Systems and methods for facilitating play of a casino game via expiring prepaid plays of the casino game
View Patent ↗In accordance with at least one embodiment, an expiring prepaid casino account is disclosed. The expiring prepaid casino account has associated therewith an amount of money, time, and/or game plays. The amount of money, time, and/or game plays expires in predetermined portions over a plurality of defined expiration periods, thus encouraging a player to return to a casino during each of the predefined expiration periods. The present invention may be implemented via either a brick-and-mortar casino or an online casino.
1. A method comprising:
providing to a player access to an amount adapted for use at an online casino,
wherein the amount comprises a plurality of portions, and
wherein at least one of the portions is associated with a respective expiration period;
determining a current time;
determining an end time of a first expiration period that is one of the at least one expiration periods;
determining a first portion that is one of the plurality of portions and that is associated with the first expiration period; and
decreasing the first portion of the amount by a predetermined decrease amount if the current time is within a predetermined time of the end time, such that the player no longer has access to the decrease amount to conduct online gambling.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing the player with an account identifier.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the amount is a cash value equivalent.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the amount is an amount of time.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the amount is an amount of game plays associated with online gaming events.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising sending an alert to the player if an expiration period is about to occur.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein sending the alert comprises sending an electronic mail message to the player.
8. The method of claim 6 wherein sending an alert comprises sending an alert to a device selected from a group consisting of: a personal computer, a personal digital assistant, a pager, a cellular telephone, a landline telephone, a display on a smart card, and a gaming device.
9. The method of claim 1 further comprising allowing conversion of expired decrease amounts to another bill associated with the player.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein decreasing comprises decreasing the first portion if the current time is within a predetermined time of the end time and the current time is after the end time.
11. A computer readable medium storing instructions configured to direct a processor to perform a method comprising:
providing to a player access to an amount adapted for use at an online casino,
wherein the amount comprises a plurality of portions, and wherein at least one of the portions is associated with a respective expiration period;
determining a current time;
determining an end time of a first expiration period that is one of the at least one expiration periods;
determining a first portion that is one of the plurality of portions and that is associated with the first expiration period; and
decreasing the first portion of the amount by a predetermined decrease amount if the current time is within a predetermined time of the end time, such that the player no longer has access to the decrease amount to conduct online gambling.
12. An apparatus comprising:
a processor; and
a computer readable medium in communication with the processor and storing instructions configured to direct the processor to perform a method comprising:
providing to a player access to an amount adapted for use at an online casino,
wherein the amount comprises a plurality of portions, and wherein at least one of the portions is associated with a respective expiration period;
determining a current time;
determining an end time of a first expiration period that is one of the at least one expiration periods;
determining a first portion that is one of the plurality of portions and that is associated with the first expiration period; and
decreasing the first portion of the amount by a predetermined decrease amount if the current time is within a predetermined time of the end time, such that the player no longer has access to the decrease amount to conduct online gambling.