System and method for integrated player tracking and cash-access

• US 20050107156A1
• Filed: 10/01/2004
• Published: 05/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Everi Payments, Inc. (Everi Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cash Systems Incorporated (Everi Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Potts, Craig, Beer, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 8,696,463 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/25
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 3/00157 Casino or betting games horse races A63F3/00082
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3225 Data transfer within a gaming system, e.g. data sent between gaming machines and users
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3246 involving coins and/or banknotes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3248 involving non-monetary media of fixed value, e.g. casino chips of fixed value
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3255 Incentive, loyalty and/or promotion schemes, e.g. comps, gaming associated with a purchase, gaming funded by advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/00 Complete banking systems; Coded card-freed arrangements adapted for dispensing or receiving monies or the like and posting such transactions to existing accounts, e.g. automatic teller machines data processing equipment for bank accounting G06Q40/02
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/20 Automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/203 Dispensing operations within ATMs dispensing in general G07D11/00

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and method for integrating player tracking and cash access in a casino or other gaming environment. One aspect of the invention allows for fund access and management wherein gaming machines, such as slot machines, receive playable credits directly from a patron'"'"'s banking or credit card account. Another aspect of the present invention relates to integrating player tracking and cash access transactions by allowing the players to provide a player tracking card for each financial transaction conducted in the casino. In return, the casino issues gaming or bonus points to the players for allowing their transactions to be tracked. Yet another aspect of the present invention consolidates the players'"'"' financial account information into a single casino database. Players can subsequently credit or debit cash from the players'"'"' financial accounts using any associated customer identification cards or otherwise receive such credits in other forms that permit negotiations, including quasi-cash documents.

Claims

1. A method for conducting cashless gaming fund management on a gaming machine, the method comprising:

electronically processing at least one personal identification card inserted by a customer in order to retrieve machine readable information thereon, wherein the card is associated with at least one financial account;

receiving a selection from the customer including a desired credit value to be transferred;

electronically issuing a request to confirm the availability of the desired credit value from one of the associated the financial accounts, the request utilizing one or more fields of machine readable information retrieved from the card; and

transferring, upon confirmation of the request, the desired credit value to a local financial account.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the method further includes the step of storing at least a portion of said credit value in the local memory of the gaming machine thereby enabling gameplay.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the card is a casino-issued player tracking card.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the card is an ATM card.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the card is a credit card.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the card is a POS debit card.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the machine-readable information includes information stored in a magnetic strip and the gaming machine includes a magnetic strip reader.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the request is transmitted to an authorization center such that the authorization center receives the desired credit value and at least a portion of the machine readable information, and wherein the gaming machine receives confirmation of the request from the authorization center.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the authorization center is a financial intermediary that manages the local financial account associated with the customer.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the method further includes the step of storing one or more requested transactions and not processing such requests until a predetermined event has occured.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the predetermined event is the customer requesting credits that exceed a pre-determined credit limit.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the predetermined event is a customer checking out of the hotel or casino.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the gaming machine uniquely identifies the customer and associates the desired credit value transferred from a financial account with the customer in a customer tracking database.

14. The method of claim 4, wherein the ATM card is used to identify a customer stored in a player tracking database managed by a casino.

15. The method of claim 5, wherein the credit card is used to identify a customer stored in a player tracking database managed by a casino.

16. The method of claim 6, wherein the POS debit card is used to identify a customer stored in a player tracking database managed by a casino.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of electronically processing at least one personal identification card to retrieve machine readable information thereon further includes processing an additional personal identification card.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the electronic processing of at least one identification card retrieves a list of all financial accounts that have been associated with the identification card.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of receiving the selection from a customer includes the selection of a financial account from the list of financial accounts associated with a player identification card.

20. A method for conducting cashless gaming fund management on a gaming machine, the method comprising:

electronically processing a personal identification card to retrieve machine readable information thereon, wherein the card is associated with at least one financial account;

receiving a transaction type selection from the customer including an amount of credit value to be debited;

electronically issuing a request to debit the desired credit value on the gaming machine to an identified financial account, the request utilizing one or more fields of machine readable information retrieved from the card; and

transferring, upon approval of the request, the desired debit value from the gaming machine to the financial account.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the gaming machine is a slot machine in a casino environment.

22. The method of claim 20 wherein the personal identification card is a casino-issued player tracking card.

23. The method of claim 20 wherein the personal identification card is an ATM card.

24. The method of claim 20 wherein the personal identification card is a credit card.

25. The method of claim 20 wherein the personal identification card is a POS debit card.

26. The method of claim 20 wherein the machine readable information includes a magnetic strip and the gaming machine includes a magnetic strip reader.

