Gaming device having an electronic funds transfer system

• US 7,819,742 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2003
• Issued: 10/26/2010
• 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.
• Primary Examiner(s): McClellan; James S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pandya; Sunit
• Application Number:
  US10/662,618
• Publication Number:
  US 20040087360A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,598 Days
• Field of Search: 463/1, 463/12, 463/13, 463 16- 20, 463 25- 30, 463 40- 42, 273/292, 273/293, 273/138.2, 273/139, 273/143.R, 273/138, 235/375, 235/380, 235/381, 235/379, 705 16- 18, 705/35, 705/39, 705 41- 45, 902/23
• 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 configured to operate to request and receive funds electronically, said gaming device comprising:

a game processor configured to operate to receive a wager from a player to initiate a wagering game;

an EFT controller configured to operate to process an electronic fund transfer request by the player, the EFT controller configured to operate without direct communication between the game processor and the EFT controller;

a card reader configured to operate with the EFT controller;

a payment device configured to operate with the game processor to provide a monetary amount to a player after;

(i) a card of the player is read by the card reader,

(ii) the EFT controller receives an approval for the electronic fund transfer request from a remote fund repository via a banking network and without said approval being communicated from the EFT controller to the game processor,

(iii) the EFT controller sends data indicative of the approval to a gaming establishment network external to the gaming device, and

(iv) the game processor receives the data indicative of the approval from the gaming establishment network; and

a housing that supports the EFT controller, the game 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, a debit card, a 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, one or more gaming device credits, one or more gaming device tokens, one or more coins, a lottery ticket, and any combination thereof.

4. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the payment device is one 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 first display configured to operate with the EFT controller to display electronic fund transfer information to the user.

6. The gaming device of claim 5, which includes an additional second display configured to display the wagering game of the gaming device.

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

8. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the banking network includes 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, wherein the gaming establishment network includes a local casino network that interfaces the banking network with the game processor.

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

a promotions function, one or more casino-player fund transfers, a player tracking function, 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 configured to provide an interface between the game processor and the local casino network.

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

a housing;

a first processor supported by the housing and configured to operate to;

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

(b) send the request to a remote fund repository that generates a response to the request, said response to the request indicative of whether the remote fund repository approved the request,

(c) receive the response to the request, and

(d) cause data indicative of the response to be sent to a gaming establishment network external to the gaming device;

a ticket printer supported by the housing; and

a second processor supported by the housing and configured to cause the ticket printer to print a ticket indicative of the requested amount in response to receiving a signal from the gaming establishment network if the response to the request is indicative that the remote fund repository approved the request, the second processor thus configured to operate without direct communication between the first processor and the second processor and without said response to the request being communicated from the first processor to the second processor.

15. The gaming device of claim 14, wherein the electronic fund transfer request includes at least one selected from the group consisting of:

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

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

a gaming device having a EFT control unit and a game processor;

a first network configured to operate to access a remote fund repository, the remote fund repository configured to receive an electronic fund transfer request from the EFT control unit of the gaming device and to provide, to the EFT control unit, a response to the electronic fund transfer request; and

a second network external to the gaming device, the second network configured to communicate with the EFT control unit and the game processor to;

(i) receive first data indicative of the response from the EFT control unit, and

(ii) if the response includes an approval, send second data indicative of a monetary amount to credit the player to the game processor, such that the gaming device is configured to operate via the second network without direct communication between the EFT control unit and the game processor and without said response being communicated from the EFT control unit to the game processor.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the first network includes an internet.

18. The system of claim 16, which includes a plurality of remote fund repositories linked to one another and to the gaming device via the first network.

19. The system of claim 16, which includes a plurality of gaming devices linked by the second network.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein at least two of the plurality of gaming devices enable a player to wager on at least two different types of games.

21. The system of claim 16, wherein the second network includes a gaming establishment network implemented as a local area network.

22. The system of claim 16, which includes a ticket printer configured to print a ticket indicating the monetary amount.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the ticket printer is located in the gaming device.

24. 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 originating from the remote fund repository, said response sent;

(i) from the remote fund repository to the first processor,

(ii) from the first processor to an external network of the gaming establishment, and

(iii) from the external network to the second processor and without said response being communicated from the first processor to the second processor, the response indicating whether the remote fund repository approved the request;

providing the amount for use at the gaming device if the response indicates that the remote fund repository approved the request; and

informing the gaming establishment of the amount provided for use at the gaming device.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein providing the amount for use at the gaming device includes at least one selected from the group consisting of:

crediting a credit meter of the gaming device, issuing a number of tokens from a hopper, issuing a lottery ticket, and printing a receipt.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein transmitting the fund request includes transmitting the fund request amount from the first processor over a wide area network.

27. The method of claim 24, which includes receiving the response at the second processor over a local area network.