Gaming device having an electronic funds transfer system

• US 20040087360A1
• Filed: 09/15/2003
• Published: 05/06/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Chamberlain, John W., Saffari, Mohamad Ali, Hollibaugh, Larry R.
• Granted Patent: US 7,819,742 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/25
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3248 involving non-monetary media of fixed value, e.g. casino chips of fixed value
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3251 involving media of variable value, e.g. programmable cards, programmable tokens
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3255 Incentive, loyalty and/or promotion schemes, e.g. comps, gaming associated with a purchase, gaming funded by advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3281 wherein game attributes are transferred between players, e.g. points, weapons, avatars
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/42 for ticket printing or like apparatus , e.g. apparatus for dispensing of printed paper tickets or payment cards
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 5/00 Receipt-giving machines cash registers giving receipts G07G1/00

Abstract

A system, method and gaming device having a card reader and a receipt printer are provided. One processor of the gaming device communicates with a receipt printer and plays a game program. Another processor operates as part of an electronic funds transfer control unit that communicates with a card reader, keypad and display for prompting the player to enter fund transfer card information. The control unit sends out fund requests over a wide area network to a remote fund repository. If the repository approves of a fund request, the approval travels back to the ticket validation system, which instructs the gaming device to: (i) issue a direct transfer of funds via the credit meter, a hopper or a lottery and (ii) issue a receipt for the transfer to the player.

Claims

1. A gaming device operable to request and receive funds electronically, said gaming device comprising:

a processor operable to receive a wager from a player to initiate a wagering game;

a controller operable to process an electronic fund request by the player, the controller operating without direct communication with the processor;

a card reader operable with the controller;

a payment device operable with the processor, the payment device providing a monetary amount to a player upon inserting a card into the card reader and receiving an approval for the electronic fund transfer request from a remote fund repository that communicates with the controller via a banking network; and

a housing that supports the controller, the processor, the card reader and the payment device.

2. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the card is selected from the group consisting of:

a credit card, debit card, gaming establishment card and any combination thereof.

3. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the amount is of a type selected from the group consisting of:

a ticket, gaming device credits, gaming device tokens, coins, a lottery ticket and any combination thereof.

4. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the payment device is selected from the group consisting of:

a ticket printer, a hopper, a credit meter, a gaming establishment card/account, a lottery ticket issuer and any combination thereof.

5. The gaming device of claim 1, which includes a display operable with the controller to display electronic fund transfer information to the user.

6. The gaming device of claim 5, wherein the display is a first display and which includes a second display that displays a game of the gaming device.

7. The gaming device of claim 1, which includes an input device operable with the controller to enable the user to input electronic fund transfer information.

8. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the banking network is a wide area network.

9. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the banking network includes an internet.

10. The gaming device of claim 1, which includes a local casino network that interfaces between the banking network and the processor.

11. The gaming device of claim 10, wherein the local casino network supports at least one other function selected from the group consisting of:

promotions, casino-player fund transfers, player tracking and any combination thereof.

12. The gaming device of claim 10, wherein the local casino network communicates with a ticket validation system that logs the monetary amount provided to the player.

13. The gaming device of claim 10, which includes an integrated circuit board that interfaces between the processor and the local casino network.

14. A gaming device operable to transfer funds electronically for use by a player said gaming device comprising:

a first processor that is operable to

(a) receive an electronic fund transfer request from the player, the request including an account number and a requested amount of money, and

(b) send the request to a remote fund repository that generates a response to the request;

a ticket printer; and

a second processor that causes the ticket printer to print a ticket with the requested amount if the response is an approval.

15. The gaming device of claim 14, wherein the fund transfer request includes at least one of:

a personal identification number, the amount and an election for a transfer from a credit account or a debit account.

16. The gaming device of claim 14, wherein the first processor operates independent of the second processor.

17. A system for transferring funds electronically to a gaming device for use by a player, said system comprising:

a gaming device having a control unit;

a first network operable to access a remote fund repository that receives an electronic fund transfer request from the control unit and provides a response to the request; and

a second network that communicates with a processor of the gaming device to credit the player a monetary amount if the response from the remote fund repository is an approval.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the first network includes an internet.

19. The system of claim 17, which includes a plurality of remote fund repositories linked via the first network.

20. The system of claim 17, which includes a plurality of gaming devices linked by the second network.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein at least two of the gaming devices play different types of games.

22. The system of claim 17, wherein the second network is a local area network.

23. The gaming device of claim 17, wherein the first and second processors operate independently from one another.

24. The system of claim 17, which includes a ticket printer that prints a ticket with the monetary amount.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the ticket printer is located in the gaming device.

26. A method of providing a monetary amount for use at a gaming device in a gaming establishment, said method comprising:

transmitting from a first processor of the gaming device a fund request amount to a remote fund repository;

receiving, at a second processor of the gaming device, a response from the remote fund repository;

providing the amount for use at the gaming device if the response is an approval; and

informing the gaming establishment of the amount provided.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein providing the amount includes:

crediting a credit meter of the gaming device;

issuing a number of tokens from a hopper;

issuing a lottery ticket;

printing a receipt and any combination thereof.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein transmitting from the first processor includes transmitting over a wide area network.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein receiving at the second processor includes receiving from a local area network.