27. The method of claim 20, wherein the selected transaction type is a credit transaction, thereby initiating the following additional steps:

transmitting a request to an authorization center such that the authorization center receives the desired credit value and at least a portion of the machine readable information, and

receiving confirmation that the request has been performed from the authorization center.

28. The method of claim 20, where the selected transaction type is the gaming machine debit transaction, the request is transmitted to an authorization center such that the authorization center receives a value of the winnings and at least a portion of the machine readable information, and the gaming machine receives approval for the request from the authorization center.

29. A method for integrating customer tracking and cash access transactions in a gaming environment, the method comprising:

electronically processing a casino-issued player identification card associated with the customer;

electronically processing a bank card to retrieve machine readable information thereon, wherein the bank card is issued to a customer and is associated with a financial account; and

electronically storing the machine readable information retrieved from the bank card and associating the bank card information with the casino issued player identification card;

receiving a selection from the customer to withdraw a desired cash value from at least one financial account;

electronically issuing a request to withdraw cash from the financial account, the request utilizing the machine readable information on the bank card and the desired cash value;

transferring, upon approval of the request, the desired cash value to the customer in negotiable form from the financial account; and

tracking the transfer of the desired cash value to the customer such that the desired cash value is stored and associated with a unique identifier stored on the casino issued player identification card.

30. The method of claim 29 further comprising rewarding the customer by awarding casino-issued gaming points to the customer, such that the gaming points are awarded based on a total dollar value associated with the unique identifier as stored in a player tracking database.

31. The method of claim 29 further comprising rewarding the customer by awarding casino-issued gaming points to the customer, such that the gaming points are awarded based on the number of transactions that are associated with the unique identifier in the transaction database.

32. The method of claim 29, wherein the step of transferring the desired cash value in negotiatable form includes transferring credits that are not immediately convertible into cash.

33. A method for integrating customer tracking and cash access services in a gaming environment, the method comprising:

receiving account information from a customer, wherein the account information uniquely identifies a preexisting independent financial account;

issuing to the customer a customer tracking card, wherein the customer tracking card includes a unique identifier;

associating, in a customer tracking database, the customer tracking card with the independent financial account;

electronically processing the customer tracking card to retrieve the unique identifier thereon;

receiving a selection from the customer to withdraw a desired cash value from the independent financial account;

electronically issuing a request to withdraw cash from the independent financial account, the request utilizing the account information and the unique identifier; and

transferring, upon approval of the request, a desired cash value to the customer from the independent financial account.

34. The method of claim 33 further comprising tracking transactions of the customer such that a record of the desired cash value transferred to the customer is stored and associated with the unique identifier in a transaction database.

35. The method of claim 34 further comprising rewarding the customer by awarding casino-issued gaming points to the customer, such that the gaming points are awarded based on a total dollar value associated with the unique identifier in the transaction database.

36. The method of claim 33 wherein the unique identifier is encoded on the customer tracking card.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein electronically processing the customer tracking card includes decoding the unique identifier on the customer tracking card.

38. The method of claim 36 wherein the unique identifier includes a magnetic strip and electronically processing the customer tracking card includes reading the magnetic strip.

39. The method of claim 36 wherein the unique identifier includes a barcode and electronically processing the customer tracking card includes reading the barcode.

40. The method of claim 33 wherein the request is transmitted to an authorization center such that the authorization center receives the desired cash value and at least a portion of the account information, and wherein the authorization center approves the request.

41. The method of claim 33 wherein the account information includes personal information.

42. The method of claim 41 wherein the personal information includes a customer name, a customer address, a customer telephone number, a customer social security number, and a customer state-issued identification card.

43. The method of claim 33 wherein the account information includes an account number.

44. The method of claim 33 wherein the account information includes a bank routing number.

45. The method of claim 33 wherein the account information includes a Personal Identification Number.

46. The method of claim 34 wherein the desired cash value is transferred to the customer in cash form.

47. The method of claim 34 wherein the desired cash value is transferred to a gaming machine, such that the gaming machine is credited with the desired cash value for use by the customer on the gaming machine.

58. The system of claim 46 wherein the cash access machine decodes the identifier on the customer tracking card.

48. A system for integrating customer tracking and cash access services in a gaming environment, the system comprising:

a customer tracking card associated with a customer, wherein the customer tracking card includes an identifier;

a customer tracking database for electronically storing the identifier and associating the identifier with information identifying at least one preexisting financial account; and

a cash access machine adapted to electronically process either the customer tracking card or a bank card and read the unique identifier thereon such that either card can be used to retrieve information identifying at least one of the financial accounts associated with the identifier.

