SELF-SERVICE STATIONS FOR UTILIZING NON-NEGOTIABLE CREDITS EARNED FROM A GAME OF CHANCE

• US 20110256924A1
• Filed: 06/24/2011
• Published: 10/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: JBSHBM, LLC
• Original Assignee: Brian K. Buchheit, Sean I. Mcghie
• Inventors: McGHIE, SEAN I., BUCHHEIT, BRIAN K.
• Granted Patent: US 8,376,224 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/25
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/06 Private payment circuits, e.g. involving electronic currency used among participants of a common payment scheme
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/381 Currency conversion
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes

Abstract

Entertainment credits from a game of chance can be identified. The entertainment credits can be associated with an entity with which a user has previously interacted. The previous interactions can earning the entertainment credits, which are non-negotiable credits. Responsive to a user request, a conversion agency can convert a quantity of the entertainment credits to a quantity of negotiable funds, wherein the conversion agency is not directly associated with the entity. The user can be permitted to access the quantity of negotiable funds within a vendor kiosk physically proximate and distinctly independent of the entity, wherein the quantity of negotiable funds are able to be applied to user specified purchases within the kiosk, wherein the vendor does not honor the non-negotiable credits.

Claims

1. A credit to fund conversion system comprising:

a non-negotiable credit account associated with at least one entity, wherein entertainment credits earned from playing a game of chance are contained within the non-negotiable credit account and are earned though previous interactions between a user and the entity;

a negotiable funds account including negotiable funds that the user is able to apply to user specified purchases, wherein venders involved in the purchases do not honor the entertainment credits for the purchases; and

a conversion agency configured to automatically and approximately immediately convert a quantity of entertainment credits from the non-negotiable credit account to a quantity of funds in the negotiable funds account responsive to a request from the user from a kiosk.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said user specified purchases are kiosk purchases made using the negotiable funds of the negotiable funds account.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the game of change is not played from the kiosk and is not able to be played from the kiosk.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the game of change is played from the kiosk.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the kiosk includes automated teller machine (ATM) functionality, which permits users to receive money from their bank accounts via a debit card, and transfer converted credits into a user selected account or to receive money in exchange for the converted credits.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the kiosk is a point of sale (POS) device, which permits users to pay for the user specified purchases using credit cards or debit cards, wherein the POS device also permits users to pay for the user specified purchases using the converted credits.

7. A computing device comprising:

at least one processor,

a non-volatile memory for storing computer program instructions; and

a network interface card; and

a bus communicatively linking the at least one processor, the non-volatile memory, and the network interface card, wherein the computing device is operable to execute the computer program instructions causing the computing device to;

receive a user request to convert a quantity of gambling credits earned by playing a game of chance held in a user account associated with an entity, said gambling credits being non-negotiable credits;

determine a conversion rate between the gambling credits available to the user and a form of negotiable funds;

subtract a quantity of gambling credits from the user account; and

transfer a quantity of the negotiable funds based upon the determining step to a financial account, wherein the financial account is not associated with the entity, wherein the receiving, determining, subtracting, and transferring steps occur in an approximately immediate fashion.

8. The computing device of claim 7, wherein the computing device is an automated teller machine (ATM).

9. The computing device of claim 8, wherein the computing device provides cash to a user in the amount substantially equal to the quantity of negotiable funds.

10. The computing device of claim 7, wherein the computing device is a point of sale device (POS), which applies at least a portion of the negotiable funds converted from the gambling credits to a purchase.

11. The computing device of claim 7, wherein the computing device is a computer running a browser, wherein the browser is used for an e-commerce purchase to which at least a portion of the quantity of negotiable funds is applied.

12. The computing device of claim 7, wherein the computing device is a kiosk through which goods/services are purchased using at least a portion of the quantity of negotiable funds.

13. The computing device of claim 7, wherein the computing device is a device through which the game of chance is played, through which the quantity of gambling credits was earned.

14. A method for converting and transferring credits to funds comprising:

identifying entertainment credits from a game of chance associated with an entity with which said user has previously interacted, the previous interactions earning the entertainment credits, which are non-negotiable credits;

responsive to a user or vendor request, a conversion agency converting a quantity of the entertainment credits to a quantity of negotiable funds or transferring converted entertainment credits to a user or vendor account that is separate from the account where the entertainment credits can be held, wherein the conversion agency is not directly associated with the entity; and

permitting the user to purchase goods/services from a vendor via a kiosk transaction involving a kiosk that is physically proximate to the entity in which the entertainment credits were earned, where the user expends the entertainment credits during the purchase and wherein the vendor ultimately receives the quantity of negotiable funds provided by the conversion agency for the purchased goods/services, wherein the vendor does not directly honor the non-negotiable credits in absence of conversion actions performed by the conversion agency.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the non-negotiable credits from the game of chance is accrued at a first location where the user previously interacted with the game of chance and at a second location the user performing a purchase utilizing the non-negotiable credits from the vendor which does not honor the non-negotiable credits, wherein the first and second locations comprise of a singular premises associated with the entity and the at least one vendor.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

the conversion agency automatically and approximately immediately adding the quantity of negotiable funds to a user designated account associated with the at least one vendor, wherein the at least one vendor is physically proximate to the entity associated with the game of chance.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the non-negotiable credits comprise entertainment credits earned from a scratch-off game purchased at a grocery store or gas station, wherein the vendor is the grocery store or gas station, and wherein the goods/services comprise gas or groceries involved in the purchase.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

initiating a kiosk purchase between the user and the vendor,

responsive to the initiated kiosk purchase, initiating the converting of the quantity of entertainment credits by the conversion agency; and

responsive to the converting and a completion of the kiosk purchase, providing the user with the goods/services in exchange for the quantity of negotiable funds for the purchase.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the non-negotiable credits are entered into a kiosk during a purchase transaction, wherein the non-negotiable credits are at least one of a casino tokens, casino chips, and casino plaques.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the game of chance is a government operated game of chance and the converting entity is a non-government entity.