Gaming machine system operable with general purpose charge cards

• US 5,811,772 A
• Filed: 09/20/1996
• Issued: 09/22/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Scotch Twist Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Scotch Twist Incorporated
• Inventors: Lucero, James L.
• Primary Examiner(s): EVANS, FANNIE L
• Application Number:
  US08/717,259
• Time in Patent Office: 732 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/380, 902/23, 273/138.1, 364/412, 463/25, 463/29, 463/41
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/342 Cards defining paid or billed services or quantities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/346 Cards serving only as information carrier of service
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/363 with the personal data of a user
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0014 for vending, access and use of specific services not covered anywhere else in G07F17/00 meter-controlled dispensing of liquid, gas or electricity G07F15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3251 involving media of variable value, e.g. programmable cards, programmable tokens
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3281 wherein game attributes are transferred between players, e.g. points, weapons, avatars
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/025 by means, e.g. cards, providing billing information at the time of purchase, e.g. identification of seller or purchaser, quantity of goods delivered or to be delivered
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0866 by active credit-cards adapted therefor G07F7/1008 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system

Abstract

A player feeds a general purpose charge card, such as a VISA, MasterCard or AMERICAN EXPRESS card, or an account identification to a reader at a gaming machine or enters on a keyboard or other input device, information relating to the general purpose charge card or account identification for transmission to a transaction processing facility. The processing facility associates the account information with a gaming account and determines whether to grant a user request. If the request is granted, the gaming machine is enabled and thereafter one or more running net credit balances are kept by accounting for win-lose-draws. After the playing session is over, net playing credit information is automatically transmitted to the transaction processing facility.

Claims

1. A method of using information concerning a first account maintained at a first institution for use in playing games of chance played on a gaming machine at a location which is remote from and is different from said first institution, comprising the steps of:

causing information concerning said first account to be received by said gaming machine;

accessing a gaming account at a processing facility based on information concerning said first account;

conditioning said gaming machine in accordance with said gaming account to permit plays thereon;

maintaining information about said plays on said gaming machine; and

selectively causing said gaming machine to transmit information respecting said plays to said processing facility for maintaining said gaming account.

2. A method as in claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

requesting a playing credit through said gaming machine based on said first account; and

determining whether to grant said playing credit;

such that said step of conditioning said gaming machine to permit plays thereon is only performed if said playing credit is granted.

3. A method as in claim 1, wherein:

said first account is a general purpose charge card account;

said institution maintains an account for said general purpose charge card and bills the person to whom said charge card is issued; and

further comprises the step of selectively causing said gaming machine to transmit information respecting said net playing credit to said processing facility for use in maintaining said general purpose charge card account.

4. A method as in claim 1, further comprising the step of:

accessing said gaming account at said processing facility from a machine which is remote from said gaming machine.

5. An apparatus for using information concerning a first account maintained at a first institution for enabling games of chance to be played on a gaming machine at a location which is remote from and is different from said first institution, comprising:

means for causing information concerning said first account to be received by said gaming machine;

means for accessing a gaming account at a processing facility based on information concerning said first account;

means for conditioning said gaming machine in accordance with said gaming account to permit plays thereon;

means for maintaining information about said plays on said gaming machine; and

means for selectively causing said gaming machine to transmit information respecting said plays to said processing facility for maintaining said gaming account.

6. An apparatus as in claim 5 further comprising:

means for requesting a playing credit through said gaming machine based on said first account; and

means for determining whether to grant said playing credit.

7. An apparatus as in claim 5, wherein:

said first account is a general purpose charge card account;

said institution maintains an account for said general purpose charge card and bills the person to whom said charge card is issued; and

further comprises means for selectively causing said gaming machine to transmit information respecting said net playing credit to said processing facility for use in maintaining said general purpose charge card account.

8. An apparatus as in claim 5, further comprising:

means for accessing said gaming account at said processing facility from a machine which is remote from said gaming machine.