49. The system of claim 48, wherein the cash access machine is further adapted to:

receive a selection from the customer to withdraw a desired cash value from at least one selected financial account,

issue a request to withdraw cash from the selected financial account, and

transfer, upon approval of the request, the desired financial value to the customer from the selected financial account.

50. The system of claim 48 wherein the cash access machine transfers the desired cash value to the customer by dispensing cash.

51. The system of claim 48 wherein the cash access machine is a gaming machine.

52. The system of claim 51 wherein the gaming machine is a slot machine.

53. The system of claim 51 wherein the gaming machine transfers the desired cash value to the customer by crediting the gaming machine with the desired cash value for use by the customer on the gaming machine.

54. The system of claim 48 wherein the cash access machine transfers the desired cash value to the customer by issuing a quasi-cash document.

55. The system of claim 49 wherein the cash access machine is further adapted to track transactions of the customer such that a record of the desired cash value transferred to the customer is stored and associated with the unique identifier in a transaction database.

56. The system of claim 55 wherein the customer tracking database further stores bonus points that are awarded to the customer, wherein the bonus points are awarded based on the nature of transactions conducted on the cash access machine.

57. The system of claim 48 wherein the identifier is encoded on the customer tracking card.

59. The system of claim 57 wherein the identifier includes a magnetic strip and the cash access machine includes a magnetic strip reader.

60. The system of claim 57 wherein the identifier includes a barcode and the cash access machine includes a barcode reader.

61. The system of claim 49 further comprising an authorization center, wherein the request is transmitted to the authorization center such that the authorization center receives the desired cash value and at least a portion of the account information, and wherein the authorization center approves the request.

62. A system for integrating customer tracking and cash access services in a gaming environment, the system comprising:

a customer tracking card associated with a customer, wherein the customer tracking card includes a unique identifier;

a customer tracking database for electronically storing the unique identifier, wherein the customer tracking database electronically receives the unique identifier and associates the unique identifier with a preexisting independent financial account, and wherein the customer tracking database stores account information provided by the customer, the account information uniquely identifying the independent financial account; and

a cash access machine adapted to electronically process the customer tracking card and read the unique identifier thereon, receive a selection from the customer to withdraw a desired cash value from the independent financial account, electronically issue a request to withdraw cash from the independent financial account that is associated with the unique identifier by the customer tracking database, and transfer, upon approval of the request, the desired cash value to the customer from the independent financial account.

63. The system of claim 62 wherein the cash access machine is an Automated Teller Machine.

64. The system of claim 62 wherein the cash access machine transfers the desired cash value to the customer by dispensing cash.

65. The system of claim 62 wherein the cash access machine is a gaming machine.

66. The system of claim 65 wherein the gaming machine is a slot machine.

67. The system of claim 65 wherein the gaming machine transfers the desired cash value to the customer by crediting the gaming machine with the desired cash value for use by the customer on the gaming machine.

68. The system of claim 62 wherein the cash access machine transfers the desired cash value to the customer by issuing a quasi-cash document.

69. The system of claim 62 wherein the cash access machine is further adapted to track transactions of the customer such that a record of the desired cash value transferred to the customer is stored and associated with the unique identifier in a transaction database.

70. The system of claim 69 wherein the customer tracking database further stores casino-issued gaming points that are awarded to the customer, wherein the gaming points are awarded based on a total dollar value associated with the unique identifier in the transaction database.

71. The system of claim 62 wherein the unique identifier is encoded on the customer tracking card.

72. The system of claim 71 wherein the cash access machine decodes the unique identifier on the customer tracking card.

73. The system of claim 71 wherein the unique identifier includes a magnetic strip and the cash access machine includes a magnetic strip reader.

74. The system of claim 71 wherein the unique identifier includes a barcode and the cash access machine includes a barcode reader.

75. The system of claim 62 further comprising an authorization center, wherein the request is transmitted to the authorization center such that the authorization center receives the desired cash value and at least a portion of the account information, and wherein the authorization center approves the request.

76. The system of claim 62 wherein the account information includes personal information.

77. The system of claim 76 wherein the personal information includes a customer name, a customer address, a customer telephone number, a customer social security number, and a customer state-issued identification card.

78. The system of claim 62 wherein the account information includes an account number.

79. The system of claim 62 wherein the account information includes a bank routing number.

80. The system of claim 62 wherein the account information includes a Personal Identification Number.