Wireless gaming environment

• US 20070243935A1
• Filed: 06/30/2006
• Published: 10/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LNW Gaming Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Bally Gaming Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Inventors: Huizinga, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 7,967,682 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3218 wherein at least part of the system is portable
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3223 Architectural aspects of a gaming system, e.g. internal configuration, master/slave, wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes

Abstract

A system employs a server computing system with an integrated database and wireless communications devices, for example, handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs). The server computing system may also communicate with fully automated data collection systems associated with some gaming tables and/or with the casino'"'"'s legacy data collection systems and databases. The server computing system may communicate with various non-gaming related casino systems, such as point-of-sale terminals and/or accounting systems, related to the various guest facilities, for example, allowing player comps to be freely exchanged for services and merchandise. The wireless communications devices permit remote wagering.

Claims

1. A method of operating a wireless communications device to facilitate remote wagering on table games, the method comprising:

receiving user input at the wireless communications device indicating a wager to be placed on a game occurring at a gaming table;

in response, creating a wager transaction packet including information indicative of an identity of the wireless communications device, a wager amount, and the game on which the wager is placed; and

transmitting the wager transaction packet intact to a server computing system via a network, where the wager transaction packet remains intact during transmission between the wireless communications device and the server computing system.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein creating a wager transaction packet comprises creating a wager transaction packet that further includes information indicative of a date and time at which the wager is placed.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein creating a wager transaction packet comprises creating a wager transaction packet that further includes information indicative of an identity of a user of the wireless communications device.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the information indicative of a game on which the wager is placed includes information indicative of at least one of a pit, a gaming table and a position at the gaming table on which the wager is placed.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the wager is a backline wager placed on an outcome of play by a primary player and wherein creating a wager transaction packet comprises creating a wager transaction packet that further includes information indicative of the primary player on which the backline wager is placed.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein creating a wager transaction packet comprises creating a wager transaction packet that further includes at least one of error detection or error correction information.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein transmitting the wager transaction packet intact to a server computing system comprises wirelessly transmitting the wager transaction packet from the wireless communication device to a wireless access point.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein transmitting the wager transaction packet intact to a server computing system further comprises transmitting the wager transaction packet from the wireless access point to the server computing system via at least one wired communications channel.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

encrypting the wager transaction packet before transmitting the wager transaction packet intact to the server computing system.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether an acknowledgement of the wager is received at the wireless communications device from the server computing system; and

in response, providing a message to a user indicating whether an acknowledgement of the wager has been received.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an indication of an outcome of the wager from the server computing system; and

in response, providing a wager outcome message to a user indicative of the outcome of the wager.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether wagers are being accepted; and

providing a message to a user of the wireless communications device indicative of whether wagers are being accepted.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether wagers are being accepted; and

providing a message to a user of the wireless communications device indicative of the amount of time remaining during which wagers are being accepted.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether wagers are being accepted; and

providing a message to a user of the wireless communications device including a successively updated countdown of time remaining during which wagers are being accepted.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a view of at least a portion of the gaming table to a user of the wireless communications device via a display of the wireless communications device.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein creating a wager transaction packet comprises creating a wager transaction packet that further includes at least one indication of geographic location of the wireless communication device when the wager was entered into the wireless communication device.

17. A method of operating a server computing system to facilitate remote wagering on table games, the method comprising:

receiving a wager transaction packet including information indicative of an identity of a wireless communications device that produced the wager transaction packet, a wager amount, and a game occurring at a gaming table on which the wager is being placed;

determining an outcome of the wager based on at least one gaming event occurring at the gaming table; and

transmitting outcome information indicative of the outcome of the wager to the wireless communications device that produced the wager transaction packet.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

determining whether the wager transaction packet was received intact at the server computing system.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

denying the wager if the wager transaction packet is determined to have not been received intact at the server computing system; and

producing an alert if the wager transaction packet is determined to have not been received intact at the server computing system.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

decrypting the wager transaction packet.

21. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

verifying that a device identifier contained in the wager transaction packet identifies a wireless communications device presently authorized for use.

22. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

verifying that a device identifier and a player identifier contained in the wager transaction packet identify a wireless communications device presently authorized for use by a player identified by the player identifier.

