, such as an
attract mode. The example EGMs 2000a and 2000b illustrated in FIGS.
5A and 5B each include a plurality of speakers 2150. In another
such embodiment, the EGM provides dynamic sounds coupled with
attractive multimedia images displayed on one or more of the
display devices to provide an audio-visual representation or to
otherwise display full-motion video with sound to attract players
to the EGM. In certain embodiments, the EGM displays a sequence of
audio and/or visual attraction messages during idle periods to
attract potential players to the EGM. The videos may be customized
to provide any appropriate information.
[0145] The at least one input device 1030 may include any suitable
device that enables an input signal to be produced and received by
the at least one processor 1010 of the EGM.
[0146] In one embodiment, the at least one input device 1030
includes a payment device configured to communicate with the at
least one processor of the EGM to fund the EGM. In certain
embodiments, the payment device includes one or more of: (a) a bill
acceptor into which paper money is inserted to fund the EGM; (b) a
ticket acceptor into which a ticket or a voucher is inserted to
fund the EGM; (c) a coin slot into which coins or tokens are
inserted to fund the EGM; (d) a reader or a validator for credit
cards, debit cards, or credit slips into which a credit card, debit
card, or credit slip is inserted to fund the EGM; (e) a player
identification card reader into which a player identification card
is inserted to fund the EGM; or (f) any suitable combination
thereof. The example EGMs 2000a and 2000b illustrated in FIGS. 5A
and 5B each include a combined bill and ticket acceptor 2128 and a
coin slot 2126.
[0147] In one embodiment, the at least one input device 1030
includes a payment device configured to enable the EGM to be funded
via an electronic funds transfer, such as a transfer of funds from
a bank account. In another embodiment, the EGM includes a payment
device configured to communicate with a mobile device of a player,
such as a mobile phone, a radio frequency identification tag, or
any other suitable wired or wireless device, to retrieve relevant
information associated with that player to fund the EGM. When the
EGM is funded, the at least one processor determines the amount of
funds entered and displays the corresponding amount on a credit
display or any other suitable display as described below.
[0148] In certain embodiments, the at least one input device 1030
includes at least one wagering or betting device. In various
embodiments, the one or more wagering or betting devices are each:
(1) a mechanical button supported by the housing of the EGM (such
as a hard key or a programmable soft key), or (2) an icon displayed
on a display device of the EGM (described below) that is actuatable
via a touch screen of the EGM (described below) or via use of a
suitable input device of the EGM (such as a mouse or a joystick).
One such wagering or betting device is as a maximum wager or bet
device that, when actuated, causes the EGM to place a maximum wager
on a play of a game. Another such wagering or betting device is a
repeat bet device that, when actuated, causes the EGM to place a
wager that is equal to the previously-placed wager on a play of a
game. A further such wagering or betting device is a bet one device
that, when actuated, causes the EGM to increase the wager by one
credit. Generally, upon actuation of one of the wagering or betting
devices, the quantity of credits displayed in a credit meter
(described below) decreases by the amount of credits wagered, while
the quantity of credits displayed in a bet display (described
below) increases by the amount of credits wagered.
[0149] In various embodiments, the at least one input device 1030
includes at least one game play activation device. In various
embodiments, the one or more game play initiation devices are each:
(1) a mechanical button supported by the housing of the EGM (such
as a hard key or a programmable soft key), or (2) an icon displayed
on a display device of the EGM (described below) that is actuatable
via a touch screen of the EGM (described below) or via use of a
suitable input device of the EGM (such as a mouse or a joystick).
After a player appropriately funds the EGM and places a wager, the
EGM activates the game play activation device to enable the player
to actuate the game play activation device to initiate a play of a
game on the EGM (or another suitable sequence of events associated
with the EGM). After the EGM receives an actuation of the game play
activation device, the EGM initiates the play of the game. The
example EGMs 2000a and 2000b illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B each
include a game play activation device in the form of a game play
initiation button 2132. In other embodiments, the EGM begins game
play automatically upon appropriate funding rather than upon
utilization of the game play activation device.
