METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING INSURANCE POLICIES FOR GAMBLING LOSSES
A system and method for providing a gambling loss insurance policy automatically computes insurance premiums and processes gambling sessions covered by the gambling loss insurance policies. The players may purchase the insurance policies using various means such as coins, earned winnings, or credit cards. The gambling loss insurance system provides a high level of flexibility for the players to define specific parameters of the insurance policy. Additionally, the players may purchase the insurance policies directly from the gaming machine, a custom terminal on casino floor, or cage personnel having access to a centralized network server.
1 . A method comprising:
determining a player identifier;
determining whether an insurance policy comprising at least one term and associated with with the player identifier is active;
transmitting at least one gambling result for the player from a gaming device to a network server;
determining, at the network server, an amount of losses associated with the at least one gambling result;
determining how much of the amount of losses are covered by the insurance policy; and
determining a refund based on the amount of losses and the at least one term of the insurance policy.
2 . The method of claim 1 wherein determining a player identifier comprises one or more of: receiving a player tracking card, receiving input of a player code, and receiving a player biometric.
3 . The method of claim 1 further comprising providing the refund to the player.
4 . The method of claim 3 wherein providing the refund comprises providing the refund at a cashier station.
5 . The method of claim 3 wherein providing the refund comprises providing the refund at the gaming device.
6 . The method of claim 3 wherein providing the refund comprises providing the refund as a credit to an electronic account associated with the player.
7 . The method of claim 3 wherein providing the refund further comprises determining a preferred manner in which to provide the refund.
8 . The method of claim 7 wherein determining the preferred manner comprises referencing player preferences associated with the player.
9 . The method of claim 1 wherein determining the player identifier comprises receiving an input through a keypad.
10 . The method of claim 1 wherein determining whether the insurance policy is active comprises referencing a database.
11 . The method of claim 1 wherein determining whether the insurance policy is active comprises referencing at least one of: a player-tracking database and an insurance policy database.
12 . The method of claim 1 wherein determining whether the insurance policy is active comprises determining at a network server whether the insurance policy is active.
13 . The method of claim 1 wherein determining whether the insurance policy is active comprises referencing a computer readable memory.
14 . A system comprising:
a processor adapted to:
determine a player identifier;
determine whether an insurance policy comprising at least one term and associated with the player identifier is active;
transmit at least one gambling results for the player from a gaming device to a network server;
determine, at the network server, an amount of losses associated with the gambling results;
determine how much of the amount of losses are covered by the insurance policy; and
determine a refund based on the amount of losses and the at least one term of the insurance policy.
15 . A method comprising:
determining a player identifier;
determining whether an insurance policy comprising at least one term and associated with the player identifier is active based at least in part by detecting whether a player has used a player tracking device adapted to communicate the player identifier;
determining an amount of losses associated with the gambling results;
determining how much of the amount of losses are covered by the insurance policy; and
determining a refund based on the amount of losses covered by the insurance policy and the at least one term of the insurance policy.
16 . The method of claim 15 wherein the player tracking device comprises a player tracking card.
17 . A method comprising:
determining a player identifier;
determining whether an insurance policy is active in association with the player identifier;
transmitting gambling results for the player from a gaming device to a network server;
determining an amount of losses associated with the gambling results;
determining how much of the amount of losses are covered by the insurance policy; and
determining a refund based on the amount of losses covered by the insurance policy and terms of the insurance policy.
18 . A computer readable medium comprising software adapted to:
determine a player identifier;
determine whether an insurance policy associated with the player identifier is active;
transmit gambling results for the player from a gaming device to a network server;
determine, at the network server, an amount of losses associated with the gambling results;
determine how much of the amount of losses are covered by the insurance policy; and
determine a refund based on the amount of losses covered by the insurance policy and the terms of the insurance policy.