23. The method of claim 17 wherein the wager transaction packet includes an indication of a date and time when the wager was entered into the wireless communication device, and further comprising:

determining based at least in part on the indication, whether the date and time the wager was entered into the wireless communication device is within a period during which wagers on the game were being accepted.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

accepting the wager if the date and time the wager was entered into the wireless communication device is within the period during which wagers on the game were being accepted;

rejecting the wager if the date and time the wager was entered into the wireless communication device is not within the period during which wagers on the game were being accepted.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

providing an indication of rejection to the wireless communications device if the wager is rejected.

26. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

determining whether the wager transaction packet was received by a wireless access point within a period during which wagers on the game were being accepted.

27. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

determining whether the wager transaction packet was received by the server computing system within a period during which wagers on the game were being accepted.

28. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

transmitting an acknowledgment of receipt of the wager transaction packet to the wireless communications device that produced the wager transaction packet.

29. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

determining whether an error has occurred during transmission of the wager transaction packet.

30. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

correcting an error that has occurred during transmission of the wager transaction packet based at least in part on error correction information from the wager transaction packet.

31. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

verifying that the wager transaction packet was received via a wireless access point located within a defined geographic boundary.

32. The method of claim 17 wherein the wager transaction packet includes an indication of geographic location of the wireless communication device when the wager was entered into the wireless communication device, and further comprising:

determining based at least in part on the indication, whether the wireless communication device was located within a defined geographic boundary when the wager was entered into the wireless communication device.

33. A system to facilitate remote wagering on table games, the system comprising:

a server computing system comprising at least one processor and at least one processor-readable memory that stores instructions executable by the processor to cause the processor to process wager transaction packets by;

receiving a plurality of wager transaction packets, each wager transaction packet including information indicative of an identity of a wireless communications device that produced the wager transaction packet, a wager amount, and a game occurring at a gaming table on which the wager is being placed;

for each of the wagers, determining an outcome of the wagers based on at least one gaming event occurring at the gaming table; and

for at least some of the wagers, transmitting information indicative of the outcome of the wager to the wireless communications device that produced the respective wager transaction packet.

34. The system of claim 33, further comprising:

a plurality of wireless communications devices, each comprising at least one processor and at least one processor-readable memory that stores instructions executable by the processor to cause the processor to generate wager transaction packets by;

receiving user input at the wireless communications device indicating the wager to be placed on the game occurring at the gaming table;

in response, creating one of the wager transaction packets including information indicative of the identity of the wireless communications device, the wager amount, and the game on which the wager is placed; and

transmitting the wager transaction packet intact to the server computing system via a network, where the wager transaction packet remains intact during transmission between the wireless communications device and the server computing system.

35. The system of claim 33 wherein wireless communications devices cause the processor to process wager transaction packets further by:

including information indicative of a date and time at which the wager is placed.

36. The system of claim 33 wherein wireless communications devices cause the processor to process wager transaction packets further by:

determining whether wagers are being accepted;

and providing a message to a user of the wireless communications device indicative of the amount of time remaining during which wagers are being accepted.

37. The system of claim 33, further comprising:

a plurality of wireless access points positioned at respective locations in a casino property, the wireless access points having a geographical range limited to within a boundary of the casino property.

38. A wireless communications device operable to facilitate gaming, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one processor-readable memory that stores instructions executable by the processor to cause the processor to generate wager transaction packets by;

receiving user input via a user interface of the wireless communications device indicating a wager to be placed on a game occurring at a gaming table;

in response, creating a wager transaction packet including information indicative of an identity of the wireless communications device, a wager amount, and the game on which the wager is placed; and

transmitting the wager transaction packet intact to a server computing system.

39. The wireless communications device of claim 38 wherein the instructions cause the processor to generate wager transaction packets further by:

including information indicative of a date and time at which the wager is placed in the wager transaction packet.

40. The wireless communications device of claim 38, further comprising:

a smartcard storing a non-discernable unique identifier, the smartcard operable to produce a response to an identification query based at least in part on the non-discernable unique identifier using a cryptographic algorithm.

41. The wireless communications device of claim 38 wherein the smartcard is removable from the wireless communications device, and wherein the wireless communications device stores an equipment identifier that is unique to the wireless communications device.