[0150] In other embodiments, the at least one input device 1030
includes a cashout device. In various embodiments, the cashout
device is: (1) a mechanical button supported by the housing of the
EGM (such as a hard key or a programmable soft key), or (2) an icon
displayed on a display device of the EGM (described below) that is
actuatable via a touch screen of the EGM (described below) or via
use of a suitable input device of the EGM (such as a mouse or a
joystick). When the EGM receives an actuation of the cashout device
from a player and the player has a positive (i.e.,
greater-than-zero) credit balance, the EGM initiates a payout
associated with the player's credit balance. The example EGMs 2000a
and 2000b illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B each include a cashout
device in the form of a cashout button 2134.
[0151] In various embodiments, the at least one input device 1030
includes a plurality of buttons that are programmable by the EGM
operator to, when actuated, cause the EGM to perform particular
functions. For instance, such buttons may be hard keys,
programmable soft keys, or icons icon displayed on a display device
of the EGM (described below) that are actuatable via a touch screen
of the EGM (described below) or via use of a suitable input device
of the EGM (such as a mouse or a joystick). The example EGMs 2000a
and 2000b illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B each include a plurality
of such buttons 2130.
[0152] In certain embodiments, the at least one input device 1030
includes a touch-screen coupled to a touch-screen controller or
other touch-sensitive display overlay to enable interaction with
any images displayed on a display device (as described below). One
such input device is a conventional touch-screen button panel. The
touch-screen and the touch-screen controller are connected to a
video controller. In these embodiments, signals are input to the
EGM by touching the touch screen at the appropriate locations.
[0153] In embodiments including a player tracking system, as
further described below, the at least one input device 1030
includes a card reader in communication with the at least one
processor of the EGM. The example EGMs 2000a and 2000b illustrated
in FIGS. 5A and 5B each include a card reader 2138. The card reader
is configured to read a player identification card inserted into
the card reader.
[0154] The at least one wireless communication component 1056
includes one or more communication interfaces having different
architectures and utilizing a variety of protocols, such as (but
not limited to) 802.11 (WiFi); 802.15 (including Bluetooth.TM.);
802.16 (WiMax); 802.22; cellular standards such as CDMA, CDMA2000,
and WCDMA; Radio Frequency (e.g., RFID); infrared; and Near Field
Magnetic communication protocols. The at least one wireless
communication component 1056 transmits electrical, electromagnetic,
or optical signals that carry digital data streams or analog
signals representing various types of information.
[0155] The at least one wired/wireless power distribution component
1058 includes components or devices that are configured to provide
power to other devices. For example, in one embodiment, the at
least one power distribution component 1058 includes a magnetic
induction system that is configured to provide wireless power to
one or more user input devices near the EGM. In one embodiment, a
user input device docking region is provided, and includes a power
distribution component that is configured to recharge a user input
device without requiring metal-to-metal contact. In one embodiment,
the at least one power distribution component 1058 is configured to
distribute power to one or more internal components of the EGM,
such as one or more rechargeable power sources (e.g., rechargeable
batteries) located at the EGM.
[0156] In certain embodiments, the at least one sensor 1060
includes at least one of: optical sensors, pressure sensors, RF
sensors, infrared sensors, image sensors, thermal sensors, and
biometric sensors. The at least one sensor 1060 may be used for a
variety of functions, such as: detecting movements and/or gestures
of various objects within a predetermined proximity to the EGM;
detecting the presence and/or identity of various persons (e.g.,
players, casino employees, etc.), devices (e.g., user input
devices), and/or systems within a predetermined proximity to the
EGM.
[0157] The at least one data preservation component 1062 is
configured to detect or sense one or more events and/or conditions
that, for example, may result in damage to the EGM and/or that may
result in loss of information associated with the EGM.
Additionally, the data preservation system 1062 may be operable to
initiate one or more appropriate action(s) in response to the
detection of such events/conditions.
