Gaming machine systems and methods for accepting various currencies
View Patent ↗A system including a bill or note validator of a gaming machine, a host computer, and a game credit meter. The bill or note validator is adapted to receive and recognize at least a first currency and a second currency, each issued by a different jurisdiction, and is further adapted to encode a monetary denomination of the second currency. The host computer is adapted to receive the encoded monetary denomination of the secondary currency, to decode the encoded monetary denomination and to determine an amount of game credit to be credited to the player. The game credit meter is adapted to store a total amount of game credit purchased by the player of the gaming machine including game credit purchased by the player in response to the player inserting one or more bills or notes of either or both currencies into the gaming machine.
1. A system for a gaming machine including a video display, one or more input devices and a hardware or firmware subsystem configured to accept game credit purchases and wagers from a player using one or more types of currencies comprising:
a bill or note validator comprising said gaming machine to receive and recognize a primary currency and a secondary currency, each issued by a different jurisdiction and related by an exchange rate, if inserted by a player into said gaming machine, said bill or note validator encoding a monetary denomination of said secondary currency into electronic bar code data having a unique prefix and a special known code to match said monetary denomination of said secondary currency if said secondary currency is recognized by said bill or note validator;
an electronic slot management system host computer including a stored currency conversion rate coupled to said gaming machine for electronically receiving said encoded monetary denomination bar code data of said secondary currency to decode said encoded monetary denomination and to convert a monetary value of the secondary currency to an equivalent amount of electronic funds in the primary currency using the stored currency conversion rate; and
a game credit meter comprising said gaming machine to store a total amount of game credit purchased by the player of said gaming machine including game credit purchased by the player in response to the player inserting one or more bills or notes of either or both of the primary currency and the secondary currency into said gaming machine via the bill or note validator; wherein a collect event prompted by the player initiates a withdrawal of the game credit stored by the credit meter.
2. A system as recited in claim 1 further comprising:
a game monitor unit coupled to said gaming machine and said host computer, said game monitor unit to send said bar code data corresponding to the monetary denomination of the secondary currency to said host computer;
wherein said host computer sends said equivalent amount of electronic funds to said gaming machine via said game monitor unit; and
wherein said gaming machine increments the total amount of game credit stored in said game credit meter by the equivalent amount of electronic funds.
3. A system as recited in claim 1 further comprising:
a game monitor unit coupled to said gaming machine and said host computer, said game monitor unit to send said bar code data corresponding to the monetary denomination of the secondary currency to said host computer;
wherein said host computer sends said conversion rate and equivalent amount of electronic funds to said gaming machine via said game monitor unit;
a gaming machine interface comprising said gaming machine to prompt the player to accept or reject the conversion rate and equivalent amount of electronic funds;
wherein the total amount of game credit stored in said game credit meter is incremented by the equivalent amount of electronic funds if the player accepts; and
wherein the secondary currency is ejected by the gaming machine if the player rejects.
4. A system as recited in claim 1 wherein said gaming machine further comprises a residual credit meter to store an amount of residual game credit corresponding to available credit purchased by a player who inserts one or more bills or notes of either or both of the at least primary currency and the secondary currency into said gaming machine.
5. A system as recited in claim 1 wherein said gaming machine further comprises a currency drop meter for tracing the amount of currency accepted by said gaming machine.
6. A system as recited in claim 1 wherein said gaming machine further comprises bill denomination meters for tracing the total amount of each denomination of bill or note accepted by said gaming machine.
7. A system as recited in claim 4 further comprising an event processor to sense gaming machine events including the amount and form of game credit purchase corresponding to credit purchased by a player who inserts one or more bills or notes of either or both of the at least primary currency and the secondary currency into said gaming machine and the amount of a wager by the player and to update said residual credit meter when game credit is purchased, when a wager is placed, and when credit is collected by the player, and to increment a game activity meter comprising said gaming machine by the amount of credit collected in excess of the amount of residual credit available to the player.
8. A method for a gaming machine including a video display device, one or more input devices and a hardware or firmware subsystem that accepts at least two types of currencies for engaging in wagering by a player comprising:
enabling at least a primary currency and a secondary currency, each issued by a different jurisdiction, to be inserted into the gaming machine;
recognizing one or more bills or notes of either or both of the at least primary currency and the secondary currency inserted into the gaming machine;
encoding a monetary denomination of the second currency into electronic bar code data having a unique prefix and a special known code to match said monetary denomination of said secondary currency in response to a player inserting one or more bills or notes of the secondary currency into said gaming machine if said secondary currency is recognized;
decoding the encoded monetary denomination of the secondary currency;
converting the decoded monetary denomination of the secondary currency to an equivalent amount of electronic funds in the primary currency using a stored currency conversion rate;
determining an amount of game credit to be credited to the player based upon the equivalent amount of electronic funds in the primary currency; and
storing an amount of total game credit purchased by the player of said gaming machine including game credit purchased by the player in response to the player inserting one or more bills or notes of either or both of the primary currency and the secondary currency into said gaming machine; and upon receiving a collect event prompted by the player, initiating a withdrawal of the game credit stored by the credit meter.
9. A method as recited in claim 8 further comprising:
prompting the player to accept or reject the conversion rate and amount of electronic funds;
adding the equivalent amount of electronic funds to the amount of total game credit purchased if the player accepts; and
ejecting the secondary currency if the player rejects.
10. A method as recited in claim 8 further comprising tracing the amount of currency accepted by the gaming machine.
11. A method as recited in claim 8 further comprising tracing the total amount of each denomination of bill or note accepted by the gaming machine.