[0158] The at least one motion/gesture analysis and interpretation
component 1064 is configured to analyze and/or interpret
information relating to detected player movements and/or gestures
to determine appropriate player input information relating to the
detected player movements and/or gestures. For example, in one
embodiment, the at least one motion/gesture analysis and
interpretation component 1064 is configured to perform one or more
of the following functions: analyze the detected gross motion or
gestures of a player; interpret the player's motion or gestures
(e.g., in the context of a casino game being played) to identify
instructions or input from the player; utilize the interpreted
instructions/input to advance the game state; etc. In other
embodiments, at least a portion of these additional functions may
be implemented at a remote system or device.
[0159] The at least one portable power source 1068 enables the EGM
to operate in a mobile environment. For example, in one embodiment,
the EGM 1000 includes one or more rechargeable batteries.
[0160] The at least one geolocation module 1076 is configured to
acquire geolocation information from one or more remote sources and
use the acquired geolocation information to determine information
relating to a relative and/or absolute position of the EGM. For
example, in one implementation, the at least one geolocation module
1076 is configured to receive GPS signal information for use in
determining the position or location of the EGM. In another
implementation, the at least one geolocation module 1076 is
configured to receive multiple wireless signals from multiple
remote devices (e.g., EGMs, servers, wireless access points, etc.)
and use the signal information to compute position/location
information relating to the position or location of the EGM.
[0161] The at least one user identification module 1077 is
configured to determine the identity of the current user or current
owner of the EGM. For example, in one embodiment, the current user
is required to perform a login process at the EGM in order to
access one or more features. Alternatively, the EGM is configured
to automatically determine the identity of the current user based
on one or more external signals, such as an RFID tag or badge worn
by the current user and that provides a wireless signal to the EGM
that is used to determine the identity of the current user. In at
least one embodiment, various security features are incorporated
into the EGM to prevent unauthorized users from accessing
confidential or sensitive information.
[0162] The at least one information filtering module 1079 is
configured to perform filtering (e.g., based on specified criteria)
of selected information to be displayed at one or more displays
1035 of the EGM.
[0163] In various embodiments, the EGM includes a plurality of
communication ports configured to enable the at least one processor
of the EGM to communicate with and to operate with external
peripherals, such as: accelerometers, arcade sticks, bar code
readers, bill validators, biometric input devices, bonus devices,
button panels, card readers, coin dispensers, coin hoppers, display
screens or other displays or video sources, expansion buses,
information panels, keypads, lights, mass storage devices,
microphones, motion sensors, motors, printers, reels, SCSI ports,
solenoids, speakers, thumbsticks, ticket readers, touch screens,
trackballs, touchpads, wheels, and wireless communication
devices.
[0164] As generally described above, in certain embodiments, such
as the example EGMs 2000a and 2000b illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B,
the EGM has a support structure, housing, or cabinet that provides
support for a plurality of the input devices and the output devices
of the EGM. Further, the EGM is configured such that a player may
operate it while standing or sitting. In various embodiments, the
EGM is positioned on a base or stand, or is configured as a
pub-style tabletop game (not shown) that a player may operate
typically while sitting. As illustrated by the different example
EGMs 2000a and 2000b shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, EGMs may have
varying housing and display configurations.
[0165] In certain embodiments, the EGM is a device that has
obtained approval from a regulatory gaming commission, and in other
embodiments, the EGM is a device that has not obtained approval
from a regulatory gaming commission.
[0166] The EGMs described above are merely three examples of
different types of EGMs. Certain of these example EGMs may include
one or more elements that may not be included in all EGMs, and
these example EGMs may not include one or more elements that are
included in other EGMs. For example, certain EGMs include a coin
acceptor while others do not.
[0167] Differentiating Certain Gaming Devices from General Purpose
Computing Devices
[0168] It should be appreciated that certain of the gaming devices
(e.g., EGMs and/or gaming table components) include certain
components and/or are configured to operate in certain manners that
differentiate these systems from general purpose computing devices
(i.e., certain personal devices such as desktop computers and
laptop computers).
[0169] For instance, EGMs are highly regulated to ensure fairness
and, in many cases, EGMs are configured to award monetary awards up
to multiple millions of dollars. To satisfy security and regulatory
requirements in a gaming environment, hardware and/or software
architectures are implemented in EGMs that differ significantly
from those of general purpose computing devices. For purposes of
illustration, a description of EGMs relative to general purpose
computing devices and some examples of these additional (or
different) hardware and/or software architectures found in EGMs are
described below.
[0170] At first glance, one might think that adapting general
purpose computing device technologies to the gaming industry and
EGMs would be a simple proposition because both general purpose
computing devices and EGMs employ processors that control a variety
of devices. However, due to at least: (1) the regulatory
requirements placed on EGMs, (2) the harsh environment in which
EGMs operate, (3) security requirements, and (4) fault tolerance
requirements, adapting general purpose computing device
technologies to EGMs can be quite difficult. Further, techniques
and methods for solving a problem in the general purpose computing
device industry, such as device compatibility and connectivity
issues, might not be adequate in the gaming industry. For instance,
a fault or a weakness tolerated in a general purpose computing
device, such as security holes in software or frequent crashes, is
not tolerated in an EGM because in an EGM these faults can lead to
a direct loss of funds from the EGM, such as stolen cash or loss of
revenue when the EGM is not operating properly or when the random
outcome determination is manipulated.
[0171] Certain differences between general purpose computing
devices and EGMs are described below. A first difference between
EGMs and general purpose computing devices is that EGMs are
state-based systems. A state-based system stores and maintains its
current state in a non-volatile memory such that, in the event of a
power failure or other malfunction, the state-based system can
return to that state when the power is restored or the malfunction
is remedied. For instance, for a state-based EGM, if the EGM
displays an award for a game of chance but the power to the EGM
fails before the EGM provides the award to the player, the EGM
stores the pre-power failure state in a non-volatile memory,
returns to that state upon restoration of power, and provides the
award to the player. This requirement affects the software and
hardware design on EGMs. General purpose computing devices are not
state-based machines, and a majority of data is usually lost when a
malfunction occurs on a general purpose computing device.
[0172] A second difference between EGMs and general purpose
computing devices is that, for regulatory purposes, the software on
the EGM utilized to operate the EGM has been designed to be static
and monolithic to prevent cheating by the operator of the EGM. For
instance, one solution that has been employed in the gaming
industry to prevent cheating and to satisfy regulatory requirements
has been to manufacture an EGM that can use a proprietary processor
running instructions to provide the game of chance from an EPROM or
other form of non-volatile memory. The coding instructions on the
EPROM are static (non-changeable) and must be approved by a gaming
regulators in a particular jurisdiction and installed in the
presence of a person representing the gaming jurisdiction. Any
changes to any part of the software required to generate the game
of chance, such as adding a new device driver used to operate a
device during generation of the game of chance, can require burning
a new EPROM approved by the gaming jurisdiction and reinstalling
the new EPROM on the EGM in the presence of a gaming regulator.
Regardless of whether the EPROM solution is used, to gain approval
in most gaming jurisdictions, an EGM must demonstrate sufficient
safeguards that prevent an operator or a player of an EGM from
manipulating the EGM's hardware and software in a manner that gives
him an unfair, and in some cases illegal, advantage.
[0173] A third difference between EGMs and general purpose
computing devices is authentication--EGMs storing code are
configured to authenticate the code to determine if the code is
unaltered before executing the code. If the code has been altered,
the EGM prevents the code from being executed. The code
authentication requirements in the gaming industry affect both
hardware and software designs on EGMs. Certain EGMs use hash
functions to authenticate code. For instance, one EGM stores game
program code, a hash function, and an authentication hash (which
may be encrypted). Before executing the game program code, the EGM
hashes the game program code using the hash function to obtain a
result hash and compares the result hash to the authentication
hash. If the result hash matches the authentication hash, the EGM
determines that the game program code is valid and executes the
game program code. If the result hash does not match the
authentication hash, the EGM determines that the game program code
has been altered (i.e., may have been tampered with) and prevents
execution of the game program code.
[0174] A fourth difference between EGMs and general purpose
computing devices is that EGMs have unique peripheral device
requirements that differ from those of a general purpose computing
device, such as peripheral device security requirements not usually
addressed by general purpose computing devices. For instance,
monetary devices, such as coin dispensers, bill validators, and
ticket printers and computing devices that are used to govern the
input and output of cash or other items having monetary value (such
as tickets) to and from an EGM have security requirements that are
not typically addressed in general purpose computing devices.
Therefore, many general purpose computing device techniques and
methods developed to facilitate device connectivity and device
compatibility do not address the emphasis placed on security in the
gaming industry.
[0175] To address some of the issues described above, a number of
hardware/software components and architectures are utilized in EGMs
that are not typically found in general purpose computing devices.
These hardware/software components and architectures, as described
below in more detail, include but are not limited to watchdog
timers, voltage monitoring systems, state-based software
architecture and supporting hardware, specialized communication
interfaces, security monitoring, and trusted memory.
[0176] Certain EGMs use a watchdog timer to provide a software
failure detection mechanism. In a normally-operating EGM, the
operating software periodically accesses control registers in the
watchdog timer subsystem to "re-trigger" the watchdog. Should the
operating software fail to access the control registers within a
preset timeframe, the watchdog timer will timeout and generate a
system reset. Typical watchdog timer circuits include a loadable
timeout counter register to enable the operating software to set
the timeout interval within a certain range of time. A
differentiating feature of some circuits is that the operating
software cannot completely disable the function of the watchdog
timer. In other words, the watchdog timer always functions from the
time power is applied to the board.
[0177] Certain EGMs use several power supply voltages to operate
portions of the computer circuitry. These can be generated in a
central power supply or locally on the computer board. If any of
these voltages falls out of the tolerance limits of the circuitry
they power, unpredictable operation of the EGM may result. Though
most modern general purpose computing devices include voltage
monitoring circuitry, these types of circuits only report voltage
status to the operating software. Out of tolerance voltages can
cause software malfunction, creating a potential uncontrolled
condition in the general purpose computing device. Certain EGMs
have power supplies with relatively tighter voltage margins than
that required by the operating circuitry. In addition, the voltage
monitoring circuitry implemented in certain EGMs typically has two
thresholds of control. The first threshold generates a software
event that can be detected by the operating software and an error
condition then generated. This threshold is triggered when a power
supply voltage falls out of the tolerance range of the power
supply, but is still within the operating range of the circuitry.
The second threshold is set when a power supply voltage falls out
of the operating tolerance of the circuitry. In this case, the
circuitry generates a reset, halting operation of the EGM.
[0178] As described above, certain EGMs are state-based machines.
Different functions of the game provided by the EGM (e.g., bet,
play, result, points in the graphical presentation, etc.) may be
defined as a state. When the EGM moves a game from one state to
another, the EGM stores critical data regarding the game software
in a custom non-volatile memory subsystem. This ensures that the
player's wager and credits are preserved and to minimize potential
disputes in the event of a malfunction on the EGM. In general, the
EGM does not advance from a first state to a second state until
critical information that enables the first state to be
reconstructed has been stored. This feature enables the EGM to
recover operation to the current state of play in the event of a
malfunction, loss of power, etc. that occurred just before the
malfunction. In at least one embodiment, the EGM is configured to
store such critical information using atomic transactions.
[0179] Generally, an atomic operation in computer science refers to
a set of operations that can be combined so that they appear to the
rest of the system to be a single operation with only two possible
outcomes: success or failure. As related to data storage, an atomic
transaction may be characterized as series of database operations
which either all occur, or all do not occur. A guarantee of
atomicity prevents updates to the database occurring only
partially, which can result in data corruption.
[0180] To ensure the success of atomic transactions relating to
critical information to be stored in the EGM memory before a
failure event (e.g., malfunction, loss of power, etc.), memory that
includes one or more of the following criteria be used: direct
memory access capability; data read/write capability which meets or
exceeds minimum read/write access characteristics (such as at least
5.08 Mbytes/sec (Read) and/or at least 38.0 Mbytes/sec (Write)).
Memory devices that meet or exceed the above criteria may be
referred to as "fault-tolerant" memory devices.
[0181] Typically, battery-backed RAM devices may be configured to
function as fault-tolerant devices according to the above criteria,
whereas flash RAM and/or disk drive memory are typically not
configurable to function as fault-tolerant devices according to the
above criteria. Accordingly, battery-backed RAM devices are
typically used to preserve EGM critical data, although other types
of non-volatile memory devices may be employed. These memory
devices are typically not used in typical general purpose computing
devices.
[0182] Thus, in at least one embodiment, the EGM is configured to
store critical information in fault-tolerant memory (e.g.,
battery-backed RAM devices) using atomic transactions. Further, in
at least one embodiment, the fault-tolerant memory is able to
successfully complete all desired atomic transactions (e.g.,
relating to the storage of EGM critical information) within a time
period of 200 milliseconds or less. In at least one embodiment, the
time period of 200 milliseconds represents a maximum amount of time
for which sufficient power may be available to the various EGM
components after a power outage event has occurred at the EGM.
[0183] As described previously, the EGM may not advance from a
first state to a second state until critical information that
enables the first state to be reconstructed has been atomically
stored. After the state of the EGM is restored during the play of a
game of chance, game play may resume and the game may be completed
in a manner that is no different than if the malfunction had not
occurred. Thus, for example, when a malfunction occurs during a
game of chance, the EGM may be restored to a state in the game of
chance just before when the malfunction occurred. The restored
state may include metering information and graphical information
that was displayed on the EGM in the state before the malfunction.
For example, when the malfunction occurs during the play of a card
game after the cards have been dealt, the EGM may be restored with
the cards that were previously displayed as part of the card game.
As another example, a bonus game may be triggered during the play
of a game of chance in which a player is required to make a number
of selections on a video display screen. When a malfunction has
occurred after the player has made one or more selections, the EGM
may be restored to a state that shows the graphical presentation
just before the malfunction including an indication of selections
that have already been made by the player. In general, the EGM may
be restored to any state in a plurality of states that occur in the
game of chance that occurs while the game of chance is played or to
states that occur between the play of a game of chance.
[0184] Game history information regarding previous games played
such as an amount wagered, the outcome of the game, and the like
may also be stored in a non-volatile memory device. The information
stored in the non-volatile memory may be detailed enough to
reconstruct a portion of the graphical presentation that was
previously presented on the EGM and the state of the EGM (e.g.,
credits) at the time the game of chance was played. The game
history information may be utilized in the event of a dispute. For
example, a player may decide that in a previous game of chance that
they did not receive credit for an award that they believed they
won. The game history information may be used to reconstruct the
state of the EGM before, during, and/or after the disputed game to
demonstrate whether the player was correct or not in the player's
assertion.
[0185] Another feature of EGMs is that they often include unique
interfaces, including serial interfaces, to connect to specific
subsystems internal and external to the EGM. The serial devices may
have electrical interface requirements that differ from the
"standard" EIA serial interfaces provided by general purpose
computing devices. These interfaces may include, for example, Fiber
Optic Serial, optically coupled serial interfaces, current loop
style serial interfaces, etc. In addition, to conserve serial
interfaces internally in the EGM, serial devices may be connected
in a shared, daisy-chain fashion in which multiple peripheral
devices are connected to a single serial channel.
[0186] The serial interfaces may be used to transmit information
using communication protocols that are unique to the gaming
industry. For example, IGT's Netplex is a proprietary communication
protocol used for serial communication between EGMs. As another
example, SAS is a communication protocol used to transmit
information, such as metering information, from an EGM to a remote
device. Often SAS is used in conjunction with a player tracking
system.
[0187] Certain EGMs may alternatively be treated as peripheral
devices to a casino communication controller and connected in a
shared daisy chain fashion to a single serial interface. In both
cases, the peripheral devices are assigned device addresses. If so,
the serial controller circuitry must implement a method to generate
or detect unique device addresses. General purpose computing device
serial ports are not able to do this.
[0188] Security monitoring circuits detect intrusion into an EGM by
monitoring security switches attached to access doors in the EGM
cabinet. Access violations result in suspension of game play and
can trigger additional security operations to preserve the current
state of game play. These circuits also function when power is off
by use of a battery backup. In power-off operation, these circuits
continue to monitor the access doors of the EGM. When power is
restored, the EGM can determine whether any security violations
occurred while power was off, e.g., via software for reading status
registers. This can trigger event log entries and further data
authentication operations by the EGM software.
[0189] Trusted memory devices and/or trusted memory sources are
included in an EGM to ensure the authenticity of the software that
may be stored on less secure memory subsystems, such as mass
storage devices. Trusted memory devices and controlling circuitry
are typically designed to not enable modification of the code and
data stored in the memory device while the memory device is
installed in the EGM. The code and data stored in these devices may
include authentication algorithms, random number generators,
authentication keys, operating system kernels, etc. The purpose of
these trusted memory devices is to provide gaming regulatory
authorities a root trusted authority within the computing
environment of the EGM that can be tracked and verified as
original. This may be accomplished via removal of the trusted
memory device from the EGM computer and verification of the secure
memory device contents is a separate third party verification
device. Once the trusted memory device is verified as authentic,
and based on the approval of the verification algorithms included
in the trusted device, the EGM is enabled to verify the
authenticity of additional code and data that may be located in the
gaming computer assembly, such as code and data stored on hard disk
drives.
[0190] In at least one embodiment, at least a portion of the
trusted memory devices/sources may correspond to memory that cannot
easily be altered (e.g., "unalterable memory") such as EPROMS,
PROMS, Bios, Extended Bios, and/or other memory sources that are
able to be configured, verified, and/or authenticated (e.g., for
authenticity) in a secure and controlled manner.
[0191] According to one embodiment, when a trusted information
source is in communication with a remote device via a network, the
remote device may employ a verification scheme to verify the
identity of the trusted information source. For example, the
trusted information source and the remote device may exchange
information using public and private encryption keys to verify each
other's identities. In another embodiment, the remote device and
the trusted information source may engage in methods using zero
knowledge proofs to authenticate each of their respective
identities.
[0192] EGMs storing trusted information may utilize apparatuses or
methods to detect and prevent tampering. For instance, trusted
information stored in a trusted memory device may be encrypted to
prevent its misuse. In addition, the trusted memory device may be
secured behind a locked door. Further, one or more sensors may be
coupled to the memory device to detect tampering with the memory
device and provide some record of the tampering. In yet another
example, the memory device storing trusted information might be
designed to detect tampering attempts and clear or erase itself
when an attempt at tampering has been detected.
[0193] Mass storage devices used in a general purpose computing
devices typically enable code and data to be read from and written
to the mass storage device. In a gaming environment, modification
of the gaming code stored on a mass storage device is strictly
controlled and would only be enabled under specific maintenance
type events with electronic and physical enablers required. Though
this level of security could be provided by software, EGMs that
include mass storage devices include hardware level mass storage
data protection circuitry that operates at the circuit level to
monitor attempts to modify data on the mass storage device and will
generate both software and hardware error triggers should a data
modification be attempted without the proper electronic and
physical enablers being present.
[0194] It should be appreciated that the terminology used herein is
for the purpose of describing particular aspects only and is not
intended to be limiting of the disclosure. For example, the
singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the
plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise. In another example, the terms "including" and
"comprising" and variations thereof, when used in this
specification, specify the presence of stated features, steps,
operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the
presence or addition of one or more other features, steps,
operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Additionally, a listing of items does not imply that any or all of
the items are mutually exclusive nor does a listing of items imply
that any or all of the items are collectively exhaustive of
anything or in a particular order, unless expressly specified
otherwise. Moreover, as used herein, the term "and/or" includes any
and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
It should be further appreciated that headings of sections provided
in this document and the title are for convenience only, and are
not to be taken as limiting the disclosure in any way. Furthermore,
unless expressly specified otherwise, devices that are in
communication with each other need not be in continuous
communication with each other and may communicate directly or
indirectly through one or more intermediaries.
[0195] Various changes and modifications to the present embodiments
described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For
example, a description of an embodiment with several components in
communication with each other does not imply that all such
components are required, or that each of the disclosed components
must communicate with every other component. On the contrary a
variety of optional components are described to illustrate the wide
variety of possible embodiments of the present disclosure. As such,
these changes and modifications can be made without departing from
the spirit and scope of the present subject matter and without
diminishing its intended technical scope. It is therefore intended
that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended
claims.
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